Thursday, November 4, 1999 Older Editions

Kids driving kids

By Neil Fater

The state's Junior Operator Law, which forbids new, young drivers from driving other teens during the first six months after they get their license didn't exist when Carol Viola's now 19-year-old daughter got her license. But Viola wishes it had.

"She was in a bad accident. No one was hurt, but a month after she got her license, she was driving with other kids. They all had their seat belts on, but they went into a tree on Reservation Road, and totaled the car," says Viola. "A parent's worst nightmare is when you get a call at 10:30 p.m. and it's the police saying, 'Your daughter's been in an accident.' And that's what happened."

That's why Viola and other parents believe the law could prevent similar accidents -- and perhaps save lives. They say it eliminates distractions from new drivers, who need more practice driving alone.

But today, exactly one year after the law went into effect on Nov. 4, 1998, many kids either don't agree, or are ignoring the law for other reasons.

"Definitely, and parents ignore it, too," says Sue Rice, Andover High School PAC co-president. "That puts pressure on those of us who do try to enforce it."

"I'm finding that the parents are saying, 'It's OK,'" agrees Pat Fitzpatrick. "I think it's a town-wide problem. (But) it's a good law and I don't know why the parents are saying it's OK unless it's just for their own convenience."

Many parents say they see kids illegally driving other kids to both school and after-school activities. Some police officers also see this as a problem.

"I think there's a lot of misinformation out there. I think kids are saying, 'It's not really enforced,'" says Safety Officer Bob Cronin. "I have the sense that there's an undercurrent that (people think) this is one of those stupid laws that everyone turns a blind eye to. Mom and Dad turn a blind eye to it. (People think) police turn a blind eye. But that's really not the case."

Cronin says he arrested an Andover youth Monday and charged him with being a minor in possession of alcohol. The youth had six people in his car, and was also cited with violating the Junior Operator Law. That means he faces a $35 fine and the loss of his license for 30 days, just for the junior operator violation.

Police Lt. James Hashem says a 17-year-old was cited Sunday afternoon for driving with a 13-year-old youth, after the driver was stopped for speeding.

"We had to have a parent come out and pick a kid up by the side of the road," says Hashem. "An inexperienced driver doesn't need any more distraction.

"We're looking at this as a safety issue. This six months is supposed to be a period of time where they're gaining experience," he says. "We're taking it seriously. These violations have come up a few times, that I know of, in the course of accidents."

But not every officer is strictly enforcing the relatively new law. Some youth and Andover parents say they've heard or seen kids let off with warnings.

"It sounds as though, from the (officers) I've talked to, that they often give a verbal warning," says Lt. Arthur Ricci. "This isn't, right now, a major priority. That's in my opinion."

But some of those parents who try to enforce the law are hoping for more help from both other parents and police.

"Maybe a bit more than a warning is in order," says Fitzpatrick. "I think it's just a serious problem here in town and it needs to be addressed."

Hearing that other officers are not issuing citations, Cronin says he believes the police department must do a better job educating both its officers and the public about the law.

Some officers say they forget to check the computer to see if a young driver is within his or her first six months of operating when they pull them over, says Cronin.

However, it may just be a matter of time before police actively enforce the law. When the mandatory-seat-belt law went into effect the first year, Andover officers handed out only a handful of seat belt citations, says Ricci. But more than 1,000 seat-belt citations have been issued already during 1999.

No designated drivers?

Of course, many youths and their parents are against the law because they say, off the record, it just makes sense for kids to car pool with other kids.

But those favoring convenience aren't the only ones against the law.

Dave Nichols, Andover schools' health coordinator, also opposes it, because he questions whether it is doing more harm than good.

Andover's most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows that during the 30 days before the survey, 24 percent of Andover High School kids had ridden in a car driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol. (The state average is 35 percent.)

Eleventh-grade students -- the kids this law usually affects -- were the ones most likely to have done this, he says.

"Although we obviously don't condone drinking alcohol, we want those kids who do to have designated drivers," says Nichols. "This law prevents that because they can't drive with their friends. So I can't endorse that law.

"At that age, it's an experimental stage of their lives," he says. "We were doing very well with that designated driver."

Other parents say that the school wouldn't have enough parking for all the students who would drive if kids did not car pool.

Law lovers

But parents in favor of the law say they're willing to drive their kids to activities, because they believe the law is meant to make the roads safer.

"It's an awkward position sometimes for the kids to be in," says Bob Fitzpatrick, Pat's husband, who insists on driving his son to hockey practice rather than letting him get a ride from a young driver. "If they get an offer for a ride home from school, are they going to say, 'No, I'll take the bus?'

Bill Fahey, youth services coordinator, says the law is one that kids complain about frequently.

"My sense is there's a lot of frustration out there. A license is something a young person is really looking forward to," says Fahey.

"After driver's ed classes, at 161/2, suddenly there's one last issue thrown in the way. The state says, 'You're ready, but you can't drive with your friends.' Obviously, when you get your license, who are you going to want to drive with?"

DARE Officer Cee Cee Blais says police heard at a forum that many kids would ignore the law even before it was officially accepted.

"It is that kind of motor vehicle law that kids might take lightly, until they or their friends get stopped and charged with it," she says.

But some parents, like the Fitzpatricks, want more Andover parents to band together to support the law.

"It's a good law and has good intentions. It's tough enough for kids when they're young to get comfortable behind the wheel," says Bob Fitzpatrick. "It's hard enough as it is without the distractions of having other kids in the car. Kids will be kids. They'll goof around.

"I think it's just a safety issue. You read the papers and you see the accidents. It's not drugs or alcohol, it's inexperience," says Pat Fitzpatrick. "I think they don't think there's anything wrong with what they're doing, because they're getting that message from the parents."

Bob Fitzpatrick says a friend-of-the-family's son recently died in a car accident, and he cuts articles about accidents out of the paper to remind his kids about the dangers of driving.

"This type of law -- if voluntarily enforced by everyone involved, kids and parents -- somewhere along the line has to save a kid's life, I would think," he says. "It's hard to enforce and it almost needs to be enforced voluntarily.

"Where my son is 16, I've made it very clear to him that when the time does come, it's law. It's something that needs to be respected. We can't pick and choose which laws we'll follow," says Colette Crowley, of Keystone Way. "Across the board, kids and parents have to enforce the law and take it to heart. I don't think anyone should consider it an option whether to observe that six-month period."