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Fla. Lawmakers To Consider Bills On Teen Drivers, Seat Belts

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Two road-safety proposals will soon be under consideration by Florida lawmakers.

House Bill 1 comes this year from Republican Rep. Rich Glorioso, who wants to allow police officers to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts. Democratic Rep. Kelly Skidmore, meanwhile, wants to stop new teenage drivers from carting their young pals around.

Both lawmakers have filed their bills for the third straight year.

Florida law requires drivers to wear safety belts, but not wearing one is a secondary offense. That means law enforcement officers can enforce the rule and issue citations only if they stop the driver due to a primary offense, such as speeding.

Glorioso, of Plant City, has once again named his bill the Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti Safety Belt Act for the daughter of former Rep. Irv Slosberg and a Hillsborough County high school student, both of whom died in car crashes while not wearing seat belts. Irv Slosberg, a Democrat from Boca Raton, was unable to pass the safety bill before he left the House in 2006.

Skidmore, who holds Slosberg's old House seat, is proposing House Bill 7. Under the measure, drivers younger than18 who have had their license for six months or less would be prohibited from carrying passengers younger than 18 – unless the passenger is a sibling or child of the driver.

The bill's opponents say such government intrusion into family decisions is excessive; setting rules for teenage drivers, they say, is the prerogative of parents.

But Skidmore compared the issue to underage smoking and drinking, which many parents forbid.

"There are also laws that make it illegal and back up those tenets," she said.

The proposal came from parents who voiced concerns about teenage driving at "idea raiser" meetings held around the state several years ago by former GOP House Speaker Marco Rubio. He included the proposed restriction in his "100 Ideas" plan for Florida.

"We have to take our cues from parents who are asking for our help," Skidmore said.

She proposes making violations of the rule a secondary offense, enforceable only when a driver is stopped for a primary offense.

Both bills could be heard in committee as early as Dec. 15, when the House begins holding committee meetings in preparation for the spring 2009 session.

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382.

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