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Teenagers
in Kentucky might have to park their dreams of obtaining a driver’s
license, at least for a little while longer.
The House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 90,
and the Senate followed suit, passing the bill 35-0.
And on Monday, the House gave final approval to the measure that
will limit drive time for new license holders.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher, who has endorsed the measure in the past,
is expected to sign the measure into law.
Under the bill, teen drivers would be required to go through a
180-day training period and 60 hours of supervised driving (10
at night) in order to even apply for a license.
If the driver completes the training period — without getting
a moving violation — they would receive an intermediate
license for another 180 days.
During the intermediate period, teens would be required to ride
with a licensed adult, who is at least 20 years of age, and would
not be allowed to drive from midnight to 6 a.m., unless it is
an emergency, or to school or work.
Any moving violations the driver receives would set them back
to the beginning of the six-month training period.
If the driver completes the one-year of training — without
any traffic violations — then they can apply for a driver’s
license.
Under the current law, teens can apply for a driver’s license
after having a learner’s permit for six months.
“I do not like it at all,” said Denny O’Toole,
who will turn 16 in August.
O’Toole has been riding to school and extracurricular events
with older brother Danny, a junior at Owen County High School,
but Denny had hoped to be able to drive on his own in the near
future.
“I’ll probably ride with my brother most of the time,”
Denny said. “I guess it’s not going to affect me too
bad, except, when I want to go places, I can’t.”
According to Kentucky.gov, teenagers make up 6 percent of all
drivers in the state, but account for 18 percent of the state’s
fatal crashes and 20 percent of the highway crashes.
But for someone like Emily Trammel, who will turn 16 in July,
getting her driver’s license will make life easier for her
and her family as she travels to and from sporting events.
“I don’t think it’s right,” she said of
the bill. “Some kids have to be able to get to sports or
other places where their parents are always taking them.”
Trammel said her mother attends college and constantly has to
juggle her schedule to accommodate Emily’s extracurricular
activities.
Emily had hoped to get her license as soon as possible to ease
her mother’s driving responsibilities.
“If your kids are playing sports, they’re always rushing
to get you to practice and rushing to pick you up,” Trammel
said of parents. “It helps if you have a license.”
Leslie McNay, who will turn 15 in July, has been eyeing the chance
to get a license for some time.
If the bill passes, the Owen County freshman might not be eligible
for her driver’s license until well into her junior year.
“I already have to wait long enough,” McNay said.
“I don’t want to have to wait even more.”
Rep. Tom Burch (D-Louisville) sponsored the bill, stating his
main reason for doing so was that he lost a teenage granddaughter
to an auto accident.
While most of the lawmakers support Burch, not all of the people
who uphold the law see the point of the new rule in a place such
as Owenton.
“I think that’s rather much,” Owenton Police
Chief Terry Gentry said. “That’s putting a little
too much stress on the parents and the children and may hurt people
financially.”
“I think the restrictions they have are good,” Gentry
said of the current laws. “I thought the six months (with
a learner’s permit) was a good idea.”
Gentry said the traffic reports in Owenton don’t point to
any particular age group as having more accidents or violations
than others and that the only real problems with teen drivers
in Owenton are spinning wheels in parking lots and sometimes driving
a little too fast.
He said he feels drivers should be judged on an individual basis
and that the main requirement in getting and keeping a driver’s
license should be whether or not the person is capable of driving
safely and within the laws.
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