AAA Michigan: House Amendment Weakens Teen Passenger Legislation

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 30, 2003 -- Legislation designed to strengthen Michigan's Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) law was passed by the House in an amended form that weakens the ability of the law to save lives, AAA Michigan said today (October 30).

The intent of HB 4600, sponsored by Rep. Edward J. Gaffney (R-Grosse Pointe Farms), is to reduce crash rates by limiting the number of passengers who can accompany a novice driver. In its amended form, the bill allows teen drivers to obtain written permission from their parents or guardians to drive with as many passengers as they wish.

AAA Michigan believes the bill as amended is unenforceable and strips away the original intention of the legislation. HB 4600 next goes to the Senate for a vote.

AAA Michigan urges the Michigan Senate to reinstate the original language and intent of the bill. In its current state, HB 4600 does little to help prevent the needless loss of life experienced by Michigan youth.

In late July, a deadly Fowlerville crash involving eight teens focused statewide attention on novice driver laws. The age of the driver, 16, his teenage passengers and time of day, all played a role in the crash.

According to a summary of recent research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the presence of passengers strongly increases crash risk for teenage drivers; the more passengers the greater the risk. In one particular study, said IIHS, the presence of just one passenger can increase the crash risk by 50 percent. With three or more teen passengers, the crash risk is nearly four times greater when compared with driving alone.

Young drivers are easily distracted by passengers, and are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviors. And passengers from the same peer group present many opportunities for distraction. Simply the act of turning around to talk to someone can cause unnecessary risk. These opportunities for distraction, combined with a lack of real-world driving experience among teen drivers, create a recipe for disaster.

In Michigan, licensed drivers 16 years of age or older may currently drive without supervision and with no limits on the number and ages of passengers. It is estimated that 345 lives could be saved each year nationwide with the enactment of passenger restrictions for our least experienced young drivers. Further restrictions on nighttime driving would save even more lives.

According to a 2001 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study, passenger restrictions alone, added to the existing strong sanctions for novice drivers, would effectively strengthen Michigan's current GDL and potentially prevent 44,000 crashes, 14,000 injuries and save more than $300 million in societal costs over a 10-year period.

The fate of HB 4600 now rests in the hands of the Michigan Senate. A 2001 Harris Poll shows a three-to-one majority (74 percent to 23 percent) supports limiting the number of teen passengers in the car with a teen driver and supervised driving during high-risk periods, such as nighttime.

To contact a state senator on this issue, visit the Michigan State Senate on the Web at: http://senate.michigan.gov/

In 1997, Michigan led the nation by implementing the first comprehensive 3-tier Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) law, which mandated 50 hours of supervised driving experience and placed some limits on nighttime driving. Michigan's law failed to include important provisions that would limit the number of passengers and extend nighttime driving restrictions for optimal effect.

Since the introduction of GDL in 1997, crash rates among novice drivers have been cut by as much as 25 percent statewide.