When behind the wheel, teenagers can mimic adults. They can fidget too much with the CD player, pay too much attention to their passengers, and spend too much time on cell phones. Adults and teens alike can be distracted drivers.
But teens aren't like adults. They have scant driving experience. They lack maturity. And statistics prove that they are especially prone to accidents.
We remind you of this because the Alabama Legislature spent three hours last week debating a bill that would have banned cell-phone use by drivers aged 17 and under. The bill, introduced by Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, was defeated and sent back with 10 recommended amendments. Expect it to return.
At issue isn't a debate over teen drivers. It's over the bill's scope: Should it ban all distracting activities by all drivers? Should eating in the car be banned? What about using a rechargeable shaver or putting on makeup? What about reading? How far should this go?
The bill's opponents are adamant that the scope is too narrow and it must address more than teens' cell-phone use. How would state troopers know if the drivers are teens? Why should distracting behavior of one group be judged differently than that of another? Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, made his thoughts crystal clear: “If any member of this House voted for this bill, you need your head examined.”
That's missing the point.
It's good that the Legislature is considering such a law. It's needed and appropriate. This spring, a multitude of states — Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia — are in different stages of debate over their own cell-phone ban for youthful drivers. Alabama should join the fray.
The opponents of McClendon's bill have a point; distracted drivers of all ages are a problem. But distracted teen drivers are a bigger issue because it combines two of the most lethal situations on our roads — thousands of young, inexperienced drivers and the teens talking on the phone while behind the wheel.
In 2005, the National Transportation and Safety Board included a ban on cell-phone use by teen drivers among its “most wanted list” of safety improvements.
Several recent studies, one by psychologists at the University of Utah and another by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, indicate that
cell-phone use is the most distracting behavior by U.S. drivers and that drivers who gab behind the wheel often are as impaired as drivers who are legally drunk (using a blood-alcohol limit of .08).
Here's a suggestion for our Legislature: Reconsider, and make into law, the cell-phone ban for teen drivers, then later address the wider issue of distracted adult drivers. For now, improving the safety of teen drivers is the more paramount concern.
