Oneida County Sheriff’s Office To Take Part In ‘Empty Chair’ Campaign

The Oneida County Sheriff's Office will be participating in a week-long, statewide traffic campaign aimed at minimizing crashes involving teenage drivers.

Sheriff Rob Maciol says the effort will target specific laws each day, including seatbelt use, cellphone use and texting while driving and underage drinking.

Maciol says the "Empty Chair" campaign was launched by the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee in 2014 to reduce the number of deaths of teens in traffic accidents this time of year.  He says the empty chair symbolizes the missing high school senior on graduation day.

“We want to keep teens safe, especially during this time of year. I want every one of our young people to enjoy their time in high school and be able to graduate and begin the next chapter of their lives,” said Maciol. “I urge everyone, especially our teen drivers, to  wear your seat belt, slow down, and put your cell phones away while driving. Together, we can keep our roadways safe.”

The campaign will run from April 18th through the 22nd.