By Gillian Graham

Staff Writer

Officials are seeking input on ways to update Maine driver’s education curriculum in the wake of three accidents in January that killed young drivers and passengers.

Secretary of State Charles Summers is hosting a series of “Conversations with the Communities” across the state to solicit ideas from parents and teens about an overhaul to teen driving laws. The state’s driver’s education curriculum was last updated in 1996.

The next “Conversations with Communities” will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in Portland. A link to watch a live stream of the session is available on the Secretary of State’s website. The first session was held earlier this month in Kennebunk.

Gov. Paul LePage designated January “Young Driver Safety Awareness Month,” an announcement that came the Monday after a weekend of deadly accidents that involved people younger than 20.

Chaz Dorais, 19, of Biddeford, died Jan. 8 when the car in which he was riding failed to negotiate a curve and crashed into a garage on West Street in Biddeford. A 20-year-old Wilton woman died in a Jan. 8 crash in Freeman Township.

The day before, 16-year-old Rebecca Mason of West Paris and 19-year-old Logan Dam of Norway were killed in a crash on Route 219 in West Paris. The driver, 19-year-old Kristina Lowe of West Paris, had allegedly been drinking at a party and was sending a text message when she hit an icy patch of road, according to police.

Summers said statistics related to teen driving are eye-opening: 16- to 24-year-olds make up 11.4 percent of drivers, but account for one-third of all fatalities and nearly 40 percent of all accidents.

“Those statistics alone caught my attention,” he said.

Summers said he recognizes the importance of including teenagers in conversations about driver’s education, especially at a time when they hear about deadly crashes on Maine roads. His interest in overhauling the curriculum was first piqued after talking with a group of high school students in Washington County.

“That led me to investigate how long it had been since Maine updated driver’s education curriculum,” he said. “We still doing business the way we were 16 years ago.”

Summers said he was surprised to find the last time was 1996 – the same year he shared one computer with Internet access with Sen. Olympia Snowe’s entire Portland staff. Since then, different technologies have emerged that can be used in classrooms, including lap top computers and interactive driving simulators, he said.

Jaime Kelly, co-owner of GoDriving.co in Biddeford, said current state regulations require teenagers younger than 18 to take a 30-hour class and spend 10 hours driving with a state-certified instructor. They must then complete 35 hours of practice driving with an adult and have a learner’s permit for six months before applying for a driver’s license.

Kelly said increasing the number of driving hours with an instructor would be beneficial for young drivers.

“It’s good, it’s a lot better than in other states, but I think it should be more,” he said. “Anything more than what we have now is better.”

Kelly said he also feels curriculum needs to be updated to include current statistics and videos. Some videos currently shown in class were made before the students were born, he said.

Kelly said it is also important to incorporate into class discussions about fatal accidents and how to make responsible decisions. He said he doesn’t think it hurts to “put a little fear” into young drivers by sharing details and images of serious accidents.

“I always say this isn’t a video game where if you crash and die you hit reset,” he said.

As required under state law, Summers has put together a Technical Review Panel to look at curriculum and suggest updates. The panel will gather public input through Conversations with Communities then submit a report to the Legislature’s Transportation Committee by the end of February.

Summers said he expects the Legislature to work on overhauling the driver’s education curriculum during the current session.

“The Legislature has been incredibly receptive and supportive in this effort,” he said. “This is a very serious issue that needs community involvement.”

Also supportive of the process is Sarah Beth Campisi, a 15-year-old sophomore at Thornton Academy in Saco. She became a student representative to the Technical Review Panel after she interviewed Summers for a journalism class.

Summers said Campisi’s input is especially valuable because she recently completed driver’s education classes and has her learner’s permit.

“To be able to put in my two cents about it is important to me,” Campisi said. “I think if they could do anything they could focus more on distracted driving.”

Campisi said it is also important to use news stories about accidents to help teenagers understand the responsibility they take on when they get in cars. While some teen drivers are mindful of risks, others seem to think accidents won’t happen to them, she said.

“If they could push (news stories) a little more that would get their attention,” she said. 

Campisi said she and many of her peers think state officials should increase the number of practice hours required before teens apply for a license. Currently, teens must log 35 hours of driving time, including five hours of nighttime driving.

Campisi’s mother, Julie, said she agrees that more practice driving should be required, especially for highway driving. She also feels parents play an important role, both through setting a good example and having open conversations with their children about the dangers of distracted driving.

“Any time there is an accident in the paper, we talk about it,” Julie Campisi said. “I think it would be invaluable if they could set up a program where they have guest speakers with those parents who have lost children in accidents. To hear the parents speak, it’s heart wrenching.” 

Julie Campisi said she also feels it is important to properly educate teenagers about the dangers of distracted driving because they have easy access to cell phones, iPods and other electronic devices. She said she often finds school parking lots to be the “scariest place on Earth” because of the number of young drivers on cell phones.

“It’s a leap of faith,” Julie Campisi said. “You just have to hope once they get behind the wheel that they take that responsibility seriously.”

Biddeford Police Chief Roger Beaupre and Kennebunk Police Chief Robert MacKenzie said they feel it is time to update curriculum and stress to teen drivers the importance of acting responsibly behind the wheel.

MacKenzie attended the Kennebunk session with Summers and listened as more than 30 people talked about their experiences and changes that may be needed. He said he feels drinking and driving continues to be an important issue that needs to be presented to young drivers.

MacKenzie said Kennebunk’s school resource officer has used driving simulators with students. He also conceived the idea of “Point of No Return,” a movie about teens in different scenarios that was produced by Video Creations of Kennebunk. The movie, which shows teens making decisions about drinking and driving, is now being distributed nationally. The movie ends with a fatal car accident.

“It’s very realistic, that was very important to us,” he said of the video, which was first shown to Kennebunk High School students. “There was dead silence during the movie and when it ended you could hear a pin drop.”

MacKenzie and Beaupre agree it is important for parents to take an active role in educating their teenagers about driving safety.

Beaupre said his department will offer a series of teen driver courses about the liabilities, rights and obligations parents have when they have a teen driver. The sessions are targeted to parents of soon-to-be or new teen drivers, includes presentations and interactive discussions and is free to anyone who is interested.

 “We encourage parents to come and bring their teens,” Beaupre said.

Beaupre said education and experience are important factors in preparing teens to drive responsibly and ignore distractions that come from technology and passengers.

“There’s nothing like experience to teach people the proper way to handle a vehicle,” he said. “It’s all about attitude and courtesy. They need to be mindful of the fact that they’re in control of metal and glass that weighs 1 ton or better.”

The Biddeford sessions are scheduled for 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday; 6 to 7 p.m. Feb. 8; 6 to 7 p.m. March 6; and 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. April 4 in the second floor classroom at Biddeford Police Department. For more information, call Sgt. Ricky Doyon at 282-5127.

For more information about “Conversations with Communities,” go to www.maine.gov/sos.

Staff Writer Gillian Graham can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 220.