Crash prompts look at toughening graduated license program

Diana Sahagun

Monday, Sept. 9, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

Last month's car crash that took the life of one Centennial High School student and forever changed the lives of four others has revived the debate over whether to strengthen the state's graduated license program.

A watered-down version of the program, which went into effect in 2001, prevents anyone under the age of 21 who is not a family member from riding in a car for the first two months a new 16-year-old driver is behind the wheel.

Ryan Sneed, 16, was killed in a crash after school Aug. 30 when he drove his car in front of a tractor-trailer about a mile away from the high school. Sneed obtained his driver's license nine days before the crash, according to Metro Police.

Samantha Sneed, 15, was discharged from University Medical Center three days after the accident. The other passengers of the 1994 Jeep Cherokee -- Lauren Ozawa, 14, Jade Ozawa, 15, and Emily McIntyre, 14 -- were still being treated at University Medical Center. Lauren and Jade Ozawa were in fair condition this morning, and McIntyre was in serious condition.

Lawyers, legislators, and community activists agree that something needs to be done to keep teens and other drivers safe on the roads. But they are split on whether the answer is tougher laws, more enforcement or criminal prosecution of parents for negligence.

Erin Breen, the director of Safe Community Partnerships, said the state program needs more teeth to prevent future accidents and should be taken up by the 2003 Legislature.

Sixteen- year-old drivers should not be allowed to transport non-family members under the age of 21 for a period longer than 60 days, she added.

"Sixty days isn't enough time for them to practice," she said. "The Legislature needs to revisit graduated licensing and really put some teeth in the law."

Most states with a graduated license program require 16-year-olds to refrain from transporting people under the age of 21 for 6 to 12 months, Breen said.

In Nevada drivers under 16 are restricted for 90 days, 60 days for 16-year-olds and 30 days for 17-year-olds.

In 2001 there were a total of 18 fatalities and 11 serious injuries involving teenagers 16 and 17 years old. Of the 29 involved in accidents, only three wore seat belts.

"The best thing teens can do is wait awhile before transporting other teens in their cars," AAA of Nevada spokeswoman Lisa Foster said. "Studies have shown that other teens in the car increase the distraction for the teen driver."

The accident that took Sneed's life was the second fatal accident involving groups of Las Vegas area high school students this year.

On May 9 near Las Vegas High School, passenger Natasha Keeter, 17, was killed instantly in a single-car crash on Sahara Avenue.

Unlicensed driver Ashley Troester, 16, later died of her injuries. Three other girls were seriously hurt as they headed back to school from an off-campus lunch.

Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, sponsored the original bill that would have required teens to go through three steps designed, among other things, to increase the amount of time learners spend supervised behind the wheel before they get full driving privileges.

Cegavske said she was unhappy with the compromises that were made then and thinks the law should be revisited.

Teens should be required to hold a learner's permit for a longer period before they can get a permanent license, she said. Currently 15- and 16-year-olds must have a learner's permit for 60 days before applying for a license.

But the success of changing the law depends on whether there is an appetite from other legislators, she said.

"I would like to see us do the right thing with graduated drivers licensing, and we haven't done that yet," she said. "If there's not an appetite, it's very hard to get something passed when you have so many legislators opposed to it."

Assembly woman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said she does not support putting more laws on the books that relate to teen driving. There are already laws against reckless driving, she said. In the case of the recent accidents, both drivers were violating the graduated license program.

"Passing a law does not necessarily solve the problem," Buckley said. "It's easy to say let's pass a law and things will improve. The sad thing is, that's just not true."

The law is nearly impossible to enforce and there have been few -- if any -- citations for 16-year-old drivers transporting underage passengers, Metro Police Lt. Wayne Petersen said.

Police can not stop drivers just because their passengers appear to be under 21, he said.

On the day of the Centennial High School accident, Metro's traffic team was two blocks away pulling over violators in school zones, Peterson said.

But calls to police from existing accidents are on the rise and officers has less time to spend on enforcement, Peterson said.

Buckley said the community should do more to educate teenagers about the dangers of driving and speeding. She also suggested more innovative driver's education classes.

Parents can be charged with a misdemeanor for contributing to the delinquency of a minor if they allow their child to break the law -- such as drive without a license -- but they rarely are.

In the case of the May 9 crash that killed Natasha Keeter, police believe the father allowed his daughter to drive, even though she did not have a learner's permit or driver's license.

District Attorney Stewart Bell said one thing the office has to consider when deciding whether to prosecute is whether it is in the public interest to do so.

Parents often pay the ultimate price for making poor decisions, when they lose a child.

"Sometimes we have to decide whether by prosecuting we're taking a step forward for the community or a step backward," Bell said. "We've have situations where parents have arguably made a judgment error and the judgment error has cost them the life of their child. ... Sometimes you have to say to yourself is there anything to be gained by doing something further."

Conviction of the misdemeanor could result in up to six months in jail. Most likely, though, such charges would warrant only a small fine, Bell said.

In both crashes Metro Police did not did not submit a case for prosecution. But even if Metro had, Bell said, his office would have had to decide what kind of message a criminal charge would send.

"We would have thought long and hard whether we were sending the proper message or if we were adding insult to injury and sending the message that we're insensitive," he said. "I don't know what the answer would be."

Attorney Rob Murdock, who is representing one the girls who was injured in the Las Vegas High crash, said the father should have been charged. Ashley Biersach had part of her leg amputated and took her first steps with a prosthetic last week.

Murdock said it will take prosecution of parents to stop the kind of accidents that injured Ashley.

"I frankly believe that a parent who allows their child to drive knowing the kid doesn't have a license and or violating (the graduated license law) should be held criminally liable," he said.

Parents can also be sued civilly for negligence, and there is no cap on damages, he added.

Foster, of AAA of Nevada, said parents could also see an increase in their insurance premiums if their child is in an accident.

The community needs to come together to support programs that encourage teens to be safe drivers, Metro's Petersen said, including help from parents, the school district and social groups. There needs to be more education about the dangers of hazardous driving, he said.

"You would think with the horrendous accident that happened at Las Vegas High School that teens would be taking their driving a little more seriously," he said. "But obviously teenagers being teenagers, they're going to be involved in some horseplay if they're inexperienced drivers.

"I don't know how we reach all of them to get the point across that driving is a serious responsibility and people are injured and killed every day."

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