By Don Heinzman

A measure to restrict night-time driving privileges and the number of teenagers in a car for new teen drivers is en route to becoming a necessary law.

The Minnesota House and Senate have passed similar measures and Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he will sign it.

 This bipartisan measure is important because car crashes particularly at night are the leading cause of teen deaths in Minnesota. Each year 80 teenagers die in collisions and 6000 are injured. 

One of every six fatal crashes and one of every four injury crashes involve drivers under 19 years of age.

The bill passed by both state houses is aimed at giving new drivers more night-time driving experience with a licensed driver and limiting the number of teenage passengers for a year.

The Senate bill would ban teen drivers from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. for the first six months of having their license except to go to work or when accompanied by an adult driver. No more than one teen passenger, except for a brother or sister, could ride in the car for the first six months.

For the next six months only three teenagers could ride along in the car.

The House bill is similar to the Senate’s.

 This year, in particular, families are mourning loss of their teenage sons and daughters in auto crashes. The Department of Public Safety says driver inexperience, distractions, nighttime driving and non-use of seat belts are the main causes of teen crashes.

Minnesota is among four states in the union that does not have night-time and passenger restrictions.

 The National Highway Traffic Administration says accidents have been reduced by 60 percent in states where there are restrictions on new drivers operating vehicles at night. Fatal crashes double with one teen passenger in the car and quintuple when there are two or more passengers.

In Wisconsin where for eight years night-time driving and the number of teen passengers have been restricted, the number of teen drivers involved in accidents is down 30 percent.

 Opponents argue that learning how to drive should be up to the parents and government should not intrude into their personal lives.

While that may be an important argument, the fact is government steps in where parents do not teach their kids good driving habits and where crashes threaten the safety of other drivers on the road.

Minnesota already has prescribed safety measures for beginning drivers who must have a citation-free learners permit for six months, who have 30 to 50 hours of supervised driving and who no longer can talk on cell phones in the car.

This new restriction is based on the fact that teen drivers, particularly those 16 years old, are not prepared to drive simply because they can obtain a license.

They need an additional probationary period to learn how to drive at night and to lean how important it is not to have a car full of kids who distract the driver.

Legislators have a duty to protect not only the beginning teen drivers but the rest of the driving public who could become victims in these crashes.

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