Teen driving curfew
merits considerationThe issue: The state Senate
will be asked to consider a
curfew for teenage drivers.LATE-NIGHT traffic accidents involving teenage drivers have prompted state legislation that would impose a curfew on juveniles driving without adult supervision. Sen. Cal Kawamoto's proposal raises a legitimate concern that should be examined by legislators as they convene this week.
Kawamoto, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, says he is proposing the curfew from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. because of "young people speeding, racing, getting into accidents, causing accidents." The Waipahu Democrat introduced the bill too late in last year's session for it to receive serious consideration.
If the Legislature were to adopt the legislation, it would be following a national trend supported by studies showing that teen safety is enhanced by curfews and other restrictions.
The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study in October showing that tough rules in Michigan produced a 50 percent drop in nighttime accidents involving 16-year-old drivers. Those rules require new drivers to spend at least 50 hours driving under adult supervision before being allowed to carry any teen passengers. In North Carolina, nighttime crashes involving teen drivers declined by 43 percent and fatal crashes were reduced by 57 percent after the adoption of a 9 p.m. curfew.
Other studies indicate that restricting the type and and number of passengers allowed to ride with teenagers behind the wheel can have a dramatic effect. A 16-year-old carrying one teen passenger was 39 percent more likely to die than a teen driving without a teen passenger, according to a study by the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. The risk soared to 86 percent with two teen passengers, while three or more doubled the risk.
Kawamoto's bill would require drivers 16 and 17 years old to have a licensed driver at least 21 years old in the vehicle during the curfew hours.
Parents may think a curfew would be inconvenient, forcing them to pick up their children after late-night school events or jobs. However, they should realize that a car accident is the nation's leading health risk for teenagers. Experts advise parents to impose strict conditions on the children's driving habits. Legislators in many states have been reluctant to impose strict rules because of that presumption of parental supervision.
"Parents do have the power, but speaking as the mother of two teenagers, my job is a lot easier when I have the law to back me up," says Elisa Braver, senior epidemiologist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Legislature Directory
Legislature Bills & Hawaii Revised Statutes
Erect legal barriers
to fight e-mail spamThe issue: Federal courts have
approved state legislation to
control unsolicited e-mail ads.THE snail's pace at which Congress characteristically moves has required states to do what they can to counter the bombardment of spam in consumers' e-mail boxes. Nineteen states have enacted laws aimed at controlling unsolicited advertising on the Internet, and the recent court approval of such laws should prompt Hawaii's Legislature to join the effort.
Spam attacks during the month of December were estimated at 2 million, 16 times what they were two years ago. E-mail recipients' requests to be taken off mailing lists can result in more rather than fewer unsolicited ads. Filtering software has been unsuccessful in blocking all junk e-mail, which typically offers ways to lose weight, make money from home or view pictures of naked people.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction includes Hawaii, this month upheld California's law regulating businesses that send unsolicited e-mail. The U.S. Supreme Court in October refused to consider a challenge to a similar law in Washington.
Businesses generally oppose restrictions on e-mail, claiming First Amendment protection, but courts have held commercial speech to be less free than political expression. The use of phone lines is an additional justification for governmental control, such as that provided in the 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act, aimed at controlling abuses in the telemarketing industry.
The 9th Circuit also has upheld the constitutionality of that law's restrictions on prerecorded phone calls and unsolicited fax advertisements. The law, administered by the Federal Communications Commission, requires marketers to receive consumers' permission before sending advertising material by fax, which can cost recipients 4 to 12 cents a page.
Since e-mail messages are not automatically printed out, the recipient bears little direct expense except inconvenience rising to aggravation. However, computer owners need adequate disk space for receiving large volumes of e-mail, and online service providers may need more capacity, leading to increased subscription fees. E-mail is another way for marketers to pass on the cost of advertising to consumers, willing or not.
Delaware is the only state that requires permission to send unsolicited ads by e-mail. The others include mandatory, truthful labeling of e-mailed ads so recipients can quickly erase them. Some advertisers make that elimination process more cumbersome by sending 40 or 50 similar messages at a time to the same recipient.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
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