New law steers teens to learning

Last year 21 Nevada residents between the ages of 16 and 19 died in auto accidents, making traffic fatalities the biggest single cause of death among the state's teenagers.

A new law that goes into effect Thursday will attempt to improve that situation.

The law requires drivers younger than 18 who live in urban Nevada to have 30 hours of classroom instruction and 50 hours of behind-the-wheel experience before they can get a driver's license.

The law was authored by Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, who says lack of experience often causes accidents involving teen drivers.

"This is part of the solution," she said.

Some aspiring drivers said that while they do not like the new regulations they can see how the law will increase safety.

"I don't really like it, but it will probably prevent a lot more accidents," Cimarron Memorial High School freshman Steven Dodson said. "Even though kids don't like it, it's probably for the best."

Other students shared Dodson's sentiments.

"Now I have to use an elective class on driver's ed," Cimarron freshman Sarah Deutsch said.

The law has sent school districts scrambling. Twenty-two instructors are being trained in Clark County to be deployed to the high schools beginning Oct. 26. Carson City schools, which abandoned driver-education courses, have reinstated the training.

Ray Willis, spokesman for the Clark County School District, said the district has 13,500 sophomores and "we expect the demand to be fairly heavy" for driving classes to be offered before, during and after school.

Willis said he hopes there will be enough instructors for each high school. If not, students can go to adjoining schools to take the elective course.

Area driving schools also expect to see increased demand for behind-the-wheel and classroom training.

"We've been getting some phone calls, and once we get past Thursday we are anticipating a lot more," said Mark Keyser, the manager of Las Vegas' Driving Academy and the AA Driving School. "A lot of people don't know about the change and we'll hear from them after they go to the DMV and find out that their kids can't get a license without the classroom and driving time."

Sara Miller, a 16-year-old who attends Durango High School, is one of the students getting experience from Keyser's instructors.

"I hadn't heard about the changes in the law until yesterday, but I'm glad I'm getting it done now," Miller said Tuesday afternoon before her two-hour driving lesson. "I guess the new law is good because it will cut down on crazy drivers, but some people don't need it."

Miller pays about $28 an hour for behind-the-wheel training, and Keyser said that he expects classroom courses at driving schools to cost between $50 and $60.

The classroom course offered by the school district costs $50.

Cegavske says that through the help of the insurance industry, $20,000 has been contributed to pay fees for those students who cannot afford the instruction.

The law requiring 30 hours of classroom instruction doesn't apply in rural counties where the population is less than 35,000. Rural teen drivers still must complete 50 hours of behind-the-wheel experience, certified by an adult.

Figures supplied by the state Office of Traffic Safety show that of the 21 teenagers killed last year, 10 came from Clark County and two from Washoe County -- the state's two most populous counties.

The final hurdle for enacting the law was cleared Friday when the Legislative Commission approved the regulations by the state Motor Vehicle and Public Safety Department, which set the standards for the classroom instruction and for the licenses of driving schools.

One question in the regulations was whether those drivers with learning permits now would be required to take the new required courses. The department interpreted the law to "grandfather" these novice drivers in.

"The intent of the new law is not to penalize kids," Glover told the Legislative Commission.

He estimated that about 10,000 youngsters have learning permits now. The regulations say that a person who has a learning permit before Wednesday does not have to go through the required training.

Beginning Thursday, those between the ages of 15 1/2 and 18 will be able to get a learner's permit following the old procedure, but they must pass the driving courses with a 70 percent grade before they get their full-fledged license.

Those who already have their licenses said they were happy that they did not have to follow the new guidelines when they turned 16.

"It really depends on how mature you are," said Jeri Sullivan, a senior at Cimarron. "The most important thing to being a good driver is getting experience on the road. The 50 hours on the road is good, but the 30 hours in the classroom is too much."

Cristina Berta, another senior, agreed.

"Working with simulators in the classroom doesn't help," Berta said. "Driving is nothing like the simulators. They are like playing a video game."

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