The National Safety Council announced this week that it will hold its second international research symposium on graduated drivers' licensing on February 5-6-7, 2007 in Tucson, Ariz.

GEICO signed on earlier this year to support the project and presented the Council with a $50,000 contribution to help sponsor the symposium. "GEICO is tremendously concerned about young drivers, and we think that graduated licensing is a good approach," said David Schindler, senior vice president and head of GEICO's Philanthropic Foundation. "It gives teens a chance to have more supervised training so they're better prepared for a variety of driving situations before they take on the full responsibility themselves. We expect to learn a lot more from the National Safety Council's graduated licensing symposium and are very glad to support it."

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 7,898 fatal crashes that involved drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 in 2004. And while young drivers represent just 6.3 percent of licensed drivers, they account for 13.6 percent of all fatal crashes.

"Every year we lose nearly 8,000 young people in this country to vehicle crashes," said GEICO CEO Tony Nicely. "We want the information that is presented at the NSC symposium - the information that could prevent such tragic losses through graduated licensing - to get to parents, legislators and educators as soon as it's available."

The National Safety Council GDL symposium will feature scientists from around the world who in large part will present research findings that document how GDL laws have affected teens and their incidence of crashes. There will also be sessions devoted to parents and how they impact their teen's driving behavior.

According to John Ulczycki, NSC Transportation Safety Group director, the aim of the symposium is to measure the effectiveness of GDL laws and other strategies that address teen driving issues. Following the symposium, the findings will go to state governors, legislators, highway safety leaders and the general public.

"This symposium will enable us to update the science and identify what is working and why," Ulczycki said. "We plan to provide updated data and science to state legislators across the nation and to consider, depending on the data, other strategies that may be appropriate."

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the fourth-largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. It provides auto insurance coverage for more than 7 million policyholders and insures more than 11 million vehicles. GEICO is a member of the Berkshire Hathaway group of companies. GEICO provides consumers with sales, service and claims capabilities on its geico.com Web site. Consumers may also contact the company at its toll free 1-800-841-3000 number. For more information, go to www.geico.com.

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