Document text
Washington's teen drivers slapped with more restrictions under new law From staff and wire reports OLYMPIA -- As her 14-year-old grandson lay dying in a hospital after a car crash, Sue McDonald made him a promise: "Something good has to happen from this." On Friday, McDonald wept and then applauded as Gov. Gary Locke signed a bill restricting when and how teenagers can drive. McDonald said she believes the new law will save the lives of children like her grandson, Josh Raley. The Vancouver teen was killed in July after the car he was riding in, driven by a 16-year-old, was involved in a crash. In Jackson County, two teenagers died last week in separate car accidents in which 16-year-olds were at the wheel. Such accidents were what prompted the 1999 Oregon Legislature to pass legislation restricting privileges of new drivers. Beginning this month, teen drivers cannot drive with non-family passengers under 20 for the first six months; for the next six months, those drivers are limited to three passengers. Also, driving between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. is severely restricted for first-year drivers. The new Washington law will create an intermediate driver's license for people under the age of 18. Teen motorists will have to have at least 50 hours of adult-supervised driving experience and they'll be restricted from carrying passengers and driving late at night. The Washington state legislation follows on the heels of a Johns Hopkins School of Public Health study showing that the risk of a teenage driver dying increases with each additional passenger. The study was published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Locke said he expects the law to decrease the teen-driver accident rate by 20 percent, based on California's experience with a similar law. "But that's just a number," Locke said. "What this bill really means is that more teenagers will live to be at their own high school graduations. That's the best kind of freedom we can ask for our citizens." Opponents of the bill argued that restricting teen drivers should be the responsibility of parents, not the state. They also said the passenger limits could hurt students who carpool to athletic events and other activities. Some teens, of course, complained that adults were trying to unduly restrict their freedom. But that's a small price to pay, said Niki Raley-Boesch, Josh's mother. "If this could help other people not to have to go through this same situation, and to feel this way ..." she said. "I'm convinced it will save lives." The teen driver bill takes effect July 1, 2001. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA