Restrictions on teen driving proposed in Assembly bill

Erin Neff

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 10:48 a.m.

Many parents fear teenagers' requests to drive at night with friends more than they do young drivers' pleas for their own vehicles.

An Assembly panel heard plenty of reasons Thursday why young drivers require more than parental anxiety to become safer drivers.

For starters, 16- and 17-year olds have disproportionately higher incidences of fatal accidents than any other members of the driving population. Put another teen in the car and the risk of death increases 30 percent, according to statistics from the National Transportation Safety Board.

Which is why Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, is sponsoring a bill that would implement a graduated driver's license system in Nevada -- one of just seven states nationwide without such a provision.

Assembly Bill 8 requires that teens who complete the required 50 hours of supervised driving education hold a learner's permit for six months before they are granted a provisional license at age 16.

The bill also prohibits teens from driving with passengers younger than 21 -- with the exception of family members -- for the first four months of the provisional license period. Teens would keep the provisional license until they turn 18.

The provisional license carries other restrictions. Teens cannot drive during local curfew hours in the first 12 months they have a provisional license unless the driving is for the purpose of work, worship, school activities, or if the teen is court-designated as emancipated from his or her parents or guardian.

During testimony Thursday before the Assembly Transportation Committee, law enforcement, transportation officials, Carson Middle School and Galena High School students testified in favor of the bill.

Lisa Foster, a lobbyist for the American Automobile Association, said states with graduated license programs had up to 32 percent fewer fatal accidents involving teen drivers after implementing the system.

In Nevada, 16 and 17-year-olds make up 2 percent of drivers but account for 7 percent of those killed in accidents.

"When you take a teen driver and put just one more teen in the car, the risk of a fatal crash goes up 30 percent," Foster said.

Cegavske said the passenger restrictions were necessary to cut down on distractions that can take inexperienced drivers' eyes from the road.

Kevin Quinlan of the National Transportation Safety Board said enacting AB8 in the state would prevent up to 24 deaths a year on roadways.

But Assemblyman John Carpenter, R-Elko, had serious concerns with the bill because of the need many young teens have in rural Nevada to obtain restricted licenses.

"I do believe in experience and everything that's required of the bill," Carpenter said. "But I question how it applies in the rural area, where these licenses become very important to people who have them."

Donna West, administrator of the Nevada Department of Transportation's field services division, said she agreed that statutes governing restricted licenses of the type Carpenter refers should jell with any statute related to provisional licenses.

"It would be wise to make it consistent," she said.

The committee concluded Thursday's hearing without voting on the bill.