BILL AIMS TO REDUCE TEEN ROAD DEATHS; STATE SENATE APPROVES PLAN TO LIMIT LATE-NIGHT TRIPS, PASSENGERS.

Byline: Paul Hefner Daily News Sacramento Bureau

A measure to try to reduce traffic deaths by limiting when new teen drivers can get behind the wheel and who they can carry as passengers won approval easily Tuesday in the state Senate.

On a vote of 29-0, senators approved SB 1329 by Sen. Tim Leslie, R-Roseville, which would restrict novice motorists from late-night driving and carrying young passengers. The bill now moves to the Assembly.

``It has one very simple purpose, and that is to save lives,'' Leslie said. ``California's teens are the future of the state and we have lost too many in senseless tragedies.''

National highway statistics show that while 16- to 19-year-olds constitute only 7 percent of drivers, they are responsible for 14 percent of fatal crashes, and 20 percent of all crashes.

If enacted, the measure would bar drivers 16 to 18 from carrying teen-age passengers for their first six months on the road. It also would bar them from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. in the first year after they receive a license.

The bill includes a number of exceptions. The limitations would not apply if someone age 25 or older is also in the car. In addition, teens still could drive late at night to get to or from work, school functions or medical care. Teens also could drive a young sibling with a parent's consent.

Teens who violate the law could be ordered to perform up to 100 hours of community service and pay a $50 fine.

Some teens have criticized the measure, saying it would affect both good drivers and bad and impinge upon the freedom that has traditionally come with a driver's license.

And American Civil Liberties Union officials called the bill ``shortsighted'' for giving police another tool to unjustly search motorists and their cars.

But Leslie noted that the measure would not allow police to stop a car simply on suspicion of violating its provisions.

The bill passed without a single vote in opposition. It had the support of law enforcement and traffic safety groups, as well as Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the PTA.

Along with the restrictions on new drivers, it would require that parents spend 50 hours practicing with their child - 10 of the hours after dark - before their teen earns a license.