Greenwich Safe-Rides and similar programs around Connecticut could be in jeopardy unless the legislature grants an exemption to the teen driving laws.
The legislature is holding a hearing on “Exempting Drivers in a ‘Safe Ride’ Program from the Passenger Restrictions Applicable, tomorrow (Friday, March 6). Greenwich Safe Rides is likely to lose most of its drivers if the exemption is not granted because the drivers won’t be permitted to have any passengers other than family members for the first year of their license.
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.
Ivana Sain, Director of Youth Services of the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross will be testifying tomorrow in favor of the exemption. She issued a call to local Safe Rides supporters to lobby to save the program. “After 26 years of service to the Greenwich community, we need to let the transportation committee know how valuable this youth program is to all of us.”
Judging from the response of three legislators with whom I’ve been in touch on this issue, legislative relief may be imminent. The legislators did urge the lobbying to continue, however.
State Representative Fred Camillo is going to bat in Hartford to help save the program. Rep. Livvy Floren, whose sons were drivers in the program, thinks Safe Rides is a great program which benefits the town, the drivers and the riders. She is collecting testimony in support of the exemption.
Assistant Majority Leader, Sen. Bob Duff, who represents Norwalk & Darien, told me he thinks this is “an easy legislative fix” and believes the lack of an exemption in the law enacted last year was an oversight. On the WGCH radio show “Greenwich Matters with Sam Romeo” Sen. Duff told of a deputation of students from Darien who visited his office to help get an exemption a few years back when the first set of teen driving laws were passed. At that time the limitation was that new drivers could only drive family members for the first six months after getting a license. According to the Red Cross director, Ivana Sain, the Greenwich Safe Rides program has “always honored a 6-month passenger restriction, but the additional 6-month increase to 1-year total will most likely cause the program to falter.”
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.
She urged Safe Ride advocates to submitting a letter supporting the Safe Ride exemption (bill HB 6619) to the Chairs and Ranking members of Transportation. The Chairs are: Senator DeFronzo and Representative Guerrera and the ranking members are: Ranking Member Boucher and Ranking Member Scribner. They can be emailed to Dorothy.Getsie@cga.ct.gov with a copy to SainIv@usa.redcross.org. The subject line of the email should include the phrase, “Transportation Testimony –Friday.”
The hearing will be Friday, March 6th, 2009 at the Legislative Office Building (LOB), at 300 Capital Avenue, Hartford starting at 10 a.m.
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 10:15 am
[...] reported here in March, Greenwich Safe-Rides and similar programs around Connecticut were in jeopardy unless the [...]