New limits approved for young drivers

Brand-new teenage drivers would have to wait awhile before they could drive after midnight or take a carload of friends with them, under a bill that won House and Senate approval Friday and was headed to the governor's desk.

The provisions, contained within a transportation policy bill, would help Minnesota catch up with much of the rest of the country on a graduated approach to teenage driving, said Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park.

"Minnesota unfortunately is behind the curve," said Hortman, the bill's chief author. "Forty-six other states already have [similar] teen driving restrictions. My hope is that Minnesota will see a reduced death rate and a reduced injury rate."

The bill passed the House on an 88-43 vote and was approved later by a 62-5 margin in the Senate.

Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, the chief Senate sponsor, and Hortman said that they expected Gov. Tim Pawlenty to sign the bill.

"We're still going to have one of the weaker graduated driver's license laws anywhere in the nation," Murphy said, "but at least we're moving in the right direction."

The bill also would make it illegal for drivers of all ages to send and receive text messages and e-mails. Drivers with provisional licenses already are barred from using cell phones, along with learner's permit holders under 18.

The policy bill had been significantly revamped from earlier versions, which included provisions requiring booster seats for kids under 8 and allowing police officers to stop motorists for not wearing their seat belts -- the so-called "primary seat-belt" offense.

Pawlenty didn't like the booster seat regulation, which was dropped at his request. And last week, the bill stalled in the House because of resistance to the primary seat-belt rule.

Hortman said that an unusual coalition of legislators opposed the primary seat-belt provision -- libertarian types who want to be left alone and liberals who fear that the measure could serve as a pretext to pull over a person of color.

So the bill's conferees regrouped and took it out, she said.

In the House floor debate before Friday's vote, some legislators said they remained concerned that the new teen driving regulations also could lead to profiling.

In the Senate, several members cited their own experiences as youthful drivers, or that of their children, to explain their support for the bill.

"This is the kind of graduated licensing that Minnesota needs and it's a long time coming," said Sen. Kevin Dahle, DFL-Northfield, a high school teacher who has taught driver's education.

The bill would bar newly licensed drivers under 18 from having more than one passenger under 20, outside of family members. In their second six months, such drivers could take no more than three passengers under 20.

It would also prohibit such drivers from driving from midnight to 5 a.m. during their first six months, unless they're going to work or driving to a school event for which transportation wasn't provided.

Murphy said the restrictions are just a start. Student drivers should be required to spend more time behind the wheel with an adult, and they should spend more hours in the classroom as well, he said.