Most Teen Driver Bills Fail to Advance
Only 1 Proposal Passes Md. Assembly; Legislators Plan to Revisit Issue in 2009

By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 12, 2008; B01

A number of lawmakers arrived in Annapolis three months ago with the political will to make Maryland's teenage driving laws among the nation's strictest after more than a dozen young people died in car accidents in the Washington suburbs last fall.

A powerful Montgomery County senator wanted licenses suspended for teens who commit serious offenses. The administration of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) wanted to change the nighttime curfew for 16-year-olds to 10 p.m. from midnight. A Prince George's County delegate wanted to require young drivers to pass drug and alcohol tests before receiving a driver's license.

But when the General Assembly adjourned this week, the only teen driving proposal to pass during the legislative session was a requirement that the Motor Vehicle Administration notify the parents or guardians of any teenager who receives a citation for a moving violation, such as speeding.

So what happened to the other proposals?

They died.

Some legislators voiced concerns that teen driving rules are the province of parents, not politicians. Others said lawmakers needed more time to study the implications of stricter restrictions. Ultimately, however, the measures never became a top priority for legislative leaders, who were consumed with matters they considered more pressing, such as mortgage practice revisions, criminal justice measures and environmental initiatives.

"It's not merely disappointing that the bills failed this year, but they endanger lives," said Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D), the Montgomery lawmaker who introduced the bill to suspend licenses. "Inexperienced drivers are not just a danger to themselves, but they're a danger to everybody else on the road."

The General Assembly plans to study driving laws for young people over the interim and revisit the proposals in 2009.

"Just because the bills didn't pass doesn't mean the issue will go away. We'll be back again," said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D), whose Charles County district was home to some of the deadliest teen accidents last year.

Middleton was the author of the parental notification bill, which passed overwhelmingly.

"Most parents want to be good parents, but they don't know that their kids are driving recklessly and getting tickets," he said.

Del. William A. Bronrott (D-Montgomery), who has long sought tougher driving laws, said, "Maryland's good teen driving laws could be better."

"Small changes could make very meaningful differences, life-or-death differences, when it comes to our teen drivers," Bronrott said.

Like Virginia and the District, Maryland has a graduated license program for teenagers, which gives provisional licenses to drivers younger than 18 and grants them more independence only as they pass a series of probationary stages.

Transportation Secretary John D. Porcari said he is committed to strengthening the graduated license program and will meet with lawmakers in the interim to educate them about the benefits of tougher restrictions.

"The important part is that it works," Porcari said. "There's a demonstrated reduction in teen fatalities. Some of the specific proposals in this session had merit."

Judie Stone, president of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, said she is disappointed that the most significant teenage driving laws failed. "The nighttime restriction is very important because the earlier, the better," she said. "The optimal time for a nighttime restriction is 10 p.m., and Maryland is inching closer to that."

But that measure did not gain enough support. Legislators opposed to it and other teen driving proposals said such rules should be left to parents, not the government.

"I really believe it's a knee-jerk reaction to something that we have very little control over," said Del. Barbara A. Frush (D-Prince George's), a leader on the House committee that oversees driving laws.

"People are trying to protect kids from something they can't protect them from," Frush added. "It's a whole mentality that children are Teflon-coated, that nothing's ever going to happen to them."

Middleton also introduced an unsuccessful bill to make violations of some existing teen driving laws -- including bans on using cellphones and driving non-family teenage passengers -- primary offenses instead of secondary offenses, meaning police officers could pull over drivers they suspect are violators.

Middleton said the most common concern among his colleagues was a fear that Maryland is becoming an overly intrusive "nanny state."

"What's next?" he said colleagues would ask. "Picking your nose? Are we going to have laws in the books that you can't pick your nose or read a book or put your lipstick on?"

Tougher restrictions can help reduce teen accidents, according to data. Since Maryland created the provisional license program in the late 1990s, the number of teenagers involved in serious crashes dropped by about 74 percent, Porcari said.

Frosh said restrictions on young drivers have an "electrifyingly positive effect on their conduct."

"If you threaten their driver's license, they take that seriously," Frosh said. "We can improve bad behavior by making the consequences of bad behavior crystal clear, especially when we're talking to 16- and 17-year-olds."