After each fatal accident involving teenagers, Connecticut talks about imposing new restrictions on teen drivers. The time has come to do more than talk. Let's take action.
Governor Rell has responded to the latest fatal accident -- in which two Orange teens were killed Monday night on the Wilbur Cross Parkway -- by calling on the General Assembly to adopt proposed restrictions by March 15.
Can the legislature act that quickly? Sure.
A Teen Driving Task Force appointed by the governor and the legislature's Transportation Committee have proposed new restrictions that are largely similar.
Both proposals use Massachusetts' "junior operator laws" as a model. Those laws, which apply to 16- and 17-year-olds, were enacted in January 2007. There was an immediate reduction in fatal accidents involving teens.
In Massachusetts, a speeding ticket for a teenager can mean a suspended license for 90 days and mandatory driver retraining classes.
The restrictions being considered by Connecticut legislators are not as tough as those in Massachusetts. They include shorter suspensions and lower fines. For example, a teen driver stopped for speeding would get a 45-day license suspension.
If the tougher penalties are working in Massachusetts, why not enact them in Connecticut? That should be discussed.
But as the governor says, a consensus has already been built around the pending proposals. Let's get those enacted into law and then continue the conversation.
The two teenagers killed in Monday's accident were Francesk Zefi, 18, and Salvatore Sommonella, 17. Zefi, the driver, had his license for just a few weeks. Shortly before 10 p.m., the car ran off the road and hit a tree.
Tougher laws won't stop all unsafe driving by teens. But tougher penalties will encourage teens to be more careful -- knowing their license could be suspended for many months.
Statistics show teen drivers have a higher risk of accidents because of their inexperience in driving and their unfamiliarity with the danger posed by some hazardous situations.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for American teenagers; 36 percent of all teenage deaths are the result of crashes.
The statistics also show that stricter driving regulations and graduated licensing programs have an impressive impact on reducing the number of teen accidents and fatal injuries.
Connecticut was slow to adopt graduated licensing for teenagers -- despite heroic efforts by state Rep. David Scribner of Brookfield to get quick action.
Now it's time to get really serious and really tough. Legislators should accept the governor's challenge and adopt tougher penalties for teen drivers by March 15.