Propsed Teen Drive Rules Shown to Save Lives and Money
The Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act (STANDUP) sets driving laws nationwide for all new teenage drivers. According to sponsors of the act, the standardized laws across the US are shown to save lives and money.
According to Jackie Gillian, vice president of Advocates of Highway and Auto Safety, in the past 5 years, over 40,00 teens were killed in motor vehicle accidents and thousands more suffered from debilitating injuries. The cost of these crashes is over $30 billiion dollars.
STANDUP will require all states to comply with the standardization in order to received federal funds and grants for highway construction. State's that do not comply will lose their funding which will be given to states that do.
The regulations included in the Act would limit the amount of nighttime driving, would ban cell phones unless an emergency happens and would limit the number of teens as passengers in a car. A teen driver would not be able to receive an unrestricted driver's license until they turn 18. In Illinois, teen driver would not be able to obtain a learner's permit until they turn 16.
Dr. Kyran Quinlan a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevent believes that passing the STANDUP Act. "Teen driving crashes are the leading cause of death for your adutls and represent a public health crisis. But we already have a proven treatment for this epidemic that would prevent thousands of deaths and injuries every year: passing the STANDUP Act will assure that every new driver, no matter where he or she lives, will have the same training, the same laws and the same protection. This bill will save lives."
