he Montgomery County Citizens Advisory Board Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee met Dec. 1 to address the growing problem of teenage driving accidents and fatalities, in response to board and community concerns.
The committee took testimony from Captain Tom Didone and Commander Betsy Davis of the Montgomery County Police (see box), Del. Bill Bronrott (D-16), and driving school proprietors Tom Pecoraro and Paul Starks (see related story). It then voted unanimously to bring the following recommendations before the full Advisory Board, which will vote on them Jan. 18. If the recommendations are approved, they will be forwarded by letter to the County Council and the County Executive:
Recommend that the County Executive and County Council to use their positions to:
* Support passenger restrictions and mobile phone usage restrictions among novice drivers.
* Call for increased parental accountability by issuing stiffer penalties from parents who knowingly allow their children to violate provisional license restrictions and underage drinking laws.
* Lobby to fortify driver’s education requirements, which currently not in line with National Transportation Safety Board recommendations.
* Strengthen driver education instructor training and testing. Increase number and qualification of MVA personnel who inspect drivers education schools.
* Increase police manpower, especially by supporting the Executive’s call in his State of the County Address Dec. 6 to hire 50 new officers during each of the next five years.
* Make more resources available for police to buy laser and radar speed detection devices, which are in short supply.
The recommendations, which are paraphrased here, are carefully worded to fall within the influence of the County Council and the Executive, which the Board is appointed to advise, even though issues of highway safety issues fall under state and federal government jurisdiction.
“No matter how many laws you put on the books, ultimately it’s a parent’s responsibility to educate their children and impart a sense of personal and community responsibility,” said Alan Freeman, chairman of the four-member committee. “Parents just don’t get it. …They don’t take responsibility for what their kids are doing when they leave the driveway.”
Still, he said, legislation and law enforcement do have a role. “We ask our police officers to do more with less and they do a great job,” he said, but due to lack of manpower “kids can drive around with impunity at 1 a.m. because they know they aren’t going get stopped.”
Freeman is the father of two children under the age of 10. “I want these issues addressed in a meaningful way so that by the time they are driving around … I don’t have to worry as much,” he said.