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Lawmaker advocates tougher teen-driving law Thursday, Oct 11, 2007 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Arkansas needs stiffer restrictions on young drivers because the state continues to rank high nationally fatal accidents involving teens, a state legislator said Wednesday. Rep. Gene Shelby, D-Hot Springs, said he would introduce legislation during the 2009 regular session to add new requirements to Arkansas' graduated driver's license law. "One of my greatest disappointments from our regular session this year was the fact that we were not able to pass the bill that set out some really good guidelines for graduated driver's licenses," Shelby said during a state Capitol ceremony commemorating National Teen Driver Safety Week. The measure passed the Senate but failed on the House floor. Arkansas ranks first in the nation in the number of fatal wrecks in the 15-24 age group with 48.5 per 100,000, according to the Arkansas Citizens for Graduated Drivers License Coalition. The coalition is comprised of medical professionals, law enforcement groups, lawmakers, transportation associations and other organizations. On Wednesday, Shelby, an emergency room doctor, recalled being on duty at a Hot Springs Hospital this year when a 15-year-old girl was brought in with severe injuries sustained in a car wreck. The patient later died. The driver of the vehicle also was 15 and the wreck occurred at night when the speeding care topped a hill and struck a tree. "This was such a tragedy," Shelby said. "I spent the rest of that shift really thinking about things that we can and should do to try to prevent some of these terrible accidents." Shelby said the bill he envisions would be nearly identical to legislation that failed this year. The measure would have raised the age for a learner's permit from 14 to 15. A licensed driver under 18 would have been limited to carrying one passenger, unless an adult were present, and would have been prohibited from using a cell phone to talk or text message while driving and prohibited from driving between 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Also, failure to wear a seatbelt would have been a primary offense, meaning police could stop and ticket a driver under 18 for not wearing a seatbelt. Shelby said an important aspect of his proposal would be limiting the number of teenagers in a vehicle. "Studies are really pretty amazing that once you get over two or three teenagers in a car the fatality rate goes up pretty dramatically." |
