Bill Could Mean New Driving Restrictions on Anyone Under 21

LOS ANGELES, CA -- If an East Bay legislator gets his way, California’s young drivers will have to endure additional driving restrictions until they turn 21.

This week, Assemblyman Jim Frazier (D-Oakley) introduced Assembly Bill 63, which extends the provisional license restrictions currently reserved for drivers younger than 18 to all drivers until they turn 21.

That means young drivers will be prohibited from driving between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., or driving with other youths without a licensed driver at least 25-years-old in the car. They would also be barred from using any type of phone while driving. The restrictions would automatically expire on their 21st birthday.

The bill’s aim is to reduce traffic fatalities and crashes among young drivers. For Frazier, who lost his daughter in a car wreck, the cause is close to his heart.

“This bill will help significantly decrease accidents among newly licensed drivers,” Frazier told Bay City News Group. “Increasing the age for a provisional license will ensure that California’s most vulnerable motorists go through proper training to become safe, responsible drivers.”

Critics say the law is unnecessarily restrictive and unfair to young adults who would be old enough to die for their country in combat but not old enough to drive after 11 p.m.

Proponents of the bill say the curfew protects younger drivers who suffer more fatal wrecks after 11 p.m.
Frazier cites a Governor's Highway Safety Association report that found fatalities among drivers 16 to 18-years-old plummeted by half over the last decade as graduated licensing took effect.

However, twice as many 18 to 20-year-olds continue to die in car crashes annually than their younger counterparts. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 2,876 18 to 20-year-olds died behind the wheel in 2014 compared to 1,009 16 to 18-year-olds.

“Some folks say it is very restrictive to teens and folks who don’t have experience driving,” Frazier told the Bay Area News Group. “The most restrictive part is the part where they end up in a casket.”