Teen drivers can live with license limits

By the Dayton Daily News

There are three big questions raised by a bill in the state legislature that would put new restrictions on teen drivers:

• How quickly can lawmakers pass it?
• How fast can Gov. Bob Taft sign it?
• And what took these people so long?

The legislation is designed to save not just the lives of teen drivers, but also those of passengers in their cars. And, of course, the people in cars they're prone to running into.

What would it do?

Teens would have to wait until they're 16 — an extra six months beyond the current rule — before they could get their "temps," also called learner's permits. Once they receive their license, it would be probationary until they turn 18, instead of 17.

Their driving curfew would move to midnight from 1 a.m., unless a parent is along for the ride. And they couldn't carry more than one passenger who's not a member of the family. (Currently, teen drivers may have as many passengers as their car has seat belts).

What's the problem that needs to be fixed?

Too many funerals. Teen drivers are twice as likely as other drivers to be involved in automobile accidents. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among kids age 15-20.

That translates to 1,173 deaths involving 15- to 17-year-old drivers in Ohio between 1995-2004. Nationally, 54,246 people have died in crashes involving teen drivers from 1997 through 2003.

In 1997, Ohio took a middle-of-the-road approach when it enacted some, but not all, of the elements of a model "graduated driver licensing" program proposed by safety experts. More that three years ago, the National Transportation Safety Board began pushing hard for states to further restrict teen driving. They wrote to governors, including Gov. Taft, strongly recommending changes, some of which are part of the pending legislation.

Why these specific provisions?

Because these are the ones that have been proven to save the most lives.

Some major inconveniences would arise from the restrictions. The one-passenger rule, for example, would make it harder for kids without a car to catch a ride to worthwhile activities. The limitation also could result in kids caravaning in cars when heading to the same destination, which raises other safety issues. The midnight curfew would be too binding for some older teens.

The answer is to find a way to work around real problems while preserving the proven safety benefits of the proposed legislation. Some jurisdictions with graduated licensing laws allow hardship exemptions on a case-by-case basis. The curfew could be subject to a modest extension, say, toward the end of the probationary period, provided there haven't been violations.

What's clear is Ohio can and should be doing more, right now, to protect the safety of teen drivers.