Last month we wrote about House Bill 9 that was working its way through the Pennsylvania legislature. Last week that bill was signed into law by Governor Tom Corbett. The intent of the bill is to reduce teen deaths due to motor vehicle accidents. This is important because according to the lead sponsor of the bill drivers of that age are involved in fatal car crashes four times more than adults.

Most would agree this law arrives none too soon. The last couple of years the number of teens who have died in these accidents has increased sharply. Named "Lacey's Law," after a teen who died in a car crash, it takes effect December 24. There are three main components to the law.

The first component is that teens will need to complete 15 additional hours of behind-the-wheel training than was previously required. Of those additional hours, five must be during bad weather. The remaining hours have to be at night.

The second change is the restriction on the number of passengers a teen driver can transport. For the first six months after securing one's license they can only have one passenger under the age of 18 who is not a family member. If the teen is accident free during that period, the number is increased to three until the teen driver turns 18.

Because many of these deaths can be attributed a failure by teens to wear seat belts, the new law also makes it a requirement that anyone who is younger than 18 do so. Once the law takes effect a police officer can pull a driver over if he or she notices that someone in that age range has not buckled up.

Only time will tell if these changes will have a positive impact on the number of teen deaths resulting from car accidents. Most would agree even reducing the number of deaths by one makes it worthwhile.

Source: Lower Southampton Patch, "Gov. Corbett Signs New Teen Driver Law," James Boyle, Oct. 26, 2011