Free Press –
Teen Drivers
Dear Friends,
Good morning. Do you know why the legislature has not passed restrictions for teenage drivers? Any one with a bit of intelligence understands that a 16, 17, or 18 year old has a much higher chance of being in a fatal accident when that teen has other teenagers in the car. My October 27th column in 2005 shows that the legislature has not done a blessed thing about these tragedies…even though they know that junior drivers are an obvious menace.
The state representatives and senators with whom I’ve interviewed all acknowledge the problem. I doubt that there is any state legislator who doesn’t believe that putting restrictions on young drivers would save lives. So, why doesn’t the state legislature get cracking?
What has happened to House Bill 1904 which would prohibit junior drivers (age 16 and 17) from taking more than one passenger under age 18 except immediate family members? What has happened to House Bill 787, which is identical to H.B. 1904 except H.B. 787, has no exceptions?
The answer?
“Nothing,”
replied Theresa Podguski, the Director of Public Affairs at
Within the last three weeks, I’ve read stories in area and national newspapers about fatal automobile accidents involving teens. Two Wilson Township teens were killed in a crash north of Allentown. Four died in a fiery crash in central New Jersey. The driver was 17 and he had two passengers, one 16 and one 17. School had just closed for the day.
The third story appeared in the New York Times (Jan. 25). “Driving with passengers is generally safer than driving alone, at least for adults, studies have found,” Matthew Wald wrote. “But if the driver and passengers are teenagers, the risk of a fatal crash rises. Add more teenagers and the risk goes up more.
“Highway safety specialists are trying to change that with a series of public service television ads intended to persuade teenagers that it is O.K. to complain if the driver is going too fast or being too wild.
“Young people are concerned about being confrontational or insulting,” the article continued. “[Teens] certainly don’t want to be labeled “the mom,” or put a bad vibe on the dynamic.
“Paradoxically, teenagers are far
quicker to accept guidance from peers than from older people,” the
Since 2001, 13 Bucks and Lehigh Valley teens have died in seven automobile accidents, according to the Morning Call (Jan. 22). Three of them were from Pennridge High School. In each case, there were several teen passengers in cars driven by teens.
So why doesn’t the legislature come to grips with this problem?
I asked Podguski whether the comments that she made in my 2005 column were still valid. They are. She said then, and does today, that teens are more likely to take risks as drivers. Studies show that teens get into accidents far more than older drivers.”
Her answer coincides with an assessment from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). “That risk increases when a teen driver has other teens in the car,” CDC reported. “Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed, run red lights, and drive drunk. They also have the lowest rate of seat-belt usage. Eighteen percent of high school students surveyed said they rarely or never wear seat belts when they are passengers.”
Several years ago, Podguski told me
that the
She also pointed to two interesting studies. The National Transportation Safety Board reported that carrying at least three teen passengers results in a threefold increase in the probability of a teen in that vehicle being killed. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) says that children are three times more likely to be seriously injured when the driver is a teenager rather than an adult.
“A Johns Hopkins study found that the chances that a 16 year-old driver would die in a crash increase 39 percent with a single teen passenger; 86 percent with two teen passengers and 182 percent with three or more teen passengers,” Podguski told me.
Teens think that they are invincible, I wrote in 2005. That’s why parents need to be parents. And if parents can’t figure that out, the legislature becomes the last hope…which takes me back to the question that I asked at the beginning of this column. Why won’t the state legislature get these bills out of committee, pass and send them to the Governor for his signature?
Here’s my answer: Because Pennsylvania doesn’t have term limits. The legislature feels no urgency. If legislators had no more than 12 years before they had to quit, restrictions on teen drivers would have become law decades ago.
It’s enough to make one weak.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith
PS. As I wrote in last week’s column, don’t forget the
Quakertown Band Concert this Sunday (March 4) at