Another week, another horrible accident involving a car full of teens. Two ninth-grade girls were killed in Upper Pottsgrove Saturday night when an SUV carrying six people flipped over on Route 100. Some have called for a straightening of this road. What we actually need is for Pennsylvania to straighten out its graduated licensing law.
The law already prevents provisional license holders from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and limits the number of passengers to the number of seatbelts (somewhat redundant, as minors are already required to be buckled up anywhere in a vehicle). This law does not go far enough, as teens are known to be especially accident prone when joy riding with their peers.
North Carolina limits passengers under 21 in a car driven by a provisional driver to one. The nighttime driving restrictions also begin much earlier (9 p.m.). Other states have similar laws, but N.C.'s is considered one of the best.
While the status of the driver was not mentioned in the article, either or both of these rules would prevent many deaths here in Pennsylvania. A bill sponsored by State Rep. Joseph F. Markosek (D., Allegheny) would limit teen passengers, though it does not tighten nighttime driving restrictions. Nevertheless, let's hope it moves through Harrisburg quickly.
To read today's article: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/79196867.html
A press release about Markosek's bill is here: http://www.pahouse.com/PR/025042709A1.asp
No comments:
Post a Comment