Bill seeks to ease license requirements for adults
Since 1998, in an effort to improve teen safety, Maryland has imposed an escalating series of requirements on new drivers before they can obtain a license. The catch is that in doing so, lawmakers have required adult drivers to jump through the same set of hoops as teens – often at the cost of thousands of dollars.
The result, according to supporters of a bill that would ease up on new adult drivers, is that many lower-income workers have found their path to better employment blocked.
The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County and Sen. Victor Ramirez of Prince Georges County, comes up for a hearing Tuesday. A House version will be heard later this month. Getting There would like to hear from adults who have been effected by the extra licensing requirements for adults.
The legislation is being promoted by Eugene D’Onofrio, a driver educator who has been an off-and-on critic of the law since it was first adopted. While the self-described “snowbird” wasn’t planning to return from Florida for the hearing, he has hired a prominent Annapolis lobbyist to press for change.
“No state but us makes adults do what they’re doing,” D’Onofrio said.”It’s crazy.”
Andrea Payne Roethke, senior policy analyst with the Job Opportunities Task Force, said her group plans to testifying that the requirements have posed a significant hurdle for low-income workers.
Roethke said the steeper hurdles for new adult drivers in Maryland have not been shown to make driving safer. “Unfortunately, driver’s ed is not proven to improve safety behind the wheel,” he said.
Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said Roethke is correct about the research on driver’s ed.
“For teens, it has no effect,” he said. “There’s no difference in the crashes for those teens who take driver’s ed compared with those who don’t. So we wouldn’t expect it to be any different for adults.”
Adults who have found it difficult to get a license in Maryland because of the extra hurdles here can contact Getting There by leaving a comment with an email address or by sending an email to michael.dresser@baltsun.com.
Comments
I learned one very important thing in driver's ed as a teenager, and it's a lesson that we don't learn anywhere else and is in fact contradicted by many of the policies we encounter as adults negotiating the transportation system:
"Driving is a privilege, not a right."
While I can sympathize that anything that costs money fosters inequality between haves and have nots, I don't want more driver's on the roads without any attempt to formally train them on how to behave and make decisions behind the wheel.
By the way, I have a sister who is 22 and just in the process of getting her driver's license now. Having watched her go through the process of learning to drive at an older age, I think it would have been rash to allow her to drive on her own as soon as she decided she wanted a license. Regardless of age, there is a learning curve involved in being able to consistently handle a multi-ton deadly weapon in a safe manner.
Posted by: Darlene | March 3, 2011 11:42 AM
There is definitely a learning curve to developing safe driving skills. That's why this bill eases up, but does not totally eliminate, learner's requirements for adults.
It still requires driver's ed, but allows adults to complete the classroom portion online. The behind-the-wheel requirement stays unchanged, meaning that driver's must complete hands-on lessons with an instructor. The certified-practice rule, which has been a huge burden, is the only piece that is eliminated.
It still requires adults to hold a learner's permit, but shortens the time they must wait before testing for a provisional license. The current 9-month period is an excessively long wait for adults who need a license for employment purposes.
This would still leave Maryland with stricter adult licensing laws than other states, but it is a good compromise since it maintains safety standards while reducing some of the major barriers.
Posted by: Andrea Roethke | March 3, 2011 1:08 PM
If these people are so low-income that they can't deal with the additional requirements, they probably can't afford a car anyway. I don't think the problem is Maryland, it's that the 49 other states aren't tough enough. Spend 10 minutes on the road anywhere and that becomes clear.
"a prominent Annapolis lobbyist"
It can't be, can it??
Posted by: Anonymous | March 3, 2011 2:06 PM
I'm 28 unemployed and having a hard time paying for drivers education to get my license. I had started the course in 2003 and was one class away from finishing and ended up having to move unexpectedly. Obviously I wasn't refunded my money and I wasn't allowed to resume the course upon my return to MD. So all in all I would end up paying $600 something for drivers ed, and $50 for my learners and $45 for my license. It's not a matter of people not being able to 'afford a car', it's a matter of an adult wanting to be licensed. Not having a license impedes me from being able to apply to certain jobs. Also just for the record the driving school I attended clearly was only in it for the money. After 15 minutes of behind the wheel training the instructor informed me that I didn't have to complete the rest of my hours because I already knew how to drive.
Posted by: DMV | October 4, 2011 2:48 AM
I'm 28 unemployed and having a hard time paying for drivers education to get my license. I had started the course in 2003 and was one class away from finishing and ended up having to move unexpectedly. Obviously I wasn't refunded my money and I wasn't allowed to resume the course upon my return to MD. So all in all I would end up paying $600 something for drivers ed, and $50 for my learners and $45 for my license. It's not a matter of people not being able to 'afford a car', it's a matter of someone wanting to be licensed. Not having a license impedes me from being able to apply to certain jobs. Also just for the record the driving school I attended clearly was only in it for the money. After 15 minutes of behind the wheel training the instructor informed me that I didn't have to complete the rest of my hours because I already knew how to drive. So just for the record these mandated drivers ed classes aren't guaranteed to teach anyone anything. There's nothing like good ol hands on experience, which unfortunately a lot of us are missing out on.
Also it's not that other states aren't tough enough. Of course if you're accustomed to driving in MD and you travel somewhere else, peoples driving may not be up to par to with what you're used to. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with the licensing process.
Posted by: DMV | October 4, 2011 3:37 AM