Phased-In Driving Law Hits Nerve

Many Spokane area parents would like to put the brakes on their teens’ plans to speed away in the family car.

An informal readers poll showed parents favoring a graduated driver’s licensing law 4-to-1.

The proposed law, which passed the Washington state Senate but is stalled in the House, would put an intermediate step between the learner’s permit and a regular driver’s license.

“I wish it would pass tomorrow,” said the mom of a 15-year-old girl.

“As a mother of a 14-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter, I’ve been wondering when Washington state was going to get with the program,” said another mom.

Graduated licensing programs are growing in popularity, with 22 states adopting some kind of phased-in driving law.

For parents hoping to slow down their teens long enough to talk to them, the proposed law might be a blessing. It requires teenagers to spend at least 50 hours driving under the supervision of a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old. At least 10 of those hours need to include night driving.

Before getting an intermediate license, teenagers must drive with a learner’s permit for at least six months and pass a road test and driver education course.

An intermediate license also carries restrictions. For the first six months, the driver can’t have any passengers under the age of 21 in the car unless they are immediate family. After the first six months, a licensee can’t have more than three passengers in the car under the age of 21 unless they are family.

The licensee can’t drive between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. except under the following conditions: driving with a parent or guardian, driving between work and home or school and home, or driving from one farm to another.

The driver graduates to a regular license at age 18.

If passed, the law would take effect July 1, 2001.

Several parents who wrote or called praised the proposal for giving them a legal weapon against their teens’ fight for total freewheeling.

“It helps parents stick to their guns,” a woman said.

“If regulations were in the hands of the law, I believe we would have a much easier time curtailing our kids’ desires to drive immediately when they turn 16,” wrote another woman.

Some who disliked the law thought the state was going too far.

“It upsets me that the government through force of law is going to tell me how to raise my child in regard to driving a motor vehicle,” wrote one woman.

One man angrily declared the law a “communist plot.”

Only one teenager responded to the call for comments. Not surprisingly, she was less than pleased.

“I don’t think it’s fair for the state to change our driving rights just because the higher generation has screwed up,” she said.

Let’s try this again

In the last Getting There column, a reader asked if there was any rationale behind assigning addresses in the city of Spokane.

We gave a long, convoluted answer involving east, west, north and south. But as pointed out by a few readers, there’s a much simpler explanation.

Al Gilson, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, put it this way: “If you’re driving away from Division Street or Sprague Avenue, even numbers are always on the right.”

Reader question

Q. Are there plans to landscape Interstate 90 once construction is completed?

A. To save money, the DOT no longer plants anything that needs irrigation or mowing, said spokesman Gilson. “We try to plant low-maintenance vegetation.”

Three areas of I-90 currently are under construction - the Broadway to Argonne widening project and new interchanges at Sprague and Evergreen avenues. Once work is completed, the DOT plans to fill the dirt piles with several types of greenery.

Erosion-control grasses like silky lupine, blue wild rye and Idaho fescue will be planted along the freeway once construction is completed.

Shrubs such as rubber rabbitbrush, mockorange and antelope bitterbrush will be planted along I-90 between Broadway and Argonne. And, the DOT plans to plant 1,760 ponderosa pine seedlings near the Evergreen interchange.

It’s hard to miss them.

Spring is on its way, so driving about town may get increasingly bumpy.

If you run into a pothole, let the city or county know. For a city pothole, call 625-7733. For a county pothole, call 477-2547.

Hot spots

Interstate 90 and Sprague Avenue interchange: Crews will be working on the median. Eastbound I-90 may be reduced to two lanes near Havana between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

I-90 and Evergreen Road interchange: Work on Nora adjacent to I-90 may require lane restrictions.

This sidebar appeared with the story: NUMBERS Your ideas

Getting There runs every other Monday. Have a transportation question that’s been nagging you? Let us hear it. Got an idea for a column? Drop us a line. Phone us at (509)459-5312 or fax us at (509)459-5482. Send e-mail to kristinaj@spokesman.com or send a note to Kristina Johnson at The Spokesman Review, 999 W. Riverside, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Please leave a name and telephone number.