House rejects teen passenger limits
Lawmakers approve changes that would allow couples to double-date, stay out to midnight. 2001 LEGISLATURE
Kathey Pruitt - Staff
Wednesday, March 14, 2001

Concerns about double-dating proved more powerful than accident statistics as the state House on Tuesday rejected teen driving restrictions that would have limited young drivers to a single passenger for their first two years on the road.

Instead, the House easily approved an amendment allowing up to three passengers in the car with 16- or 17-year-old drivers --- but no more than two people of the same gender --- to make it easier to double-date.

It's "part of the adolescent experience," explained Rep. Warren Massey (R-Winder), who proposed the change. Plus, "a lot of us had a concern (about) 16-year-old drivers out there single-dating without the moral protection of another couple in the back seat just to keep the temperature down," Massey said.

With the double-dating provision and a nighttime driving curfew for 16-year-olds pushed back from 10 p.m. to midnight, the state House unanimously approved a package of teen driving reforms that's undergone many revisions since its introduction in the Senate by a bipartisan group working with Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.

The measure is now expected to go to a House/Senate conference committee.

Under the House-approved version, 16-year-olds in Cobb, Gwinnett, Fulton and DeKalb counties would have to pass formal driver's education courses before qualifying for a license. Tougher on-road driving tests were postponed until more driver's license examiners are hired.

Until Tuesday, the one-passenger limit in Senate Bill 1 was about the only provision recommended by highway safety experts that hadn't been watered down as lawmakers tried to find a balance between protecting teens and crafting a bill that would pass the Legislature.

"They're looking at doing these things that sound good and don't work, rather than the things that do save lives," said Robb Foss of the Highway Safety Research Center at the University of North Carolina.

About 80 percent of serious teen driving accidents happen from about 9 p.m. to midnight, Foss said. And experts say with three passengers, accident risks climb by 182 percent and 207 percent for 16- and 17-year-olds, respectively.

Taylor said the double-dating provision is dangerous because "it guarantees in a serious accident there would be four people badly injured or potentially killed." But he said the Senate might be willing to negotiate on the curfew if it moves closer to 10 p.m.

Gov. Roy Barnes continued to champion the earlier curfew and one-passenger limit. "These are not empty ideas," spokeswoman Joselyn Butler said. "They address two of the most absolute causes of teenage accidents."

Once the measure gets to a conference committee, Rep. Bobby Parham (D-Milledgeville) said, it probably will continue working until "the last night, the last hour" of the session. Parham predicts the House will hold firm on the midnight curfew but may negotiate other aspects of the bill.

During a spirited debate Tuesday, some lawmakers tried to make driver's ed mandatory and strengthen curfews, while others wanted to abandon the proposed curfew hours or build in more exceptions, including permission slips from parents.

Imposing stricter teen driving restrictions "punishes the rural kids in this state," argued Rep. Brian Joyce (R-Lookout Mountain). "We don't have the traffic problem, . . . we don't have the congested highways you have in metro Atlanta. We don't have kids getting slaughtered on our streets."