A mother from Pennsylvania who lost her teenage son in a car accident one year and two months ago is fighting for improved teenage driving laws so that other families do not have to suffer the events she has had to. She says, "I want to share our story with other people so that other families don't have to experience this tragedy." The mother still grieves about her son's fatal accident to this day.

The mother's fight is focused on reducing the risk of teenage cell phone use while driving. According to the mother, 3,800 teenagers died in car accidents who had junior driver's licenses in 2008. The number does not include the teenagers who were permanently injured or injured, and it also does not include the number of adults who were injured or killed while riding with teenage drivers. The mother who is also a nurse says that she sees too many teenagers in the emergency room that have been involved in a car accident of some sort.

Recently, four high school boys were killed in a car crash in south central Pennsylvania. According to investigators, the four teenagers were thought to be recording themselves with cell phones when the driver of the vehicle lost control because of speed and crashed into another automobile.

The mother is an advocate of the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act or STANDUP Act. The proposed law would put limits on the number and age of passengers in vehicles driven by teenagers, limit the hours of nighttime driving and limit use of cell phones. The mother believes the bill has the ability to reduce future teenage car accidents.

Source: The Mercury, "Advocate Mom Pushes on Despite Painful Memories," Brandie Kessler, 1/24/11