COLUMBUS — Driver’s education classes could be mandated for thousands more young drivers after an amendment is added to a bill, creating further restrictions for teen drivers.
The amendment would require people age 18, 19 or 20 to pay one of Ohio’s hundreds of driving schools for instruction and supervised driving before they would be allowed to take a driver’s test.
Under current Ohio law, that age group can take a driving test the day they turn 18 without any prior training. However, teens under the age of 18 must complete a driver’s education course — 24 hours of in-class time and eight hours of supervised driving with a certified instructor.
The bill would add restrictions to teen drivers by prohibiting non-family members younger than 21 from riding with someone who has had their driver’s license for less than 12 months. Currently, one non-family member can ride in the car with a probationary driver and there is no age restriction.
The bill would also roll back the driving curfew from midnight to 10 p.m. for probationary drivers, unless they are with a parent or guardian.
Rep. Rex Damschroder, R-Fremont, offered the amendment, saying “this change would put Ohio in line with states that require additional driver’s education over the age of 18” and “ensure that proper driver’s education and training applies to those ... most at risk for accidents.”
In 2013, licensed drivers age 16 and 17 were, on average, in error in 71 percent of crashes they were in, slightly higher than 66.7 percent for 18, 19 and 20-year-olds, according to Ohio Department of Public Safety crash statistics.
In the same year, there were 357,876 licensed drivers aged 18, 19 or 20 in Ohio; the state does not keep data on how many driving tests Ohioans in any age group take each year.
The amendment has an exemption for veterans who can demonstrate they’ve passed a driver’s training course in the military or comparable training.
Dana Goodwin, the director of Advantage Driving Training in Columbus and a 35-year veteran of the industry, believes the amendment would make Ohio drivers safer.
“They’ll get some better skills at driving than if they just go out at 18 and get a driver’s license,” Goodwin said. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed on that law.”
Goodwin charges $395 for 24 hours in-class and eight hours of supervised driving; online driver’s education classes can run $100 or less, without the supervised driving time.
Sponsored by Rick Perales, R-Beavercreek, the bill has been debated for several months, drawing support from several state and national safe-driving advocacy groups who say it would limit dangerous driving situations.
Mike Dittoe, spokesman for the Ohio House Republican Caucus, said the group currently has no overall position on the legislation, adding Perales will have the opportunity to present his bill to the larger body in coming weeks.
Will Drabold is a fellow in Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Statehouse News Bureau.
This article appeared in print under the headline "Bill pushes driver’s ed crackdown."
