New York State Police are launching a traffic safety campaign aimed at minimizing crashes involving teen drivers.
"The Empty Chair" driving safety campaign starts Monday and runs through Friday. The empty chair symbolizes the missing high school senior on graduation day.
The campaign will target specific laws regarding speeding in school zones, seat belt use and child restraints, cellphone use, and underage drinking and impaired driving.
Troopers will be using both marked State Police vehicles and unmarked cars.
According to figures from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2,524 teenagers between ages 13 and 19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2013 in the United States. The fatal crash rate per mile driven for 16- to 19-year-olds is nearly three times the rate for drivers ages 20 or older.