Panel Kills Graduated Driving Plan Bill Would Have Required Teen Drivers To Log More Hours Of Supervised Experience

A plan for graduated driver’s licensing intended to lower the number of fatal accidents among teens was killed 6-5 in a House committee Monday afternoon.

“I am heartsick over this,” said Beth Weaver, a representative for Idaho driving instructors. “This is about our kids.”

Dave Carlson of the Idaho Automobile Association of America supported the bill and said the graduated process would help reduce the number of teen driving accidents by requiring more behind-the-wheel experience for drivers in training.

In Idaho, teens between the ages of 15 and 19 account for 9 percent of Idaho drivers. But 22 percent of all fatal and injury accidents involve teen drivers.

Carlson pitched the bill to House Transportation Committee members, calling it “a reasonable approach that avoids heavy-handed government and advocates parental involvement.”

Rep. Tim Ridinger, R-Shoshone, disagreed and said the bill was “heavy-handed, treating all teen drivers the same.”

Ridinger said that although some teens enter driver’s training already driving relatively well, other kids don’t know the first thing about driving a car. The graduated licensing system, he said, may seem redundant for the more-experienced students.

Rep. Horace Pomeroy, R-Boise, saw the issue as urban vs. rural. By the time children of farmers are 15, he said, they often have much of the experience the graduated licensing system would require. But before they could obtain their licenses, they would have to complete 50 hours of supervised driving.

Other committee members said the system ignored those rural issues.

Rep. Frank Bruneel, R-Lewiston, said a majority of his constituents would not embrace the bill, even though everyone who testified at the hearing supported the plan. “If we want to make an impact on safety, we’re looking at the wrong thing here,” he said. “We may be better off telling teens they can’t drive until they’re 18.”

Carlson was “disappointed” with the committee’s decision, and said the committee didn’t realize what an effect the graduated system could have on teen driving accidents.

“Florida implemented the system in 1996,” he said. “In just one year, the number of fatal accidents involving teens dropped 9 percent.”

He added that the legislation wouldn’t change Idaho’s fundamental method of licensing drivers, it would just require more experience and more parental involvement. “How can they disapprove of something that promotes parental involvement?”