Police chief

Spring is here and the warm weather and bright sunshine are certainly welcome signs after a long snowy winter. This time of year seems to bring a certain excitement and a smile to peoples’ faces. Families are getting ready for summer vacations as students look forward to summer break and the anticipation of returning to a new grade or school. Our high school students are planning for summer jobs, getting ready for college, and spending the summer with their friends. 

Unfortunately all too often, this season is also marked by tragedy. As the time for proms, graduations and summer celebrations inches closer, our officers brace themselves and hope they are not called to the scene of a tragic accident involving one of our young citizens. Responding to such a scene or going to a parent’s home to deliver news of a tragedy in another community is something no officer ever gets used to or easily gets over. 

In hopes that we might be able to offer some tips, for us as parents, to help avoid these tragedies, our Community Resource Officer, Joe Giacomantonio has put together the following piece about Graduated Drivers Licenses and how they can help keep our children safe. Please take a moment to read it and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I wish you a safe, healthy, and happy summer.

Graduated Drivers Licenses save lives, if adhered to.

Maine had a strict law restricting the first time drivers with what is called a Graduated Drivers License. If a license is issued to a person younger than 18, that person will receive an “intermediate license” which prohibits the licensee from the following: 

•Carrying passengers, except immediate family (grandparent; step grandparent; parent; stepparent; spouse; child; stepchildren; brother; sister; stepbrother; stepsister; a foreign exchange student that is living with the immediate family) unless accompanied by a licensed driver who is at least 20 years old and has held a valid license for the past two years and is occupying the seat beside the driver for six months after licensure. 

•Operating a motor vehicle from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m. 

•Operating a motor vehicle while using a cell phone. 

A person must hold an intermediate license for 180 days from the date the license was originally issued before they can receive an unrestricted license. If someone is convicted of violating one of the three restrictions listed above, the license restrictions will be extended for an additional period of 180 days from the date of the violation. They are also subject to a class E crime which could result in fine and license suspension.

Use of any handheld electronic device, including cell phones, is prohibited for anyone younger than 18.

Being a parent of a teenager I see and hear of way too many situations where teenagers are violating these laws with the parent’s knowledge. This is not only a bad precedence stating that it is OK to break the law if you feel it is impractical, but it is also dangerous.  

Car crashes are the leading cause of preventable deaths for teenagers. Studies have shown that these are normally caused by driver’s inexperience and or distraction by electronic devices or passengers. Too many times we have heard of young people crashing at high rates of speed due to other people in the vehicle encouraging them to drive beyond their abilities.

We have heard the excuses that parents don’t have the time to get children somewhere or they thought it was impractical to send “three kids in three separate cars” to an event, when they could just carpool.  

The fact of the matter is that a parent (or responsible adult) who has knowledge of a teenager driving in violation of the law could be held criminally liable if not civilly, let alone have to live with the memories of allowing something disastrous to happen. As a parent, we have the responsibility to model good judgment and respect for the laws. We need to remind children that driving is a privilege and an immense responsibility – not a right. 

They need to know that if we or they feel a certain law is unreasonable, they need to know the proper steps to take to try and make it better but not violate it.

We all need to work to keep our highways safe for everyone who use them; the Graduated Drivers License is a tool that helps achieve that goal, if supported by everyone.

For more information on drivers licenses and the restrictions associated with them go to www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/index.html or contact Officer Joe Giacomantonio at 730-4315 or jgiaco@ci.scarborough.me.us.

The Scarborough Fire, Police and Public Works Departments will produce a weekly feature for the Leader educating the public about various duties of the departments and public safety issues.