Ridge plans driver’s license reforms

By MATT WUNSCHE
Collegian Staff Writer

Spurred on by the high occurrence of fatal accidents among young drivers, Gov. Tom Ridge in his January radio address called for driver's-licensing reforms that will affect when Pennsylvanians can receive full driving privileges.

Among proposed changes, teen-age drivers would keep learners' permits for at least six months, be required to have 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training and have to be off the road by 11 p.m., which Ridge hopes will reduce the death rate among teen drivers.

"Limiting their hours of driving will give them fewer opportunities for dangerous situations," Ridge said in the address.

Though the planned policy changes may seem drastic, it is unknown how much they will be altered when they go through the legislative process, said Gretchen Toner, deputy press secretary for Ridge.

Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, said he expects most of the legislature to support the current proposals.

"With I-99 coming through the area, we need to make sure that all the drivers are as prepared to be on the road as possible," he said.

But some people, including teen-age drivers and their parents, disagree about the potential effectiveness of the proposal in its current form.

"The responsibility is still on the parents (to set the time their children must be home)," said Katie Eberly, 17, of State College.

Jim Eberly, Katie's father, agrees moving the curfew will not make a big difference in the way young people drive.

"If a kid has 10 minutes to make a 12-minute drive home, they will still drive too fast, whether it's at 11 or 12," he said.

However, he said, the other proposed reforms will be more likely to make a difference because they will require young people to have more experience before being issued a senior license.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which made the original recommendations in a report to the governor's office, provided statistical evidence to support the proposed changes.

Fourteen percent of 16-year-old drivers in Pennsylvania were involved in reportable crashes in 1997, while only 7 percent of 18-year-olds were involved in such accidents, said Laura Templeton, PennDOT spokesperson. The rate continues to decline steadily until it bottoms out at 2 percent among drivers 55 and older.

"Time and again, all these studies show (teen) crashes are due to two main factors: immaturity and inexperience," Templeton said. "We want to make sure that young drivers get as much on-the-road experience as possible."

The number of fatal accidents among 16- and 17-year-old drivers has been increasing steadily since 1994, and the proposed reforms are the effort of PennDOT and the governor to curb the trend, Templeton said. Forty-seven 16- and 17-year-olds were killed behind the wheel in 1997, and 88 others were killed in accidents involving young drivers in Pennsylvania.

"The overconfidence and risk-taking behavior that often comes with youth can lead young drivers into situations they just don't have the skills to handle," Ridge said in the address.

"We need to keep young drivers alive so they can grow out of risky behavior and learn the skills that only experience and maturity can teach."