Post by Nikkol on Dec 16, 2009 11:28:26 GMT -5
Lawmaker Wants To Ban Teens From Cars
PHILADELPHIA - Bucks County state Rep. Kathy Watson wants to ban more than two teens from being in the same car after another fatal accident involving high school students.
The latest accident near Pottstown killed two students and injured four others.
AAA is also backing Watson’s bill in the Pennsylvania state legislature.
Watson says research shows that a large group of teens in a car driven by another teen is more likely to cause a fatal accident than a cell phone or texting distraction.
“I’ve been working on this for four years and it boils down to three simple points,” Watson said.
“You reduce the number of teen passengers who are in the vehicle operated by a junior driver,” she said.
“We want to increase the number of hours of training,” Watson said.
“We would require that under the age of 18, you have to be buckled up. More fatalities come from people being ejected from cars.”
Watson says under her bill, only one teen driver and one teen passenger could be in the car, unless there are siblings in the car.
“That is the greatest distraction,” she said about a large group of teens talking in the same car.
“These are all good kids. It is a function of their growing to adulthood.”
She also said additional training is needed to show kids how to cope with driving in bad weather and with night driving.
Watson discarded objections that a law to regulate teen driving is too intrusive by government.
She said parents want help with advice and want the law to back them up when they discuss these ideas with their children.
PHILADELPHIA - Bucks County state Rep. Kathy Watson wants to ban more than two teens from being in the same car after another fatal accident involving high school students.
The latest accident near Pottstown killed two students and injured four others.
AAA is also backing Watson’s bill in the Pennsylvania state legislature.
Watson says research shows that a large group of teens in a car driven by another teen is more likely to cause a fatal accident than a cell phone or texting distraction.
“I’ve been working on this for four years and it boils down to three simple points,” Watson said.
“You reduce the number of teen passengers who are in the vehicle operated by a junior driver,” she said.
“We want to increase the number of hours of training,” Watson said.
“We would require that under the age of 18, you have to be buckled up. More fatalities come from people being ejected from cars.”
Watson says under her bill, only one teen driver and one teen passenger could be in the car, unless there are siblings in the car.
“That is the greatest distraction,” she said about a large group of teens talking in the same car.
“These are all good kids. It is a function of their growing to adulthood.”
She also said additional training is needed to show kids how to cope with driving in bad weather and with night driving.
Watson discarded objections that a law to regulate teen driving is too intrusive by government.
She said parents want help with advice and want the law to back them up when they discuss these ideas with their children.
