Lynbrook Aims To Have 'No Empty Chairs' At Graduation

Lynbrook Mayor William Hendrick, the Village Board and the Lynbrook Police Department, in cooperation with the Lynbrook School District and the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, will be participating in the “No Empty Chair” campaign from April 24-28.

According to New York State crash statistics, from 2013 to 2015, drivers in New York experienced more than 625,000 personal injury automobile crashes, which included 3,330 fatalities. Of the deaths, 141 were drivers between the ages of 16 and 18. These 141 traffic deaths resulted in 141 young adults who would never get a chance to sit at their own high school graduation.

The aim of “No Empty Chair” is to curtail unsafe and aggressive driving habits by all drivers on the roadways around our schools with a focus on teen drivers. The Lynbrook Police Department has been vigilant throughout this school year enforcing parking violations and illegal u-turns in the vicinity of all village schools, however during “No Empty Chair,” extra patrols will be turned out specifically aimed at enforcing speeding in school zones, cell phone use, texting while driving violations, seat belt and child restraint use, the passing of school bus stop signs and underage drinking and impaired driving.

“We take the safety of our children in Lynbrook very seriously,” said Hendrick. “This is an outstanding program and I compliment Lynbrook’s finest for bringing ‘No Empty Chair’ to our community.”

For more information about this or any other state traffic safety programs, please visit the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee website at www.SafeNY.ny.gov.

Photo: Lynbrook Police Department