Make PLANs for safer driving

For teens with a provisional driver’s license, the road may look rosy – but local law enforcement officials are warning that youthful enthusiasm can often turn to tragedy.
Vehicle accidents are Sonoma County’s number one cause of death and injury-related hospitalization among those aged 15 to 19, according to the Sonoma County Provisional License Action Network (PLAN), which was formed in 2002 to get parents and teens talking about safe driving.
“They become instantly more popular once they have a car,” Sonoma police Sgt. Dave Thompson said of teen drivers, noting an increase in provisional license violations since the beginning of the school year in August.
California’s provisional license law went on the books in 1998 and was strengthened in 2006. The current version prohibits passengers under the age of 20 – or any driving at all between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. – unless accompanied by a licensed driver aged 25 or older. The ban is effective until age 18 or for the first 12 months after receiving the license.
Emergency exemptions are allowed, but not in the form of a “blanket note” from a parent giving permission to drive a younger brothers or sisters.
“It’s not a matter of convenience, unfortunately, that they can drive their siblings around,” Thompson said.
Information on the law will be available at Sonoma Valley High School’s “Back to School Night,” Wednesday, Sept. 17. Fliers and safe-driving tips can also be downloaded from the Sonoma County PLAN website, http://www.teensanddriving.org/.