AUGUSTA, Maine — The Legislature has approved a bill aimed at creating stronger deterrents for teenage drivers who break the law, despite concerns from lawmakers that the measure was rushed and that it creates penalties that are too strict.
The Senate voted 25-10 after significant debate late Thursday evening. The House engaged in similar debate on Friday before approving the bill 82-61.
LD 1912 was drafted from a set of recommendations made recently by Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers, who has been studying teen driving trends for months.
The bill increases the minimum fine for texting while driving from $100 to $250, increases fines and terms of license suspension for violating conditions of a provisional license, and increases the amount of time a repeat offender would lose his or her license.
The measure is meant to help cut down on the number of bad accidents caused by teen drivers. Since Christmas, there have been 19 fatalities involving teen drivers in Maine.
But some lawmakers raised the question of whether the bill tries to “legislate common sense.” Others wondered if it was too punitive.
Rep. Michael Clarke, D-Bath, said he agreed that Maine should do more to educate and promote safe driving, but he thought the deterrents were too strong.
Rep. Aaron Libby, R-Waterboro, pointed out that the bill strengthens penalties such as the fine increase for texting while driving for everyone, not just teens — and wondered whether that was fair to experienced, adult drivers.
Rep. Tyler Clark, R-Easton, opposed the increase in the amount of time a license could be taken away.
“It’s too extreme,” he said. “In rural Maine, if you lose your license, you can’t do anything.”
The bill was voted out of the Transportation Committee on Monday, the same day the measure faced a sparsely attended public hearing.
Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, who sponsored LD 1912, said what was drafted included only a small portion of what was outlined in Summers’ report to the Transportation Committee.
Among the recommendations not included were:
• Doubling, from 35 to 70, the number of supervised hours a driver with a permit must log before obtaining a driver’s license.
• Requiring that anyone under the age of 21 should hold a permit for one year instead of six months so they can experience “supervised driving time in all four of Maine’s seasons.”
• Moving some of the driver education classroom time to online learning, which Summers said would allow instructors to devote more quality time to direct instruction behind the wheel.
Diamond said because the bill came in so late, those broader initiatives were stripped but they could be brought back for the next legislative session.
Follow BDN writer Eric Russell on Twitter at @BDNPolitics.
If it was too extreme then why did it pass ? You cant legislate common sense nor can you teach it . Teenage drivers do things that baffle the mind. Fact of life! The other factor here is we have laws in place to deter many things, making fines higher , wont stop it . Sad fact of life things have to play out .Its called maturity. This is learnt by life experiences and time . Racking up fines and a driving record wont help down the road. Giving a young person a record wont help them when they mature and need a good job it will just hurt more in the long run. We need to stop the big brother syndrome of government, period!!!
We adult drivers do things that baffle the mind!!
U mean like, putting on makeup, shaving, turning around to yell at the kids ect……….
When I was driving long-haul. I saw just about every type of foolishness. One woman changing her outer garment, A guy trying to calm his dog in the back seat, A woman changing a baby’s diaper and a salesman sorting through his sample case make the top 4. All these people exhibited the signs of distracted driving in that they were wandering all over the road, and either going much faster or slower5 than the prevailing traffic. All of them appeared to be in the thirty to fifty year old range.
We need to do everything possible to keep them off the road until all concerned–teens and parent(s)/guardian(s)–get the point: no texting while driving.
If there is a big monetary cost, and that is what gets their attention, all the better.
They will not be crashing into ME!
you’re absolutely right! Because racking up a driving record and fines are so much more important than laws that help protect innocent people on the road. Here’s some common sense for you. Fine the hell out of these people. They’ll see the light.
The items left out look like reasonable things that are aimed at getting young drivers more experience while under supervision. That is what they need, experience. The penalties only app,y after something bad happens. Experience is preventative.
its all about the money, they could have looked at the other common sense changes
I find the poll question to be a loaded question. Stricter laws in it self will reduce accidents for teen drivers because they have more to lose so more will think twice about doing something stupid. Better questions would of been do you agree with the bill or should it have gone further.
I ride a motorcycle. i am glad they did it driving my car, i have had teen drivers well they look that young pull right out in front of me while texting. i beep they laugh. it should be loss of license for six months for any one texting and driving.
that has been done by all ages, not just teens, so u are right but its not just texting, people just do not look out for bikes period. after a few people get caught and fined go to jail, to get the message out, maybe it will slow down, but its going to take a death, and most likely a manslaughter charge to get this attention.
“Rep. Aaron Libby, R-Waterboro, pointed out that the bill strengthens
penalties such as the fine increase for texting while driving for
everyone, not just teens — and wondered whether that was fair to
experienced, adult drivers.”
Frankly Aaron, I don’t care if I get hit by a young driver or an “adult” one. It still hurts the same. Texting while driving is like reading the Bangor Daily News while driving. More “experience” won’t let you do it better.
Supervised driving requires a supervisor, usually a parent. Why should I, as a parent who has constantly harangued my kids during supervised driving, have to spend MORE time as a supervisor. If my kids cannot satisfy me that they understand that speed and distraction cause almost all young drivers’ accidents, they do not get to take the test, period.
This a family issue, not a State issue. If parents cannot involve themselves in their kids lives, that is their choice. It is very unfair for the State to penalize the involved parents and competent young drivers because of a few delinquent drivers and parents. Also, experience has shown that the delinquent drivers have a way of removing themselves from the roadways. That is a consequence of the driver and the parents.
Finally, what is the State to do if the increased supervisory time and fines do not reduce deaths. Increase the penalties even more?
Family issue, huh? Your kid(s) are on the same road as the rest of us. Don’t you read the papers or watch the news? More often than not, teen drivers harm others, like passengers and other drivers, even pedestrians, with their careless untrained behavior behind the wheel.
Gripe all you want. You just make yourself look ridiculously selfish.
I truly don’t understand why anything about this would be a bad thing. It’s safer for all when we have an educated, experienced driver on the road. I hope that these recommendations are brought back to the legislature:
Doubling, from 35 to 70, the number of supervised hours a driver with a permit must log before obtaining a driver’s license.
• Requiring that anyone under the age of 21 should hold a permit for one year instead of six months so they can experience “supervised driving time in all four of Maine’s seasons.”
My opinion: Anyone, any age, texts while driving, go to jail!
“It’s too extreme,” he said. “In rural Maine, if you lose your license, you can’t do anything.”
Well, then, don’t break the f***ing law, asshol! Isn’t that simple??
The one thing that legislators can do to make driving safer for ALL OF US is to institute a school based driver’s education program. It has been proven over and over that commercial driving schools are of absolutely no benefit to young drivers. People learn very well how to parallel park, drive in reverse, and follow signage directions. What young people need to know is how to exercise good judgement in difficult situations. people certified to be commercial driver trainers have not the expertise in defining adolescent behavior, or teaching to the teenaged brain. Teaching this age group is an art.
So go ahead, paint over rotten wood, rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic, and mess with time limits and fines in dealing with teenagers WHO do not think the same way as adults. Pretend you are doing something…. BUT know that out here in voter land, there are people who see through your smoke and mirrors. Dad had a saying appropriate to this situation. “Poop or get off the pot.” Give students school based driver’s education NOW before one more person gets killed needlessly.
Hey, Harry, agree with you again!
Here is the thing, you can be a poor driver at any age.
Not just too young or “too” old.
If, as a society we are truly interested in road safety, we need to retest after the initial license.Why not do it on a periodic schedule that is easy to remember: ten year anniversaries from your very first license?
Thus, start at age 16 for example. Then, at age 26 you get another written, vision, and road test. Same at ages 36, 46, 56, 66, 76, 86, 96, 106, etc.
You fail, you have 30 days to study up, get retrained, get new eyeglasses so you might pass again.People can be a menace on the road at any age: drinking problems, arrogance, inexperience, simple lack of knowledge.
Expensive, you say? Factor the cost of hospital bills, rehab, police, ambulance, fire, road workers, etc. Not to mention deaths.
What is THAT cost?
Within a generation or two, the culture behind the wheel would change, and people would stop thinking they could drive * just fine after a few drinks…* and other poor presumptions.
If we are truly serious about road safety….
Definitely agree! As much danger as inexperienced teens may be on the road, I’ve almost been wrecked many times by adults on cell phones and seniors not paying attention or driving in the center of the road. A driver’s license is a privilege at any age and I think continuing education and retesting should be part of maintaining it.
I agree with spellm – driving all 4 seasons in Maine is an excellent idea and requiring more hours of driving with an experienced driver would greatly reduce accidents in my opinion! Don’t let those go by again. The kids will understand!