That increased to 86 percent with two passengers and 182 percent with three or more. The reasons were simple. More kids in the car caused more distractions and foolishness, a fact so obvious that it defies all logic for the House to gut the passenger restrictions for the sake of double-dating. But common sense has been in short supply in all the actions by the lower chamber on teens and driving. Despite statistics showing that teen accident rates soar after 10 p.m., the House also threw out an early curfew for teens, pushing it back to midnight and then adding a slew of exemptions which rendered the curfew meaningless.
Research also shows that the first year of driving is the most dangerous.
That's why it's so important for kids to spend that initial year focusing exclusively on honing their driving skills and avoiding high-risk situations. When Gov. Roy Barnes rolled out his ambitious teen driving reforms, he probably figured the resistance would come from adolescents in the community. Little did he know he'd be fending off challenges from adolescents in the Georgia House. Based on a recommended national standard of 18 acres of parks for every 1,000 people, DeKalb ought to have 11,148 acres of park land or nature preserves for its estimated 620,000 residents. Actually, some of America's most progressive, green-conscious counties average 23 acres per 1,000, which would set the bar even higher for DeKalb at more than 14,000 acres.