A bill pending in the North Dakota Legislature would lengthen the amount of driver’s training for teens before they could get a driver’s license.
The bill would require one year of driver’s education for anyone under 18. It would also require a minimum of 50 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction in various driving conditions, which would include night driving, driving on gravel and dirt roads, driving in both rural and urban conditions, and winter driving. There can be no more than one non-adult passenger in the car, with the exception of siblings. And the person can’t drive between sunset and 5 am, unless the person is driving to and from work.
"When you see the results of a teen's death in a traffic accident, it's horrendous, because a parent loses a child to somethinng that is preventable," said the bill's main sponsor, Rep. Mary Adams (D-Grand Forks). "I just think they need more behind-the-wheel training. The more you do something, the more comfortable you get."
A hearing has not yet been set.