ITHACA, N.Y.(WENY)-- As prom and graduation season is getting closer, the  Governor's Traffic Safety Committee (GTSC) and the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has kicked off their "No Empty Chair" campaign state wide. The title "No Empty Chair" is to endorse the idea of not having any empty chairs during a graduation ceremony. The campaign is meant to help educate and re-enforce the importance of safe driving among high school students. 

"We want you to graduate high school, we want you to go on and have a successful career and a happy life and to do that we need you to be safe on the roads and not just for yourself but for everyone else driving on the roads," says Undersherrif Jennifer Olin, Tompkins County Sheriffs Office. 

The sheriffs office wants to encourage everyone to be safe drivers, but they are highlighting teen drivers during this campaign due to their lack of experience. The Undersheriff told WENY that there are three major causes for teenage driving accidents.

"Following too closely, driver inattention, as well as not coming to a complete stop. My biggest concern is probably distracted driving. So put the cell phones down, it can wait. If you need to call someone or text, pull off to the side of the road in a safe spot. That's probably the biggest thing I see," says Olin. 

Olin said that at home, it is as simple as having an open and honest conversation with your teen about the importance of safe driving. 

This campaign is running until the end of this week, May 3rd. Specific topic are being covered each day during the campaign and for those and more information about "No Empty Chairs" click here.