This is great news for Pennsylvania drivers. Young drivers need the best preparation they can get, and this new law should help accomplish that.
India Anderson, 17, of Chartiers follows instructions from Kiva Huffman during her driver's exam at the PennDOT licensing center in Bridgeville.
Julie Enright said she spent at least 80 hours behind the wheel during the past six months as she learned to drive.
That well exceeds the 65 hours required under a teen driving law that takes effect today. Before today, teens had to have 50 hours of practice on the road. Now, in addition, state law requires 10 hours of driving time clocked at night, and five hours during bad weather.
Enright, 16, of Castle Shannon passed her driving test at the PennDOT licensing center in Bridgeville. She agrees with the state's rules.
"I think it's in everyone's best interest," she said.
The law, known as Act 81, limits to one the number of nonfamily passengers a teen driver can carry during the first six months after receiving a junior driver's license. After six months, teens can transport up to three passengers younger than 18 who are not immediate family members.
The law gives police the authority to make a traffic stop and cite a driver if anyone in the car who is younger than 18 is not wearing a seat belt.
Tamela Moore, 39, of Brighton Heights said she thinks the rules will help keep young people safe.
"You know how kids are -- they think they know everything, but they'll listen if someone else (other than a parent) tells them they shouldn't do something," she said.
She and her son Travis, 18, split the approximately $300 cost for him to take driving lessons through the Kennedy School of Driving in Kennedy.
"It helped him," Moore said. "I think (teens) need driving lessons."
The education courses, which include 30 hours of classroom instruction and six hours of in-car training, are provided by school districts and private companies. Taking a driver education course is one requirement for a junior driver to get an adult license before age 18.
Jerry Mancini, owner of Kennedy School of Driving, said the stricter requirements give teens more guidance.
"It's an attempt to make things safer for students," he said.
A parent or another experienced driver is responsible for keeping track of the time a student driver has had behind the wheel. And a parent or guardian must sign a form in the presence of a notary, or the person giving the driving test, to certify the student has had the required practice time.
"We didn't keep detailed records, but I made sure he could drive in the neighborhood and at night," Gerald Sandidge, 56, of Squirrel Hill, said as his son Gavin, 18, prepared to taking his test in Bridgeville. "I want to feel comfortable that he can drive."
Read more: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_773780.html#ixzz1hqYXXAqj
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