AAA Minnesota/Iowa Calls on Minnesotans to do a Better Job Protecting our Novice Drivers

By Randy Williams, President, AAA Minnesota/Iowa

BURNSVILLE, Minn., March 20 -- The following is attributed to Randy Williams, President, AAA Minnesota/Iowa:

Last week H.F. 3050 and S.F. 3033 were introduced as companion bills that if enacted will restrict the number of non-family passengers novice drivers may transport to one person under the age of 21 and prohibit novice drivers from being behind the wheel between the hours of 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. These restrictions would be in place for the first year a novice driver had their provisional license.

AAA Minnesota/Iowa supports H.F. 3050 and S.F. 3033 because AAA has advocated for drivers' issues and supported traffic safety initiatives for more than 100 years. Since Minnesota passed the graduated drivers licensing law in 1999, it has become apparent that our current law is not yet comprehensive enough and, therefore, not as effective as it can and needs to be.

A strengthened law that includes passenger and night-time restrictions -- which most other states already have -- is necessary to keep our Minnesota roads safe -- for novice drivers and all roadway users.

Minnesota is one of only six states with neither a passenger nor a nighttime restriction. One state has a passenger restriction only and 11 states have a nighttime restriction only. But, 32 states have both restrictions already in place. Why are these restrictions important? Because the majority of teen driver fatalities happen between dusk and dawn and because the majority of teens killed in automobiles are killed in a vehicle driven by another teenager.

Provisional drivers do not have enough experience to handle the distractions of multiple friends in the vehicle nor do they have enough experience to judge speed and distance after dark. Some people will claim teen driving is a parental issue, but in fact, when you look at the people being killed in automobile crashes with teen drivers, two-thirds are not the teen driver.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety analyzed data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System. From 1995-2004, crashes involving a 15-17 year old driver in Minnesota killed 567 people. Of those 567 people, 212 were the teen driver, 171 were their passengers, 155 were occupants of the other vehicle and 29 were non-motorists.

Supporters of this legislation are asked to contact their local legislators. In the meantime, AAA Minnesota/Iowa strongly encourages parents to enact these restrictions in their own households.

AAA does not see this legislation as punitive toward the teen driver, but instead society finally stepping up and assuming its responsibility to protect our youngest, most inexperienced drivers so they may gain the experience necessary to live to drive another day.