Drivers Education

Teenage drivers would get a boost in drivers education under a plan being considered by the General Assembly. Two legislators have proposed bills that would require public school districts to offer a drivers education course, and ban teenagers still on a permit or immediate license from using a cell phone.

"The access to drivers ed has been in decline since 1990 in the state of Missouri, and very soon we will have a whole generation of parents teaching children to drive who have never had a driver's education course," said the sponsor of one of the two bills, Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia.  

Baker said her bill addresses a growing needs in the state. "It is an opportunity to save lives, the lives of many of our most precious citizens, our teenagers. I became acutely aware of this problem through my own personal experience and my family's personal experience, watching my own children experience the loss of friends and the loss of innocence that accompanies that." Baker said her kids lost four friends in one year by accidents that might have prevented if Missouri teens had access to a drivers education program.

Students who complete the course would be allowed to apply for their permanent license three months early, a good incentive Baker said.  

The comprehensive driving course would be offered as an elective to students and would be taken online. The 30 hour curriculum would cost students $200 or less but low-income students would be able to access a fund to help cover the cost of the program. Money for the fund would come from a $2.00 increase to certain license fees also created by the bill.

DESE would develop the curriculum through the Missouri Virtual School. Currently 31 states offer some form of a driver's education program.  Illinois has around 13,00 teenage accidents and fatalities a year, compared to Missouri 23,000. The difference? Illinois has drivers education, according to Baker.

Brent Ghan, a spokesman for the Missouri School Board Association, said that driver's education has been a victim of school budget cuts and an increasing focus on academics that have gradually "crowded out the program" over the past decade.

Jim Morris, a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Education, said that in a report for the 2005-2006 school year, 50 school districts offered driver's education serving approximately 8,500 students. This is a decrease from five years ago when, Morris said, 86 school districts offered driver's education to about 11,300 students.

 The bill does not require a drivers ed credit, and does not get rid of the 40 hours of experience required behind the wheel with an adult before a teenager can apply for a license. 

In addition to driver's education, the bill also addresse cell phones.Teenage drivers caught using a cell phone with a temporary permit or  an intermediate license would be fined $20 for the first violation and $50 for the second offense.

Marty Siddall, a Columbia resident testified in support of Baker's bill during March 6 hearing of the House Crime Prevention Committee. He shared the story of his 17-year-old daughter Paige, who lost control of her car and was killed last year. 

"Something distracted her and she did not have the proper skills to correct her situation," Siddall said. "Teenagers need to stay connected and a cell phone provides that constant interaction they crave, again despite my demands, she did not resist answering that phone, however given her nature I would have a difficult time believing that she would do so if it was against the law." 

How to make the story more applicable to your newspaper:

• Talk to students and get their reaction-one one hand student might like the idea of being able to apply 90 days early for a permit, but the bill also penalizes cell phone use excpet for emergencies
• Does your school offer a drivers ed program? Did it in the past?
• Talk to a local private drivers education company or instructor and get the reaction
• Talk to your school's PTA, many PTAs actively support this legislation

For more traffic accident stastics check the Missouri Department of Transportation's Website.

Here is an example of making the story more personal to your school district: 

Currently there are no driver's education programs in Columbia public high schools. Lynn Barnett, Columbia Public School District superintendent, said that a barrier to driver's education is a lack of instructors. She said that Columbia's schools did have a driver's education course when she graduated Hickman High School in 1969, "and for some time on."