Posted on: Monday, May 3, 2004

EDITORIAL
Enough with these all-or-nothing bills

Even if it is part of the gamesmanship of politics, the practice of tying a questionable bill to a sensible bill really sticks in our craw.

We're talking about the maneuver to attach passage of the interim driving permit for teens to the more unpopular proposal to install traffic enforcement cameras to nab speeders and red-light runners.

In this case, the state House says it will only support the interim driving permit bill if it's welded to the traffic camera program. Meanwhile, the Senate has its doubts about privacy issues concerning the traffic cameras, and does not have the votes to pass it.

So both laws have to die without being weighed on their own merits, and that, as we just said, sticks in our craw.

Passage of the three-tier driver's license plan for teenagers was a top priority for Mothers Against Drunk Driving. And we can feel their frustration. Young drivers are a major liability on the roads.

National statistics show that while teens make up only 15 percent of those who drive between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., they make up more than 30 percent of those involved in fatal crashes during those hours.

The bill would have raised the age of full driving privileges to 17. The proposed legislation would create a "provisional" or intermediate level between the learner permit and the full license.

After completing an approved driver-education course, 16-year-olds would qualify for a provisional license. If they drive responsibly on that license for at least six months, they would qualify for a full driver's license at 17. The reason the bill was sent to conference committee was a minor one: Senate members could not agree to a separate exemption for people attending school activities. How that became a deal breaker is beyond us.

A similar graduated driver's licensing program is operating in at least 40 states and has contributed to a drop in crashes involving 16-year-olds.

As for the traffic camera program, it's a tough law to pass, and though we desperately need measures to reduce speeding and red-light running, crafting such a system is going to take a great deal of planning, input and legal scrutiny.

It's not the sort of law that you throw in with a no-brainer such as requiring teenage drivers to get more education and supervision behind the wheel.