RALEIGH – Representative Debbie Clary of Cherryville will call for a restriction on the number of passengers permitted to ride with a Graduated Driver License (GDL) driver during a “Click It or Ticket” press event at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, May 23, in Belmont. The event will be held at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, 6500 South New Hope Road, and will be followed by a seat belt checkpoint and child passenger safety clinic.

“Driving must be more than a rite of passage for our teenagers,” Clary said. “Studies repeatedly show that the more teens you pack in a car, the less likely they are to arrive at their destination without incident. For their safety, and to protect families from the tragedy of losing loved ones in preventable crashes, we must restrict the number of teen passengers permitted to ride with GDL drivers.”

Clary and Senator Austin Allran of Hickory will sponsor bills that would limit to one the number of passengers under age 21 permitted to ride with a Level 2 GDL driver. Level 2 refers to the second six-month period in the three-stage provisional license process, during which time GDL licensees may drive between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. without their approved adult supervisor.

Such a restriction may have prevented a crash that occurred March 21, 2001, in Granite Quarry. Several teens left their school unexcused to ride around with a 16-year-old GDL driver. They picked up friends and repeatedly drove at high speed over a speed hump. Seven teens were in the vehicle when it careened off the hump, went airborne and struck a guide wire. The vehicle eventually came to rest against a tree nearly 500 feet from the speed hump. Several occupants required emergency medical attention. Only one teen was using a seat belt.

Officer D.L. Holstein of the Granite Quarry Police Department investigated that crash and will speak at Thursday’s event.

North Carolina was the second state in the nation to pass a three-stage GDL law in 1997. Of the 35 jurisdictions that now have these laws, 18 restrict the number of teen passengers who may travel with a GDL driver.

In 2001, 18,471 North Carolina GDL license holders were involved in reportable traffic crashes. Thirty-seven GDL drivers were killed in traffic crashes, and 35 teen-age passengers also died. An additional 128 GDL drivers and 143 teen-age passengers suffered serious injuries.

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“Click It or Ticket” will continue through June 2. For a schedule of events and activities,
or for information regarding this or other North Carolina highway safety issues, call Public Information Officer Jill Warren Lucas at 919-733-3083, or visit our Web site at: www.ncdot.org/secretary/ghsp