Maryland Delays Bills to Promote Teen Driving Safety Until 2009

Supporters of bills that would put new restrictions on teen drivers in Maryland are vowing to try again next year.

Several teen driving proposals died in the recently concluded legislative session. The only one to pass was a bill requiring parental notification if teens get speeding tickets or other citations.

The many bills that didn’t pass were proposed in part as a response to a series of deadly accidents involving young drivers.

One would have suspended the licenses of teens who commit serious offenses. Another would have changed the nighttime curfew for 16-year-olds from midnight to 10 p.m.

The General Assembly plans to study driving laws for young people this year and revisit the proposals during the legislative session in 2009.