High School Students Address Teenage Vehicle Deaths by Educating Peers about the Dangers of Risky Driving

LONG BEACH, Calif., March 18 -- A group of teenagers from across the country are hoping to convince their friends that risky behavior behind the wheel can lead to death.

The program is called Project Ignition ( http://www.sfprojectignition.com/ ). Sponsored by State Farm(R) and coordinated by the National Youth Leadership Council (NYLC), teams of students from 25 schools around the county each received a $2,000 grant to implement programs addressing issues facing teen drivers. These topics include seat belt use, speeding, impaired driving and distracted driving. The 2004-2005 Project Ignition campaigns included student created videos, safe driving demonstrations, community outreach programs, promotional items like key chains, simulated mock crash scenes and public service announcements.

Across the United States, 5,691 teenagers died in motor vehicle crashes in 2003, an average of nearly 16 teenagers killed per day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In Los Angeles County alone, 32 teenagers between the ages of 16-20 died in car crashes in 2003 and 46 were killed the year before.

"As the nation's largest insurer of automobiles, State Farm feels compelled to take a leadership position on this issue through grant support of Project Ignition," said Leif Roll, Vice President of Customer & Product Marketing for State Farm. "Our agents live in the communities they insure, so we feel strongly about the issue of teen driver safety, which over and over again has such a devastating effect on families, schools and communities."

One school will be recognized by State Farm and NYLC for their program at the Project Ignition Festival on Friday, March 18th in Long Beach, Calif. The winning school receives a $10,000 grant and will be encouraged to continue its Project Ignition program efforts.

"Project Ignition embodies the true meaning of service-learning showing how teens can educate for change in their communities and with their peers," said Dr. James Kielsmeier, president of NYLC. "Teen driving behavior and habits are a major factor in teen driving accidents. Project Ignition uses schools, teachers and classrooms to initiate projects and ideas to address risky behaviors and educate teens on the risks they face every time they get behind the wheel. By educating for change - we change attitudes".

  Finalists in the first year of the program include:
   * Ada High School - Ada, Okla.
   * Carson High School - Carson, Nev.
   * Centerville High School - Centerville, S.D.
   * CODE/Hickman Hills High School - Kansas City, Mo.
   * Kingwood High School - Kingwood, Texas
   * Mooresville High School - Mooresville, Ind.
   * Northeast High School - Oakland Park, Fla.
   * Proctor High School - Proctor, Minn.
   * Richland School District #2 - Richland, S.C.
   * Shallowater High School - Shallowater, Texas

Representatives from the schools, State Farm and NYLC will be available for media interviews from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on March 18th at the Long Beach Convention Center.

The Project Ignition program is now accepting applications for 2005-06 school year. Applications for the program must be submitted on-line and are due April 1, 2005. Visit the Project Ignition website ( http://www.sfprojectignition.com/ ) for more information and to register for the program.

About State Farm

State Farm insures more cars than any other insurer in North America and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm's 17,000 agents and about 69,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No.18 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com(R) or in Canada statefarm.ca.

About National Youth Leadership Council

NYLC has been at the center of service-learning program and policy development since 1983. It convenes the annual National Service-Learning Conference, offers adult and youth trainings, and develops service-learning resources. Service learning is a teaching method that enriches learning by engaging students in meaningful service to their schools and communities. It integrates service with established learning objectives, emphasizes critical thinking and problem solving, and tackles real issues such as hunger, ecological concerns, safety and diversity. For more information, please visit http://www.nylc.org/ .