LETTER TO THE EDITOR
The hair-raising figures command our attention and demand that some reasonable restrictions be imposed on teenage drivers.
Current law requires only that new drivers have provisional licenses for 18 months, during which they cannot drive between midnight and 5 a.m. It also requires that a novice driver receive 30 to 50 hours of behind the wheel training with a licensed adult driver.
According to the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration –NTSB- 63% of teen deaths in crashes
occur when multiple teens are in the vehicle.
The study shows that one teen passenger in the car increases crash risk
by 50% and that with three or more teen passengers the crash risk is nearly 4
times as high as when a teenager is driving alone.
The American Academy of
Pediatrics noted that at 16 years of age, one is 20 times more likely than an
adult to die in an automobile accident.
At age 17, one is 6 times more likely. According to AAA Mid-Atlantic, the chances
of teenage drivers getting into a crash go up dramatically with each additional
passenger. In 2003, more than 22% of
those admitted to the Shock Trauma Center at University Hospital after automobile accidents were 16 to 21
years old.
I am supporting and
co-sponsoring legislation to give new drivers the opportunity to perfect their
driving skills without the having the distraction of friends in the car. Specifically, the bill requires that for six
months after teenage drivers receive their provisional licenses they cannot
transport anyone under the age of 18, except family members.
Testifying before the House
Environmental Committee last March, Judith Lee Stone, president of the
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said, “Researchers analyzing fatality
statistics from the year 2000, found that the death rate for 16 and 17 year old
drivers transporting passengers was almost four times the rate for drivers ages
16 and 17 without passengers.”
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
PAGE 2
Studies at the Institute for
Highway Safety and Johns Hopkins University found that passenger restrictions
for young drivers could save hundreds of lives each year. If all young drivers drove by themselves,
rather than riding with other young drivers, 275 lives could be saved each
year. Since adopting passenger
restriction for young drivers, Florida, Michigan and North Carolina have
experienced decreases in auto
deaths, involving 16 years old drivers,
ranging from 9% to 27%.
There is general awareness
that the teenage romance with automobiles and speed has become a dangerous
combination. Add to the existing high
odds for teenage crashes, the distractions of loud music, cell phones and friends
in the car, the already dangerous combination becomes a lethal
combination.
Prohibiting new teen drivers
from transporting teen passengers is a proven and proverbial ounce of
prevention. Passage of the bill makes
sense. It saves lives.
Passage of this bill
represents a significant and positive step toward greater driver safety.
Sincerely,
Eric Bromwell
EB:js