(Atlanta-AP) -- With only one day left in the session, the
final round in the fight over raising the driving age to 17 has begun with both
sides unwilling to throw in the towel.
In one corner,
the undefeated Governor Barnes came out punching today to support his proposal
to raise the solo driving age to 17 in four metro Atlanta counties -- Fulton,
DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett.
Barnes stood in the north
wing of the Capitol, backed by 50 teen-agers from Atlanta area high schools, to
tell the members of the Georgia House that -- quote -- ``even one young life is
too much to sacrifice, and we need to do something now.''
In the opposite corner, House Motor Vehicles Chairman Bobby Parham, a
Democrat from Milledgevile, and other legislators in the House oppose raising
the driving age and plan to fight the governor's proposal.
Parham said -- quote -- ``I'm going to push hard the other way.
I'm not going to capitulate my position on it, but I might get
beat.''
Barnes said raising the driving age in metro
Atlanta would immediately save the lives of 16-year-old drivers. But Parham and
other rural legislators don't like the idea.
Barnes
said he does not know if he has the votes to raise the driving age tomorrow, but
win or lose, he plans to keep fighting to raise the driving age.