State Rep. Lile R. Gibbons of Greenwich, a member of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee successfully spearheaded the passage Monday night of an exemption from driving restrictions for teens while volunteering for Safe Rides and similar programs. The restrictions enacted in August extended a curfew on teen drivers. The law also provided that these teen-drivers could not have any passengers other than family members for the first year of their license.
As reported here in March, Greenwich Safe-Rides and similar programs around Connecticut were in jeopardy unless the legislature granted an exemption to the teen driving law enacted in August which extended a curfew on teen drivers. Safe Rides, is a kids-helping-kids “program designed to combat the dangers of at-risk situations by providing youth with a ‘Safe Ride’ home – no questions asked.” The drivers are high school students specially trained by the Red Cross.
At the time, fearful that Greenwich Safe Rides would lose most of its drivers if the exemption was not granted, Rep. Gibbons aided Ivana Sain, Director of Youth Services of the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross in letting the General Assembly know the impact of the law. They orchestrated testimony at a March legislative hearing on “Exempting Drivers in a ‘Safe Ride’ Program from Passenger Restrictions.” Red Cross Youth Director Sain also reports that State Rep. Lile Gibbons “worked very hard” on behalf of the change and “was instrumental in giving [the advocates] the opportunity to speak.
Under the leadership of Rep. Gibbons, and with the help of other Greenwich legislators (Senator Scott Franz, State Rep. Fred Camillo, and State Rep. Livvy Floren) as well as legislators from other communities with similar programs, a concerted effort was made by these lawmakers to inform their colleagues of the ramifications of the existing law and to obtain support in amending it.
The efforts were successful. According to the Greenwich Time, the amendment (part of a larger transportation bill) passed by a 143-2 vote.
