Double time
Legislation would increase time teens spend behind the wheel

TAMMIE SLOUP, tammies@mywebtimes.com, (815) 431-4048

Brian Beldyga, senior manager of Save A Life Tour, shouts a warning to Katy Atkerson as she attempts to turn her vehicle on a computer simulator meant to demonstrate the impact of driving under the influence of alcohol. Save A Life Tour visited Serena High School Tuesday as part of a national campaign to prevent teens from driving drunk.

Although Gary Masley has 30-plus years experience as a drivers education teacher under his belt, it was still a nerve-wracking experience when his own children were practicing for their license.

Why?

There was no brake on the passenger side.

"Sometimes I would forget; usually I've got a brake on my side. When my kids were younger, it was a little tense," said Masley, who teaches at Streator High School.

Teenagers now have to spend 25 hours practicing behind the wheel in order to receive a drivers license. A parent or guardian also is required to sign off on those practice hours.

Under new legislation being proposed by Secretary of State Jesse White and State Rep. John D'Amico, D-Chicago, teenagers would have to spend 50 hours behind the wheel with a parent or guardian, including 10 hours of night driving.

Brigitte Jackson was often the one prodding her daughter to get behind the wheel and practice driving.

So doubling the time teenagers would have to spend practicing before they could get a drivers license would be no problem for Jackson.

"I think it's good idea, but I don't know if 50 hours is going to deter those who break the rules ... but I think the bottom line is we want to make the roads safer," said Jackson, whose daughter, Athena Wood, attends Marquette High School.

D'Amico recently proposed banning 15- and 16-year-olds from driving after two teens died in a crash in his district.

However, the proposal drew criticism.

Raising the driving age in Illinois and increasing the practice time have been hot topics discussed by Seneca High School students in Driver Education Instructor Ryan High's classes.

"For classes we look up articles ... and discuss them. A couple of the articles were about pushing back the age limit to 18, and of course the kids don't like that idea. They say maybe they should have more driving time before they can get a license," High said.

High said he supports the legislation.

"I think it's a good idea ... If they don't have much experience behind the wheel driving, they can get into certain situations they're not familiar with and don't know how to act," he said.

While it is acknowledged that students may cheat a little when it comes to their practice time, instructors said for the most part, the students are putting in the required 25 hours and beyond.

The 25 hours does not include behind-the-wheel time at school.

"The drawback is that while the good parents are going to take the time to make sure the 50 hours get hit, the problem is we might have a few out there who just say, 'Well, I know you can drive,' and they'll sign the paper," Masley said.

Streator High School sophomore Alexandria Woeltje completed her drivers education course in Naperville, and will have about a year's practice before she gets her license when she turns 16 in April.

Doubling the practice hours doesn't seem too practical to Woeltje. However, she said she could favor increasing the hours to 30 or 45.

"It probably would be too much (50 hours)," she said.

Jackson said her daughter is not in any hurry to get her license, and by waiting and further practice, the family will receive about a $100 auto insurance discount once Wood gets her license and begins driving on her own.

Wood took the class last quarter, and easily completed the 25 hours of practice time, Jackson said.

One portion of the proposed legislation Jackson especially agrees with is the required night driving.

"That's excellent," she said. "Even if they stay at 25 hours, 10 of those 25 hours should be nighttime driving. Your vision is so different in day-time and nighttime driving."

If the legislation is approved, Illinois would join 18 other states that require at least 50 hours with a parent in the car.

The legislation is supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Illinois Traffic Safety Leaders, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists and the Illinois High School and College Driver Education Association.

"I believe this will help give young people more experience behind the wheel, in a variety of situations, helping them to become better drivers, and as a result, making the roads of Illinois safer," White said.