Join The Teen Driver Safety Celebration Supporting New Drivers

BLOOMINGTON, Ill., Oct. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- During National Teen Driver Safety Week, new drivers across North America are rallying their communities to commit to safe driving.  Car crashes are the number one killer of teens in the US and Canada. Students from more than 3,000 participating high schools are celebrating the joy of driving while at the same time working to reverse this startling statistic. 

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State Farm® is supporting students' efforts to amplify the conversation around teen driver safety through its Celebrate My Drive® program.  During the 7^th Annual National Teen Driver Safety Week, people in communities across the US and Canada are committing to be safe drivers once daily between October 18 and October 26 at www.celebratemydrive.com.  Each safe driving commitment can be made directly in support of one of over 3,000 participating high schools.  The 100 high schools with the most safe driving commitments will be awarded grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000.  The top two schools will win a grand prize of a private concert by Grammy award winner Kelly Clarkson.  

"I am excited to be part of a movement positively impacting millions of new drivers," said Kelly Clarkson. "We live in a community filled with drivers, new and experienced, and I am all about keeping us all safe on the road."

In 2007, State Farm and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia teamed up to support a Congressional resolution designating the third week of October as National Teen Driver Safety Week.  The goal of National Teen Driver Safety Week is to improve auto safety for children and teens and to encourage parents, young drivers, lawmakers, and educators to work together to change risky teen driving behaviors and help save lives.

"National Teen Driver Safety Week is designed to increase awareness and spark conversation about teen car crashes across the country," said Chris Mullen, Director of Technology Research at State Farm. "Research has shown it will take the involvement of entire communities to keep teens safer on the road; there's not a one-step solution to reducing teen vehicle crashes. Everyone needs to play a role – parents need to monitor their teens' driving practices more closely, teens must obey driving laws and be considerate passengers, and all states must enact and enforce strong graduated driver licensing laws for new drivers."

Visit www.celebratemydrive.com to make a safe driving commitment and to learn more about ways you can celebrate the responsibility of driving with the new teen drivers across North America.

About Celebrate My Drive:

Celebrate My Drive® is a different approach to a leading public health risk.  Car crashes are the number one killer of teens, and a teen's first year on the road is the most dangerous. Using research as a guide, State Farm is approaching teen driver safety, a winnable public health battle, by engaging teens while they learn to drive in a supportive and positive way.  It's a community celebration of safe driving habits emphasizing the benefits of safe choices as teens celebrate the freedom that comes with getting a drivers' license. Learn more about the initiative at www.celebratemydrive.com.

About State Farm®:
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 18,000 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 44 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit http://www.statefarm.com or in Canada http://www.statefarm.ca.

About Kelly Clarkson:

Since bursting onto the music scene 10 years ago, Kelly Clarkson has released 5 studio albums (Thankful, Breakaway, My December, All I Ever Wanted, Stronger), 1 Greatest Hits album, sold over 20 million albums worldwide, 10 million albums in the US and has had 10 singles in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. She is the recipient of 3 Grammy Awards, 4 American Music Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, 2 Academy of Country Music Awards, 1 Country Music Association Award and 12 Billboard Music Awards. Clarkson's last studio effort Stronger debuted at #2 on both the Billboard Top 200 and Digital Albums Chart. The album produced the smash singles, "Mr. Know It All" and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" which marks Kelly's 9^th and 10^th Top 10 hit. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" was #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart for two consecutive weeks (3 weeks total) marking her 3^rd #1 on the Hot 100 chart.  Clarkson's Stronger was certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A. and won the Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. Clarkson released Greatest Hits – Chapter 1 last year which featured 3 brand new tracks as well as a compilation of some of her greatest hits to date.  Kelly spent the summer touring with Maroon 5 and recording her very first Christmas album Wrapped In Red, which is set for release on October 29^th.

SOURCE State Farm