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Licensed to learn Photo by Steve Johnson Shalon Punsuk, 15, gets her identification photo taken at the Medford DMV office after passing the test for her learner's permit. Teens face new driving challenges BY CHRIS BRISTOL Starting sometime next month, learning to drive is going to get a lot more restrictive for Oregon teenagers. For parents, it's going to get a lot more confusing. Joining a nationwide trend, the state Legislature recently passed a proposal that establishes a "provisional" license for drivers younger than 18 by limiting how many passengers they can carry and requiring up to 100 hours of certified behind-the-wheel practice. It also sets a one-year ban on driving between midnight and 5 a.m. If that sounds burdensome, it's meant to be. Teens are involved in a disproportionate share of bad accidents, and lawmakers want to save lives. But few Oregonians seem to know much about the bill. All that could change in a big hurry next month, when Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected to sign the bill into law. At the Medford Center DMV office Friday, Julie Punsuk had lots of questions about the license as her 16-year-old daughter, Shalon, took the learner's permit test. "What's the point of the driver's test?" she asked. "By taking the test, isn't that supposed to prove they're qualified to drive?" Not anymore. To get even a provisional license, the law would require parents to certify their teenagers practiced driving at least 50 hours with a licensed driver 21 or older. For teens who don't take a driver education course, it jumps to 100 hours. In the first six months of the license, teens younger than 18 would not be able to carry any passenger younger than 20 who is not a family member. For the next six months, the number of passengers would expand to no more than three nonfamily members younger than 20. The bill grants exceptions for travel to and from work or school activities or when a passenger age 25 or older (such as a parent) is present. How the law would be enforced remains to be seen. State police say it will be difficult to tell by sight how old drivers are, how long they've been driving, whether they are heading home from school or work and whether passengers are family members. Critics also say the bill will penalize lower-income families who can't afford to pay for driver's ed. Tammi Larson, 18, said she waited until Friday to get her learner's permit because education requirements in California, where she used to live, were simply too expensive. Instead, she bummed rides from friends at North Medford High School. "It was cheaper to just wait," she said. Punsuk, a pharmacy technician who took a long lunch break to make time for her daughter's test, questioned the 50-hour practice requirement and wondered aloud whether parents will simply fudge the certification. "I don't have 50 hours to spare," she said. "How are they gonna prove 50 hours, anyway? Are you supposed to keep a log?" As for limitations on passengers, she expressed confidence that her daughter, a varsity cheerleader at South Medford High who is active with her church youth group, will be a safe and conscientious driver. "I don't want to drive her everywhere," she said. "That's one of the reasons she's learning to drive." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA