Published: March 15, 2008 09:27 pm            

Teen driving an issue that deserves attention

For safety’s sake, lawmakers must act

TERRE HAUTE — The Indiana Legislature needs to make the safety of teenage drivers a priority.

In 2007, an Indiana Senate bill would have greatly improved teens’ preparation for operating an automobile. That proposal would have required teens to complete more hours of driving practice under adult supervision, reduced the number of passengers allowed in their cars, and banned them from using cell phones while driving. It also probably would’ve saved lives.

But also last year, the legislators passed a law requiring the use of seat belts in pickup trucks and SUVs. That teen driving bill did not become law.

Then in the short 2008 session of the Legislature, lawmakers were immersed in the property tax debate and an uproar over illegal immigration. Again, a strengthening of requirements for our state’s youngest drivers took a back seat to other priorities.

A sign of hope emerged, though. A proposal by Rep. Joe Micon, D-West Lafayette, to create a committee to review Indiana’s teen driving laws this summer did get approved by lawmakers, and Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the bill. That’s a start.

This committee, composed of six members of the Indiana Senate and six from the House, will spend a week listening to sheriffs, insurance industry reps, driving school officials and, yes, coroners — “everybody that has an interest in this issue,” Micon said. The goal is to strengthen the current Indiana Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) system, which — in theory — improves teens’ motoring skills as they climb from a learner’s permit to a probationary license and then a full license.

But the Indiana GDL is woefully inadequate. States with stronger GDLs, such as Illinois, have reduced by an average of 11 percent the fatalities caused by 16-year-old drivers, according to a study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. States with the most stringent laws have seen decreases as significant as 38 percent. In the Hoosier state, a person who is just 16 years and 6 months old with no supervised driving practice can pass a test and receive a license.

“Indiana has a weak teen driving law compared to other states,” Micon said by telephone from the Statehouse last week. “So it’s critically important that we move forward.”

Sixteen-year-olds are three times as likely to be involved in a collision than 18- and 19-year-olds, and 10 times more likely than folks 30 to 59.

Micon thinks the issue won’t be backburnered in the 2009 legislative session. The lawmaker, father of a 17-year-old daughter who just gained her license, realizes teens’ desires to become independent and express their freedom. “But as a parent, I also understand what black borders on [high school] yearbook pictures mean, and what posthumously awarded diplomas mean,” he said.

Taxes and immigration have importance. So does the need for a more responsible teen driving law.

        

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