Pennsylvania Scores At The Top Of The List For Low Marks For Driver Safety Legislation - Time To Step To The Plate And Improve Vehicle Safety
According to an article published in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review on Tuesday, January 12, 2010, Pennsylvania was noted to be the sixth worst state in the country when it comes to driver safety legislation which ultimately leads to more Pennsylvania car accidents. According to the article, Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety graded states on whether they enacted laws regulating 15 safety-related items such as requiring motorcycle riders to wear helmets, restricting teenagers from driving unsupervised after 10:00 p.m. or with multiple teenage passengers, and banning texting while driving. Pennsylvania was among nine states ranked as “red” for lacking many of the groups recommended restrictions and furthermore, Pennsylvania dinged for not making violations of its seat belt and booster seat laws “primary” offenses, meaning that police cannot cite drivers who don’t wear seat belts or put children 4 to 7 years of age in booster seats unless another violation such as speeding is observed.
As an experienced Philadelphia car accident attorney who handles catastrophic car accident and traffic accident cases throughout the state of Pennsylvania, we strongly urge the following recommendations set forth by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety as follows:
1. Teenagers must be supervised by an adult driver for at least six months and remain citation free before getting a license.
2. Teens must have 30 to 50 hours of supervised practice behind the wheel.
3. Only issue learner’s permits to youth 16 or older.
4. Charge drivers with child endangerment if driving drunk with a child in the vehicle.
5. Ban open containers of alcohol in the vehicle’s passenger area.
6. Mandate blood alcohol testing for any driver killed in a crash or involved in a fatal crash.
7. Require ignition interlock devices for all drunk driving offenders. (Pennsylvania only does this for repeat offenders.)
8. Prohibit drivers younger than 18 from driving between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. (Pennsylvania’s limits start at 11:00 p.m.)
9. Ban teen drivers from using cell phones to call or text even with hands free devices.
10. Prohibit unsupervised teen drivers from having more than 1 non-related teenage passenger in the vehicle.
11. Allow police to ticket motorists for not wearing seat belts as a primary offense.
12. Require motorcycle riders to wear helmets.
13. Require all children ages 4 to 7 to ride in a booster seat as a primary offense.
14. Set the minimum age for unrestricted licenses at 18. (Pennsylvania drivers with no citations or crashes on record can get a full license at 17 years 6 months.)
15. Ban texting while driving for all drivers except for emergencies.
