FAQs
Driver's license delay could save lives
By CURT SLYDER
cslyder@journalandcourier.com
If a local state representative has his way, Indiana teens will have to wait a little longer to get their driver's licenses.
State Rep. Joe Micon, D-West Lafayette, is proposing a graduated driver's license, or GDL, that would, among other things, raise the age for teens to get their learner's permits and licenses. The measure also would prohibit drivers under 18 from using cell phones.
“ Talking on the cell phone while driving is absolutely the most obnoxious thing on the road -- and dangerous,” said Katherine Morrison, 17, a West Lafayette High School senior.
She said she thinks that part of the bill is a great idea.
Still, reaction to various parts of the bill, which Micon plans to introduce in the legislative session in January, has been mixed.
A GDL is a three-stage system designed to introduce teen drivers to more complex driving situations gradually as they gain more experience. In Indiana, teen drivers can first obtain a learner's permit, then a probationary license and finally a regular license.
The premise of the bill
The whole idea, according to Micon, is to reduce crashes.
“ States that have recently moved to strengthen their GDL laws have seen a 38 percent decline in the number of fatal accidents involving 16-year-old drivers, ” Micon said.
According to Micon, Indiana's current GDL law is one of the weakest in the nation.
The current law allows a learner's permit at age 15, a probationary license for someone who is 16 years and 30 days old, and a regular license three months after that.
“ My proposal would draw a distinction between teens who have had and teens who have not had driver's ed, ” Micon said.
A teen who has taken driver's education could get a learner's permit at 15 years and six months. Without driver's ed, teens could get a permit at 16.
With driver's ed, a teen could get a probationary license at 16 years and six months under Micon's proposal. Without driver's ed, a teen could get it at 17.
Under Micon's bill, the probationary license would last six months.
What they think
Lori Allen, a parent in Brookston, likes that idea. “ It gives kids a chance to gain some more maturity, ” she said.
Allen's 14-year-old son, Colby, will be getting his permit in January when he turns 15. If Micon's bill were a law right now, he couldn't do that.
Lori Allen doesn't mind. “ I think he wouldn't like it, though, ” she said.
West Lafayette High School senior Beck Lillianfeld, 18, thinks it's unfair to push driver's ed. An expensive course at most schools, driver's ed is not in every family's budget, he said. Micon's proposal is “ giving benefits to people who are able to cough up $500, ” she said.
“ Perhaps they would be willing to subsidize driver's ed, ” Lillianfeld said.
Micon's proposal would also require students with learner's permits to log 50 hours behind the wheel. The completed logs would have to be presented when teens took their driving tests, he said.
Teens with probationary licenses would not be allowed to have any other teens in the car during the first three months of their probationary licenses, Micon said.
During the second three months, one extra teen would be allowed in the car. Fines could range up to $500 for the teen driver, as well as for the teen passenger, Micon said.
“ I'm responsible for taking my brother and sisters home and to and from school, ” West Lafayette High School senior Silai Mirzoy said. She's 17. “ So I don't think it's realistic to say you can have only this many people in the car. ”
But all three West Lafayette teens liked the bill overall.
Phone calls, late nights
Micon's proposal would also make it illegal for teens with probationary licenses to drive between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. seven days a week, unless it's for school, work or church-related activities.
Right now those restrictions are between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
“ I have a 17-year-old, ” said Roberta Crabtree, co-instructor for Tippecanoe County's Drive Rite program sponsored by the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service. ” I wish we had all these rules now. They all seem fairly reasonable. ”
The Drive Rite program serves as a supplement to driver's ed, giving teens and parents classroom instructions and driving assignments.
Monte Snyder owns the Milestone Driving School in Lafayette. Though he likes the bill overall, he thinks the age restrictions are too much.
“ Driving competence depends on the person, ” Snyder said, “ not their age. ”
Though people had different things to say about parts of the bill, few have problems with the cell phone restrictions.
“ Kids have enough distractions, ” Allen said. “ They don't need cell phones, too. ”
But Morrison thinks teen drivers aren't the only ones who should have cell phones banned.
“ They should make that illegal for everyone, ” Morrison said.
The insurance industry and other legislators are behind this bill, Micon said. He said a similar bill passed through the Senate earlier this year, but didn't see action in the House of Representatives.
“ That's because the House speaker didn't want two major, highway-related bills at the same time, ” Micon said.
During the most recent session, the legislature passed a bill requiring seat belt use for passengers in pickup trucks, SUVs and minivans.
Micon said his bill is a little stronger than the one debated earlier this year.
But “ it's fairly simple and strikes a good balance, ” he said. “ And the net result will be a drastic reduction in fatalities. ”