The "freedom" of driving a car has long been the desire of American teenagers as they approach age 16. As our society becomes increasingly attached to technology, blending it with driving is proving to be a deadly mix.

The government reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 were injured last year in crashes where at least one form of driver distraction was reported.

Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was prevalent among many young drivers.

Mobile devices and cell phones are the often the cause of the distraction.

At CamTran, we offer public transit service for Cambria County that can be the safe way for your teen to travel. That's why from now until Oct. 31, we're offering free transit passes for your teen to use instead of driving your car. Just bring your teen to any of our offices, show us his or her license, and we'll issue them a free 10 ride pass to try out our system.

It's our way of keeping Cambria County teens safe.

*Teens must be 16-19 years of age. One free pass per teen. Passes will be issued to the first 50 teens to the Moxham office on 726 Central Avenue for the urban division and to the first 50 teens to the Ebensburg office on 1226 North Center Street from now until Oct. 31. Teens must have parent or guardian and driver's license to receive the pass. Passes are non-transferrable and not for resale.

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Off the street and safe in a seat: CamTran offers free transit passes for teen drivers