Young North Carolinians who want to drive before age 18 would have to spend a lot of quality time driving with their parents under a Senate-approved bill to change the state's graduated licensing system for teen drivers.
I'm writing more about this today. If you're under 18 or the parent of an under-18 driver, I'd like to get your thoughts. Please contact me at 919-829-4527 or bruce.siceloff@newsobserver.com (don't forget your name and contact info).
To receive a Level 2 limited provisional license, a driver between 16 and 18 would have to maintain a log detailing at least 120 hours of supervised driving with a parent or other qualified adult.
"It's a lot of hours," said the sponsor of SB 636, Sen. David Rouzer, a Johnston County Republican. "We've got a lot of deaths on the highway, too. What do you do? We've got to do something."
No other state requires long hours of adult-supervised driving for teens, and some safety experts said they don't know whether such a requirement would have any benefits. There were concerns that many teens and parents would consider the log, the 120 hours and other details in Rouzer's bill too onerous.
No more than 10 hours per week would count toward the 120-hour total, and at least 10 hours of night driving would be required. The supervising adult driver would have to sign the student's driving log for submission to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Rouzer's bill cleared the Senate on a 49-0 vote last week and will be considered Wednesday by the House Judiciary Subcommittee B.
Bruce Siceloff reports on traffic and transportation. A News & Observer reporter, editor and blogger since 1976, he took over the
Comments
car seats
Tue, 06/14/2011 - 18:26 — outhousecatI thought that's what the learner's permit was for. I don't think it's going to make any difference how many hours kids drive with their parents. When they get off by themselves or with friends, they're going to behave differenly anyway. Hopefully, they'll survive just like we all did. You can't keep them in the car seat forever.
TEEN DRIVERS
Tue, 06/14/2011 - 19:03 — ahmbdmA very foolish comment, indeed...teen drivers will drive as well (or as poorly) as the parents charged with shepherding them through the learner's-permit phase.
The day my son informed me that his friend was a terrible driver, I asked him to elaborate. His response: "_____ wastes so much gas...he flies up to every stoplight [or stop sign], then slams on his brakes!"
Eureka! All the parental training and education paid off in a big way.
My reward: A highly skilled driver, with no citations or accidents to date (he is now 21-1/2) who, like me, only owns and drives vehicles equipped with manual transmission. Not only does this keep him focused on his driving, it also saves on fuel, gives him better control in adverse conditions, and makes driving a much more pleasurable experience than mindlessly allowing the all-too-automatic heap to do the driving for him!