YOUNGER DRIVERS ON ROAD; LAW ALLOWS PERMIT FOR 15-YEAR-OLDS

A new state law allowing 15-year-olds to get a driving permit should relieve parents who might otherwise illegally let their children grab some experience behind the wheel, a Cape Central High School drivers education instructor says.

"I know that many parents illegally let their sons or daughters drive on parking lots or county roads and there's a tremendous fear of them getting caught or an accident happening," said the instructor, Dick Wadlington.

"They're go~ing to know now they're not violating the law and they're not setting a bad example for their children by knowingly violating the law."

Anyone caught allowing an unlicensed driver to operate a vehicle can have four violation points applied against their license and are subject to a fine, Wadlington said.

The new law took effect today with a host of others. State legislators passed the laws in the 86th General Assembly earlier this year.

About 4,000 of the new driving permits the permits are good for six months are expected to be issued each month by the Missouri Department of Revenue in Jefferson City. That would be in addition to the driving permits the department issues to 16-year-olds, said Diane Gaines, the department's drivers license administrator. The latter total about 50,000 a year, she said.

Gaines said the difference between the two permits is that 15-year-olds must have a parent or guardian with them while they drive, while a 16-year-old needs only to have a licensed driver along. The new law states the parent or guardian must occupy the seat beside the driver.

Applicants for the new permits must take written, vision and sign recognition tests, just like their 16-year-old counterparts who apply for permits, she said. State law prohibits getting a drivers license until age 16.

Gaines said the increase in permits issued by the department is expected to occur only over the next six months, then level off.

"We're just processing the ones we would normally process at 16 years of age six months earlier," she said. "It's kind of like a six month catch-up time if you want to call it that. It will be like then we'll be back to square one."

The number of new permits expected to be issued through the state license office in Cape Girardeau was unknown. The revenue department has no such numbers available for its field offices, said Gaines.

Despite Wadlington's belief that the new law might relieve some parents, he professed "mixed feelings" to the law in general. More pressure, at the same time, might be put on other parents, he said.

"I think it will put more pressure on moms and dads to get in the car with their children when they're 15 instead of 16," said Wadlington, who has taught drivers education at Central for 17 years.

"I think from the students' standpoint they're going to love it. It's just that much sooner they can get behind the wheel of a car."

The new law is a step in the right direction, Wadlington said, adding that he felt there is shift now to high schools putting drivers education back into their school programs. A few years back, he said, high schools were dropping drivers education. Wadlington said he believed the high schools had dropped the programs out of financial concerns.

He said he doesn't think the new law will discourage teenagers from taking drivers education courses because most parents want their children to go through the programs. Plus, he said, many insurance companies give vehicle insurance deductions for successful completion of the courses.

Wadlington estimated that 90 to 95 percent of Central's students go through the school's drivers education course. The course is accessible to all students, he said.