By State Representative Keisha Waites (D-Atlanta)
Your phone rings and you answer. On the other end of the line is a Georgia State Patrol trooper telling you that your teenage son or daughter has been involved in an auto accident. Instantly your world turns upside down, your heart begins to race, your mind speeds through a series of horrible scenarios, and as you struggle to keep your composure, you manage to ask the officer – is my child okay? The officer takes a breath and cautiously responds – you need to get to the hospital, gives you the address, and adds, please drive safely. While many of us hold tightly to a false sense of security that this scenario is not one that we are likely to experience, unfortunately, this is a reality for families every day. On average, between six and 13 teenagers die from motor vehicle accidents every day. Additionally, another 650 to 1100 teenagers visit emergency rooms every day with injuries sustained from motor vehicle accidents. In both cases, regardless of details reported in police reports, the proximate cause of injuries and deaths in nearly every accident involving teenagers is the inexperience of teenage drivers. Drivers between the ages of 16- 19 are three times more likely than drivers over the age of 20 to be involved in a fatal accident. Look at these statistics. We can save lives by passing House Bills 708 and 961.
This is not about politics. This is about saving lives. The leading contributing factors to teenage motor vehicle accidents are teenage drivers’ inexperience and their underdeveloped decision making skills. When driving, the brain’s frontal lobe plays an enormous role, especially the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for processing critical data for making rational decisions. This is the part of the brain that tells experienced, mature drivers not to dart across three lanes to make an exit. This is the region of the brain that tells mature and experienced drivers to slow down before taking a deep curve. This is the part of the brain that tells mature and experienced drivers that turning off your headlights while driving at night is not cool, it’s dangerous and potentially life threatening. This part of the brain does not fully mature until the age of 20, at the earliest, and according to some professionals, maybe as late as age 25 for some. And by the way, these statistics do not factor in the added impact of mobile technology, texting and social media that today’s young drivers can’t seem to live without.
House Bill 708 proposes to increase the age for obtaining a learner’s permit to 17 years old. Furthermore, the age for obtaining a driver’s license will be raised from 17 years old to 18 years old. Additionally, this bill will create opportunities for students to take state funded drivers education as an elective course in public schools.
House Bill 961 will create a constitutional amendment to Georgia’s Constitution dedicating existing fees and assessments to Georgia trauma centers and driver education training courses in public schools. As I speak with families about this issue there are two dominant recurring themes: first, we need driver’s education back in our schools; and second, paying $400.00 for a private driver’s education course is too expensive. House Bill 961 will ensure that all students have access to driver’s education, regardless of their household income.
These two pieces of legislation are needed to give young drivers more time to mature and more hours of driver’s education training before they get behind steering wheels. If passed, the new laws will aggravate some teenagers because they will have wait an additional few months to get the keys to the family vehicle. Likewise, I am sure some parents will be frustrated because they will have to chauffer their teenagers for a little longer. I know there will be some pushback; however, I believe safety should be our first priority. While I understand their frustrations, at the end of the day, the new laws will save lives, and as far as I am concerned, that alone is worth the wait.
You can help by contacting your Representative and Senator and ask them to support these bills and save the lives of our teenagers.
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