State Senate Approves Tough Curbs on Teenage Drivers

SACRAMENTO — Teenage drivers would face tough new restrictions--including curbs on carrying passengers under age 20 and limits on driving after midnight--under legislation that won unanimous state Senate approval Tuesday.

Noting that traffic accidents are the No. 1 killer of teenagers nationwide, Sen. Tim Leslie (R-Carnelian Bay) said his bill is needed “not because we want to punish teenagers, but because we love them.”

He said a similar law in Ontario, Canada, is credited with a 55% reduction in teenage driving deaths. “I think we can accomplish something close to that in California,” he said.

Without debate, the bill was sent on a 29-0 vote to the Assembly, where its chances for approval are considered good. If signed by Gov. Pete Wilson, it would become law July 1, 1998.

The bill (SB 1329) would apply to young drivers with a learner’s permit and to 16- and 17-year-old drivers, who now are issued a provisional license to drive a motor vehicle alone but with certain restrictions.

Under the bill, for the first six months of the provisional license, a teenager could not transport passengers under age 20, unless accompanied by a parent or other licensed driver at least 25 years old.

During the first year, the teenager would be barred from driving between midnight and 5 a.m., unless accompanied by a parent or other licensed driver at least 25 years old.

The bill makes some exceptions to the restrictions, including for family-, medical-, work- and school-related necessities. In addition, police would be prohibited from making a traffic stop solely to learn whether the teenage driver was violating the restrictions.

The bill also would require that a beginner train behind the wheel under adult supervision for at least 50 hours, 10 of which would have to be at night. Now, driving practice is required, but its duration is not specified.

The penalty for violating the proposed new rules would be moderate fines and community service work. Teenagers could receive eight to 16 hours of community service for a first violation and up to 24 hours for second and subsequent offenses. Violators also would be subject to a fine of $35 for the first offense and up to $50 for additional violations.

Steve Schmidt, an aide to Leslie, said testimony at legislative hearings suggested that reaction to the bill among teenagers was split. New drivers in the 16-year-old group oppose the passenger and after-midnight restrictions, he said.

“But the 19-year-olds are all for it,” Schmidt said. “They have more experience and recognize the wisdom of the bill.”

Other provisions of the bill would extend from 30 days to six months the time that a beginning driver must possess a learner’s permit before applying for the provisional license.

The proposed new law would be named in memory of Brady Grassinger of Los Angeles and Jared Cunningham of San Luis Obispo, two teenage passengers who were killed in separate traffic crashes.

Schmidt said Brady was fatally injured in 1991 when the car in which she was riding was rear-ended by a drunk driver at 4 a.m. Jared died in 1994 when a car he was in crashed during a nighttime drag race.

Schmidt said family members of the victims believed that if the Leslie bill had been law at the time, neither youngster would have been in the fatal crashes.

The bill has the endorsement of a long list of traffic safety advocates, including medical and health organizations, insurance companies, teacher unions, parent-teacher groups and anti-drinking associations. No one was listed as a formal opponent.