Isakson Announces ‘National Teen Safe Driver Month’

WASHINGTON (June 29, 2007) – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today praised the Senate’s passage today of a resolution he authored designating the month of July 2007 as ‘National Teen Safe Driver Month.’ Isakson introduced the resolution in honor of Joshua Brown, a Cartersville, Ga., teenager who died from injuries sustained in a car accident in 2003. 

   The month will be used by members of federal, state and local governments and interested organizations to commemorate ‘National Teen Safe Driver Month’ with appropriate ceremonies, activities and programs. The resolution also encourages the development of resources to provide affordable, accessible and effective driver training for every teenage driver of the United States.

   “With so many distractions in our cars and on the roads today, we must do a better job of educating all drivers to be safer on the road,” said Isakson. “I am proud to announce July as ‘National Teen Safe Driver Month’ in the United States.” 

   Driver education and training resources have diminished in communities throughout the United States, leaving families underserved and lacking in opportunities for educating the teenage drivers of those families.

   The Georgia General Assembly passed “Joshua’s Law” to address this shortage in honor of Brown after the Joshua Brown Foundation raised a quarter of a million dollars to provide driving simulators and training to Joshua’s former high school and developed a technologically advanced program to provide drivers education for every teen in Georgia. 

   “Joshua’s parents, Alan and LuGina Brown, are doing all teens and families a great service by preserving his legacy through the Joshua Brown Foundation – and in Georgia through ‘Joshua’s Law’ – by ensuring our teenagers have as much training and experience as possible before hitting the roadways,” said Isakson.

   Automobile accidents involving teenage drivers result in the highest cause of death and injury for teens between 15 and 20 years old. Each year, 7,460 teenage drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 are involved in fatal crashes, and 1.7 million teenage drivers are involved in accidents that are reported to law enforcement officers.

   “Since my wife and I lost our son Joshua, we have made it our life’s mission to work to save the lives on America’s teenagers,” said Alan Brown. “I’m very much appreciative of Senator Isakson and Congress for their help in working to create this awareness.”

   The Joshua Brown Foundation’s mission is to establish networks between public, private and government partners to make technologically advanced drivers education available for every teen. For more information about this release or about the organization, please contact Brad Klaus at (678) 797-2303 or brad.klaus@joshuabrownfoundation.org.