Drive shaft: Teens say new law makes it unfairly hard for them to get licensed to operate vehicles

Rebecca Malone

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2001 | 11:21 a.m.

Gwen Smythe believes the state is taking her for a ride.

And, so far, the road has been pretty bumpy.

Although she is 16, Smythe has yet to get her driver's license. What's more, a new state law passed to increase safety will further restrict her ability to drive when she does get her license.

She catches rides to work and school from whomever is available to drive her until she can save enough money to take the required driver's education class.

But she faces yet another obstacle.

A law passed by the 2001 Legislature changes the way in which a teen obtains a driver's license and places restrictions regarding who they can transport in their vehicles after they are licensed.

The law translates into what Dan Miller, president of the Nevada Professional Driving School Association, calls "a watered-down version of the graduated driver's licensing program," which went into effect July 1.

The average graduated driver's program adopted by states is a three-tiered system that involves a learner's permit, an intermediate level and an unrestricted driver's license. It puts restrictions on the times that a teen can drive and who they can transport in their car, as well as stricter penalties for moving violations.

The Nevada law states:

"It's ridiculous," Smythe said of the new standards. "If they are giving you the right to drive, then they shouldn't be putting limitations on it."

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, voted against the bill. She agreed that the law should apply to all new drivers, and not specifically target teens. She said it is just as easy for an adult to be distracted by a 2-year-old baby who is crying as it is for a teen who is driving with a friend.

Studies prove Buckley and Smythe wrong, said Lisa Foster, a spokeswoman for American Automobile Association Nevada. Most people learn to drive as teenagers, and studies show that teens are distracted more often than are adults, Foster said.

"The risk of a fatal teen crash increases 30 to 50 percent with one teen passenger," Foster said. "With every other teen passenger you add, the risk is amplified."

The risk of being involved in a crash in relation to miles driven is, among 16- to 19-year-olds, four times the rate for older drivers, according to the Fatality Analysis Reporting System of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which studies fatal motor vehicle crashes on public roads in the United States.

In 1999, 64 percent of motor vehicle related deaths involving 13- to 19-year-olds occurred when other teenagers were driving, according to the insurance institute.

The institute also reported 3.3 crashes for every 10,000 trips taken by 16- and 17-year-olds who have two passengers in the car with them.

In comparison, under similar circumstances less than 1 percent of those 30 to 59 have been involved in an accident.

Despite the findings, Buckley does not believe it is the Legislature's place to restrict teen driving. It is the responsibility of the parents, she said.

"The parent is in the best position to regulate their child's driving," Buckley said. "My parents were my graduated driver's licensing, and when I first started practicing with them they told me I wasn't ready."

The restrictions remove the burden from parents, argues Ron Moracco, special assignment driver's education teacher for the Clark County School District.

"It's not their fault kids have a curfew. It's the law, and it's not their fault kids can't ride with their friends," Moracco said. "Graduated driver's licensing is going to save lives. This is no longer a small town like it was 20 years ago, and it needs to change the way kids drive."

Forty-six states and Washington, D.C., have some sort of graduated licensing law, and studies have shown a decline in fatal crashes involving teens, Foster said.

In Michigan and Kentucky, for example, crashes have decreased by 32 percent, in North Carolina crashes have decreased by 29 percent and in California wrecks have declined by 21 percent. Those numbers are based on studies done in those states by outside agencies and confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board, Foster said.

Although graduated licensing may prevent crashes, some lawmakers think it places a burden on families who live in rural areas. Rural students have to drive 25 to 30 miles to school, and if they can't carpool it will make it harder for them to attend classes and may ultimately cause an increase in dropout rates, Assemblyman Mark Manendo, D-Las Vegas, said.

Dropout rates have decreased 2.1 percent from 1998 to 2000, said Mary Stanley Larson of the Clark County School District. However, Manendo said the new law could make it easier for students to skip school when they cannot catch a ride from a friend.

Smythe, for example, said she lives too close to catch a bus and too far away to walk when temperatures soar into the 100s.

"There will be a few people that think about the law at first, but after a while they won't worry about it," Smythe said.

At least five teens at the Department of Motor Vehicles on American Pacific Drive in Henderson agreed that the law does not change their plans after they get licensed, but they were interested in the various driver's education opportunities afforded by the law.

Mike Giglia, 17, who was at the DMV to get his learner's permit, said he would prefer behind-the-wheel training to classroom training, which the law now allows.

Nevada is the first state in the nation to give teens an option regarding how they obtain driver's education, Miller said. The law states that one hour of behind-the-wheel training is equivalent to three hours of classroom training, and up to 10 hours of behind-the-wheel training can take the place of 30 hours of classroom time.

Nevada has never required certified behind-the-wheel training, as many states do. California, Nebraska and Maine, for example, require six hours of behind-the-wheel training in addition to classroom training, Miller said. Teens in Nevada are required to have 50 hours of supervised behind-the-wheel training with a parent or legal guardian, who have to sign a statement that the training occurred.

Behind-the-wheel training could save students time and money. Some insurance carriers offer discounts to students who successfully complete certified drivers' training courses.

Nevertheless, behind-the-wheel training is not inexpensive, and Moracco said the school district will not use it as a substitute for classroom training. Students pay an additional $100 if they want behind-the-wheel training with the class, Moracco said.

Driver's education classes are available free of charge to students attending just four area high schools: Palo Verde, Bonanza, Centennial and Valley. This is the reason many teens, such as Smythe, must wait to get their licenses while they save money to take the classes.

Teens not attending those high schools have to pay for a private instructor, a televised class or an Internet course.

Students have the opportunity to take driver's education from a television class, which airs on channels 10 and 70 for a six-week period. The course costs $50. Another option, starting in September, is an Internet driver's class that runs for 30 days and costs $99. Private classes can cost between $100 and $350 depending on the extent of the training.