Jul 25, 2007 7:47 pm US/Central
Lawmaker Pushes For Restrictions On Teen Drivers
by Joanie Lum
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
A car crash that killed a Deerfield teenager Wednesday and last year's homecoming drunk driving accident that killed two teenagers in the same community put the spotlight on teen drivers.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports on a push for new restrictions to help make young drivers safer.
When 15-year-old Max Hoffman gets behind the wheel, he has a lot on his mind.
"You get out there, and see people whizzing by, and it's like, what am I doing?" Hoffman said.
"It's incredibly nerve-wracking, no matter how confident you are in a child's capability to do things," said Mary Hoffman, Max's mother.
To reduce mom's fear and re-enforce Max's sense of responsibility, he'll sign a teen driver's contract, which they wrote together.
"They had to read it through and edit it, reasonably. They had to sign it. They took that responsibility like an honor code," Mary Hoffman said.
Secretary of State Jesse White recommends these kinds of contracts and is pushing for a new law with tighter restrictions on teen drivers.
The law would:
-Extend the permit phase from 3 months to 9 months.
-Allow only one unrelated teen passenger for the first year.
-Restrict night driving after 10pm on weeknights and 11pm on weekends.
White says parents should talk to their teens. "Let them know they're driving a big automobile that can kill them or someone else."
Instructor Jack Klein of Adam's Driving School tries to drive that point home. "Point A to point B should be dead serious. Have fun at point A and point B. In the middle, when you're driving, dead serious."
If Governor Rod Blagojevich signs the teen driving restrictions into law, it will take effect in January.
You can get a teen driver contract through the Illinois Secretary of State's office.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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