Driving limits on teens stall
Stiffer DUI penalties, road rage law advance
Kathey Pruitt - Staff
Tuesday, February 27, 2001

Georgia lawmakers eagerly cracked down on drunken driving and road rage Monday, while putting the brakes on legislation that would further restrict teen drivers.

Gov. Roy Barnes' proposal for an 18-county metro Atlanta no-drive zone for 16-year-olds remains stalled in the General Assembly. Yet the state House easily approved his other highway safety goals: tougher DUI penalties and a new crime --- aggressive driving --- punishable byy a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

Today, a House committee is expected to shorten by two hours a proposed 10 p.m.-to-6 a.m. driving curfew for 16-year-olds. Key lawmakers said they'll add exemptions to let teens drive at any hour to or from activities related to work, school or church.

Also, the House Motor Vehicles Committee indicated it will delay tougher, mandatory on-road tests for new teen drivers, a provision that's already passed the Senate, because there aren't enough examiners to administer the tests.

Barnes' metro no-drive zone for unsupervised 16-year-olds --- the most controversial provision in his highway safety bill --- was never mentioned in more than an hour of debate in the House. The governor's floor leaders did not attempt to restore the provision, deleted in committee last week. But Barnes will continue to push the issue in the Senate, aides said. "It's something we do still support and hope to see happen," Barnes spokeswoman Joselyn Butler said.

Mandatory on-road tests are expected to be postponed until enough money can be found to pay for about 50 new driver's license examiners. With rural lawmakers complaining about the potential impact of nighttime driving restrictions on school events and part-time jobs, House leaders on the issue are pushing to change the Senate's 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. driving prohibition for 16-year-olds to midnight to 6 a.m.

"We're already 30 (examiner) positions short," said Rep. Bobby Parham (D-Milledgeville), House Motor Vehicles Committee chairman. "If we threw in the on-road test requiring 30 minutes of the driver's license examiners' time, we would have lines from here to Milledgeville."

Barnes has supported the extended curfew and the on-road testing, in addition to the metro Atlanta no-drive zone.

"I'm sure he'll go full blast in the Senate," Parham said of the governor. "He's the best legislative engineer I've ever dealt with. He knows how to use the system."

Other provisions of Barnes' bill remained intact, despite at least 14 attempts to amend the DUI, open container and road rage proposals. House Bill 385, now headed to the Senate, lowers the threshold at which a driver may be automatically charged with DUI to a blood alcohol count of .08, down from .10. It also mandates a one-year license suspension for repeat offenders --- with a second or third DUI over a five-year period --- and applies the prohibition on open containers of alcohol in personal vehicles to cover passengers as well as drivers who've consumed alcohol.

"The biggest killer on our highway is alcohol," said Barnes' floor leader, Rep. Charlie Smith (D-St. Marys). He waved a bourbon bottle --- filled with sweet tea --- to make his point.

Georgia would become the sixth state to establish as a crime aggressive driving, marked by tailgating, reckless driving or behavior to intimidate another driver.

Advocates of stronger DUI laws praised the initiatives, which lawmakers said were necessary to keep the state from losing more than $218 million in federal highway funds over the next five years. "They cast a vote today to save lives," said Raymon White of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Several Republican lawmakers argued the legislation isn't strong enough and tried to mandate longer jail time for repeat offenders. Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) unsuccessfully pushed to impose the death penalty for some drunken drivers who kill other motorists.

Others argued the road rage penalties are unnecessary since the state already has laws against reckless driving. "Are we now going to ticket people for getting mad?" asked Rep. Bill Jackson (R-Appling).

Republicans tacked on two amendments: exempting people who pick up aluminum cans for recycling from being charged under the open container bill, and allowing teens under 21 who lose their license to get a learner's permit for the suspension period.

TEEN RESTRICTIONS
House subcommittee considering relaxing nighttime driving restrictions and mandatory on-road driving test provisions in Senate teen driving bill pushed by Lt. Gov Mark Taylor and Sen. Phil Gingrey. The Senate bill calls for 40 hours of driving instruction for a license, a 10 p.m.-to-6 a.m. curfew, on-road driving tests, more stringent training requirements for young drivers and limits on the number of passengers teen drivers may transport.
WHAT'S NEXT
Taylor-Gingrey Senate bill (SB1) goes before full House Motor Vehicles Committee today.

WHAT HAPPENED
House approves committee's revision of Barnes administration highway safety bill.
WHAT IT MEANS
Extends prohibition against open containers in private vehicles to cover passengers, but exempts drivers who haven't been drinking.
Lowers the presumed level of intoxication for drivers to .08 percent blood alcohol from the current .10 percent.
Suspends driver's licenses for a year for repeat DUI offenders and seizes license tags, or requires ignition locking devices that determine whether a driver has been drinking.
Establishes a new crime --- aggressive driving --- for road rage. (House version deletes no-drive zone for unsupervised 16-year-olds in 18 metro counties.)
The Barnes administration highway safety bill goes to Senate committee.