Reported by Troy Kinsey
TALLAHASSEE -- Some Florida lawmakers want to ban the state’s youngest drivers from having teenage passengers for the first six months.
Bills filed in Tallahassee would make it illegal for a newly licensed driver under age 18 to carry an underage passenger.
After six months, they would be allowed to have up to three other people in the car.
“As soon as a kid gets his driver’s license, all their buddies want to go with them, you know, and that’s a common thing, but it’s also very distracting,” said Riley Bell, a driver’s education instructor.
Alea Spires, a teen driver, said she felt that the ban would be unfair for teens driving responsibly.
She said when she got her driver’s license, she started helping her mother by picking up people and driving them around where they needed to go.
“After about a month or so, Mom started letting me pick up people,” Spires said. “Being an athlete, you know, pick up this person, take them to practice, go to practice, bring them home, maybe grab a bite to eat after. It was very convenient for a lot of the underclassmen.”
Lawmakers could cast final votes on the bill during the spring legislative session.
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