Missouri to study putting new limits on teenage drivers

State officials are studying whether to recommend new restrictions for teenage drivers that could cut back on the number of high school car pools.

Missourians younger than 18 already are prohibited from driving between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. unless traveling because of school, work or an emergency.

Now the state Department of Revenue, which issues driver's licenses, is considering whether to ask lawmakers to prohibit new drivers from carrying more than one of their peers as a passenger -- no matter the time of the day, department director Carol Fischer said Monday. The restriction would not apply if an adult is in the car.

The impetus for considering such a restriction comes from the National Transportation Safety Board, which recommended last week that Missouri and 29 other states change their laws to discourage cars full of teenagers.

The intent of the national safety recommendations is to curb highway youth fatalities. In 2000, 6.8 percent of drivers were age 20 or younger, yet they were involved in 14 percent of fatal crashes, according to the NTSB.

The NTSB also cited a 2000 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that found that the number of fatal vehicle crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers increased with the number of passengers. The highest death rate in the study was for 16-year-old drivers carrying three or more passengers.

In January 2001, Missouri adopted a graduated driver's license system, which requires a six-month instruction permit before anyone age 16-18 can receive an intermediate driver's license. That second-tier license prohibits teens from driving during the early morning unless accompanied by an adult.

The new NTSB recommendations are aimed at drivers with intermediate licenses. The federal board suggests that they be prohibited from carrying more than one passenger age 19 or younger for their first six months of driving or until they receive an unrestricted license, whichever comes sooner.

Destiny Culver, 18, a Central High School senior, said restricting young drivers to just one peer passenger is unfair.

"No, no, no, I don't think so," said Culver, shaking her head. "There are three seatbelts in the back seat of a car, and two in front, so four people should be able to ride with you no matter what their ages. If this kind of thing passes, it would mean more more people would have to be driving and using more gas."

However, some of Culver's Central schoolmates were not of the same mind.

"I guess in a way it could be a good thing," said senior Chris Wamble, 18. "It could help the driver focus because there'd be less distractions. It would probably drop the number of fatalities, too."

Junior Loren Kenkle, 16, said she thought the restrictions made perfect sense.

"I think it's fair to ask that because when young people ride around with their friends, they always try to show off what they can do and they speed a lot more," Kenkle said. "You could be saving lives this way."

Any changes recommended by the state Department of Revenue would be considered by lawmakers during the legislative session that starts Jan. 8.