Tue, May 13 2008
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Published April 12, 2008 03:23 pm - A bill passed unanimously by the Alabama House and awaiting approval in the Senate goes a long way toward making teens safer on the road. Bill to restrict teen driving could save lives A bill passed unanimously by the Alabama House and awaiting approval in the Senate goes a long way toward making teens safer on the road.
The bill would restrict the most inexperienced drivers, keeping them off the road during the times when teen drivers are most likely to be involved in crashes and eliminating distractions. The bill would require 16-year-old drivers — or any driver with less than one year of experience — to be off the road by 10 p.m. on weeknights and 11 p.m. on weekend nights. Currently, these teens can legally drive until midnight under restrictions passed by the Legislature in 2002. In addition, these new drivers would not be allowed to operate cell phones or other electronic devices while driving. Drivers with learner’s permits or less than one year’s experience with a license also would be required to have a driver age 21 or over in the car while driving. Rep. Mac Gipson, R-Prattville, who sponsored the bill, cited Alabama’s rank as second highest in the nation for traffic fatalities among teens as the impetus for introducing it. _However, an exception to the rules could cause law enforcement officers problems and weaken enforcement. The bill allows exceptions to the curfew for teens who are traveling to or from work or church. How would a law enforcement officer determine the veracity of a teen’s statement, should he or she be pulled over? Additionally, law enforcement officers would ticket teens only if they already were stopped for another infraction because determining the age of a teen driving past at night would prove difficult. But we recognize that most parents would enforce this law themselves, which we would lessen the likelihood of crashes involving teens, the biggest risk group for traffic fatalities. This bill would help save lives. 
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