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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

HOT TOPICS:

▪ Connecticut presses parents to talk safety with teen drivers

▪ Many arrested in Colorado for drinking, driving had lost their licenses to past DUIs

▪ Maryland’s new driver's license law undermines security

Stories on…

Connecticut presses parents to talk safety with teen drivers

Hartford Courant

Connecticut Presses Parents To Talk Safety With Teen Drivers

By Don Stacom

October 21, 2014, 8:47 PM

The number of fatalities among Connecticut 16- and 17-year-old drivers dropped by about 70 percent after stricter laws were enacted, but law enforcement and safety experts said Tuesday that it's also vital for parents to reinforce safe driving messages with their teens.

"Safe driving is something that you learn, and the best teacher that a young driver has is their parent," Attorney General George Jepsen said at a press conference to promote National Teen Driver Safety Week.

"While we can set rules and pass laws and work to ensure the roadways are safe for inexperienced drivers, we can't eliminate all dangers or distractions. It's up to parents and to teens to make safety a priority," Jepsen said.

Connecticut legislators instituted tougher rules for 16- and 17-year-old drivers in 2008 following a series of fatal accidents in 2007 in which seven teen drivers died. In some of the crashes that year, passengers and others were killed, too. Four teens perished in a high-speed wreck in Bristol, and less than two months later three more died in a Wolcott crash.

The new rules included an earlier curfew for young drivers, restrictions against having multiple friends in the vehicle, and tougher penalties for violators. The 2008 laws also imposed requirements for more behind-the-wheel training before licensing, and obligated parents to take a two-hour seminar on teen driving before a license is issued to their child.

The number of teen drivers killed each year since then has been below the 2007 mark. Still, more parental involvement is important to reducing the numbers further, experts said Tuesday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offer the "5 to Drive" campaign to help parents know what to talk about with their young drivers. It emphasizes five points: Don't speed, don't drink and drive, don't text or call while driving, always use seat belts and don't bring along more than one passenger. Details are at parents.

Contrary to what some people might think, younger teen drivers who are just starting out on the roads are fairly receptive to talking with their parents about safe driving techniques, but often wait for their parents to initiate the conversation, according to survey results published by Travelers earlier this year. After a couple of years experience behind the wheel, though, many teens grow more resistant to such talks.

Travelers offers its parent teen coaching guide, , which covers sharp braking, speeding, distracted driving and more.

Travelers emphasized that its national phone survey of 2,000 teens and parents of teens also found that parents' driving behavior will influence their children's.

"Twenty-four percent of teens who report their parents are not good driving role models have been in more than one accident as a driver, compared to 10 percent of teens who report their parents are good role models as drivers," a Travelers report stated.

"Fifteen percent of teens who report their parents are not good role models as drivers have been issued more than one ticket (speeding or other moving violation), compared to six percent of teens who report their parents are good role models as drivers."

WTNH

Distracted driving number one killer of teens

By Kim Kern WTNH Producer Published: October 21, 2014, 12:20 pm Updated: October 21, 2014, 12:24 pm

WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (WTNH)– With the start of National Teen Driver Safety Week, Connecticut State officials are coming together to talk about teen driving safety, and encouraging parents to get involved.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens ranging in age from 14 to 18 in the United States. Yet, a recent survey says only 25% of parents are having a serious talk with their children about the importance of keeping their focus on the road and the key components of driving.

National Teen Driver safety week started Sunday and ends on Saturday. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, Commissioner of DMV Melody Currey and Commissioner James Redeker headed a press conference in Wethersfield raising awareness Tuesday afternoon. They encouraged parents to talk to their children about safe driving using the “5 to Drive” rules. Those rules include:

1. No cell phones while driving

2. No extra passengers

3. No speeding

4. No alcohol

5. No driving/riding without a seatbelt

Safety advocates have been pushing for people to put down the phone and not drive distracted. In September, the DMV released the Five Numbers of Distracted Driving. State and local police have stepped up their enforcement since the beginning of the year. State police have launched a series of crackdowns across Connecticut against distracted drivers as part of their “Phone In One Hand, Ticket In The Other” campaign.

News 8 has launched our own campaign encouraging drivers to wait to text or pull over if you need to use your phone. Learn more about W82TXT here.

WTNH

Communication is key to teen driving safety

By Keith Kountz, WTNH Anchor Published: October 21, 2014, 6:53 pm

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– A teenager getting his or her driver’s license is a day they look forward to, but their parents often dread. With that in mind, this week the state is focusing attention on keeping teen drivers safe behind the wheel.

The real push is opening up the line of communication between parents and their children when it comes to driving. So parents need to think about what they do when they get behind the wheel.

At a news conference to get out the word about National Teen Safe Driver Week, young people took the lead role, explaining why their peers often make bad decisions behind the wheel.

“They are the least experienced drivers on the road, and it doesn’t seem to help that we all think we’re invincible,” said Abhishek Gupta, an Xavier High School student.

Of course, they’re not. State officials say years of driving home the messages of not drinking and driving, and buckling up, has made a significant impact on teen fatality rates. Now the push is on to stop distracted driving, and the role parents can have in making that happen.

“When you step into a car, parents, put on your seat belt; I don’t care if it irritates your neck, wear a turtleneck or get rash cream,” said Benjamin Harlee, a Hartford Classical Magnet School student. “Put down your phone. Don’t text and drive.

Just because you’re older than I am doesn’t mean your less likely to crash.”

“Parents, please remind your teen while driving to just place all phones in the glove compartment or to drive with music on low or not at all, that’s better.” said Estefania Maya, a Wethersfield High School student.

Trends are moving in the right direction. State officials say fatalities involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers in Connecticut dropped by more than 70-percent in 2013. The DMV even has a new app for smart phones with quizzes to make sure young drivers are on point when they hit the road.

FOX CT

Parents to teens: ‘5 To Drive’ rules

Posted 6:18 PM, October 21, 2014, by John Charlton

Car crashes kill more 14 to 18 year olds every year nationwide than any other age…however, the numbers in Connecticut appear to be decelerating.

The Department of Motor Vehicles credited Connecticut’s stricter teen driving laws for cutting deaths of 16 and 17 year old drivers by 71% since 2007.

In the spirit of National Teen Driver Safety Week, the DMV is now calling on more parents to get involved. They encourage parents to steer their teenagers towards safe driving by preaching the so-called “5 to Drive” rules…don’t drink and drive, don’t text while driving, don’t speed, don’t take extra passengers, and don’t forget to buckle up.

Teens, like Benjamin Harlee of Hartford, are also spreading the message.

“Drive a little bit faster, or let’s turn up this song, or have a drink or something like that, if I’m ever in that situation, no, I’m not driving with that person, I’m not driving them anywhere,” Harlee said.

National Teen Driver Safety Week ends Saturday.

Story on…

Many arrested in Colorado for drinking, driving had lost their licenses to past DUIs

inewsnetwork

Many Arrested for Drinking, Driving had Lost Their Licenses to Past DUIs

BY: BURT HUBBARD | 3 HOURS AGO

One of every four motorists cited for drinking and driving in Colorado over the past two years was driving at the time without a valid license because it had been revoked, suspended or never issued, a Rocky Mountain PBS I-News analysis of state records found.

And more than one-fifth of that number without licenses had lost their driving privileges for a prior drunken driving conviction.

In one notorious Aurora case, Ever Olivos-Gutierrez, 40, allegedly driving drunk, ran a red light and smashed into a car being driven by Juan Carlos Dominquez-Palomino, 17, killing him two months before he was to graduate from high school.

Olivos-Gutierrez had never had a Colorado driver’s license and had been cited for two previous DUIs when he was involved in the deadly March 24 crash.

That same day, 10 other drivers across Colorado were cited for drinking while driving without a valid license. Five of them – from Pueblo to Colorado Springs to Mesa County – had lost their licenses for prior DUIs.

I-News analyzed electronic court records of 45,637 people arrested for drinking and driving offenses issued in Colorado from April 2012 through April 2014, finding that many weren't legally on the road in the first place.

The analysis did not include Denver County Court, where court officials said they could not determine how many of the 13,200 motorists charged with drinking and driving over the two years had no valid driver’s license at the time.

The analysis found:

•One-fourth or 10,978 of the 45,637 driving while intoxicated or impaired citations were issued to drivers who had previously had their licenses suspended, restrained or did not have a license. That’s an average of 15 a day, without including Denver.

•At least 2,294 of those drivers, or three a day, had lost their driving privileges for a prior driving and drinking arrest.

•More than 250 separate law enforcement agencies in the state had stopped at least one driver for drinking and driving without a license.

Story on…

Maryland’s new driver's license law undermines security

Baltimore Sun

New driver's license law undermines security

By Carin Morrell

October 21, 2014, 12:02 PM

Wow, this doesn't really look like you," said what seemed like the hundredth person examining my driver's license photo.

At 26 years old, my state issued ID showed the picture of a fresh-faced 21-year-old who looked more teenager than adult. My driver's license signature had also morphed and matured as I did, and is now sometimes questioned by businesses comparing my credit card slips to my outdated ID. So, I was excited to get the notice from the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration when it was time to renew my license. Time to update all my information, I thought, and to once again have a driver's license in my wallet that resembled the woman who possessed it.

But that's not what happened. Instead, I was issued an identical copy of my current license, save for the renewed expiration date. It seems a new policy went into effect this spring requiring that eligible drivers under the age of 40 renew their licenses "by mail, online or at a kiosk at an MVA branch" — meaning no updated picture or signature. It was put in place "to increase customer service and decrease in-person wait times," according to the Maryland MVA website.

Despite inquiring as to whether I could wait through the long line, pay extra, or drive out of my way to get an accurate ID, I was told these were not options. I am expected to keep this outdated, yet newly issued, ID until it is time to renew in six years, at which time I will be a woman in my 30s carrying the photo ID of a college senior.

I reached out to the MVA and was finally contacted by a friendly manager who asked me, "Why wouldn't they just take a new picture of you?" I wondered the same thing. After a few calls back and forth, I was offered the opportunity to correct the information on my ID only after admitting to the MVA manager I had gained, "a significant amount of weight," which, to the MVA, is 20 pounds since my weight was first put on my driver's license 10 years ago. Humiliated, I waited while she called my local MVA branch to inform another manager about my "significant weight gain" so I could go get a new, updated driver's license.

While this new policy may indeed save the MVA time and money, the fact that I was forced to jump through bureaucratic hoops to take a new picture, update my signature, or even fix basic personal information on my state-issued ID makes me wonder what impact this new policy has on our security as a society. Having an accurate state-issued ID is more important than ever in this era of increased safety concerns at airports, sporting events and schools. An accurate ID even matters just to get into a bar. Yet this new MVA policy suggests I could be well into my 40s and still carrying an ID with an image of a young woman who thought pulling all-nighters was actually a good idea.

The distinct contrast between this new policy and the importance of accurate IDs should not be lost on drivers across the state. Is it reasonable to assume we have the same face, the same signature and the same weight as we did when we first passed the parallel parking portion of the Maryland state driver's test? This identification is used for everything from filling out tax forms at a new job to boarding a plane. We use our driver's licenses to confirm who we are. So are we really the same person at 21 as we are at 40?

For those hoping to stay forever young on their ID, this policy may seem like a blessing. But I am waiting for the day a TSA agent doesn't allow me through security because my ID doesn't match the woman in front of them. So I would ask, why the hoops? Why can't Maryland residents get an accurate state-issued ID? And what has to happen before we say, "enough"?

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Department of Motor Vehicles

60 State Street

Wethersfield, CT. 06161

Corporate and Public Relations

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