SOBERING NEWS FOR YOUNG DRIVERS: Laws just got tougher, but some teens might not get it
Kathey Pruitt - Staff
Thursday, April 12, 2001

Even after a school assembly to explain it, Denise Crenshaw and her friends at Duluth High School admitted Wednesday they'll need a cheat sheet to keep up with Georgia's new teen driving law.

But they're sure little will change, despite the stronger restrictions signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Roy Barnes.

"It's confusing," said Denise, who, at 16, pronounced herself "a good driver."

"No matter what you do, no matter how strong the laws get, kids are going to do what they want to do, anyway," she said.

Whether they obey or not, by next January, Georgia teens will face an expanded midnight-to-6 a.m. driving curfew, along with passenger restrictions for 16-year-olds and new requirements to get and keep a license.

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor called the bipartisan measure an attempt to help "the parents of Georgia who toss and turn at night wondering when their teen will be home, for those parents who are startled by the telephone when it rings at night (and for) parents who dread turning on the 11 p.m. news." This week, the stepdaughter of state Rep. Randal Mangham (D-Decatur) died in an auto accident.

The first revision in Georgia's teen driving laws in four years is not likely to be the last. As he signed the new law, Barnes promised next year to resume his push to raise the driving age to 17 --- an initiative that legislators refused to pass this year.

First, though, teens and their parents will have to overcome what Taylor acknowledges is "a lot of initial confusion" about the new provisions. Taylor's explanation of the changes at an assembly at the Gwinnett County school just after the bill signing shows officials have a lot of educating --- and convincing --- to do.

A few muted boos greeted his address. Teens who already have their licenses said they were convinced the measure won't apply to them.

While some said they'll be safer drivers because of the new restrictions, others panned as unenforceable the nighttime driving curfews and a ban on all unrelated passengers for the first six months a new driver is behind the wheel.

"That's kind of lame," 17-year-old James Savel said. "I don't think anyone's really going to abide by it because the cops are not going to scrutinize it. It's there, but it's like it's meant to be broken."

State officials plan an intensive educational campaign this fall --- brochures and videos distributed in every high school and ads on TV, radio and in newspapers --- to explain the law and try to change attitudes.

Not everyone was as dismissive of the bill as some Duluth students. Highway safety experts saw some of their most sought-after provisions in the bill rebuffed by rural lawmakers, but they nonetheless praised the new law as a way to tackle the problem of youngsters dying on the roads.

Now, Georgia will have "one of the toughest" teen driving laws in the country, said Dr. John O'Shea, who tracks injury issues for the Georgia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "There were not as many changes as we would have liked, . . . but I think we'll get some improvements."

> ON THE WEB: What impact will the teen driving law have?

http://www.accessatlanta.com/autos/special/teensdrive.html

ROAD RULES
Some key provisions of the teen driving bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Roy Barnes and effective Jan. 1:
Anyone applying for a driver's license for the first time must complete a driver's education course. The course can be either a formal one, taught by an approved driver's training school, plus 20 hours of other supervised experience, or it can be an informal one involving at least 40 hours of supervised driving instruction from an individual. Either way, at least six hours of the supervised driving instruction must be at night.
Without exception, 16- and 17-year-old drivers will be prohibited from driving between midnight and 6 a.m. That's a change from the current curfew of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m., which included exceptions for work and school activities.
Teenage drivers will not be allowed to carry any nonfamily passengers for the first six months after they get their license. After six months, they will be limited to three nonfamily passengers until they turn 18.
Teens who get two tickets for almost any moving violations within a year will have their license suspended for six months. All driving tests will have to be administered on the road, rather than in a parking lot driving around orange traffic cones. Enforcement of this part of the law will be delayed until the state hires enough driving instructors, particularly in metro Atlanta, to handle the workload.
--- Staff and wire reports