LI dad seeks tougher teen driving laws

Brian Assa was 16 and had held a learner's permit for three months when he floored the gas pedal of his friend's car to see how fast it could go and crashed into a utility pole in Woodbury. His friend lived. He was killed.

Brian's father, Jerry Assa of Plainview, joined Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Tuesday in Washington to press for federal legislation requiring all states to adopt graduated licensing laws with restrictions similar to New York's, aimed at reducing teen crashes like the one in which his son died, by limiting high-risk driving situations.

"He was excited about driving," Jerry Assa said of Brian, who in 2008 was a junior at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School. "I tried to be a good role model for many years as a driver. The lessons and the advice seemed to sink in. I guess it really didn't."

Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among teens in the United States, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On Long Island, 48 people were killed and 12,143 were injured in crashes involving 16- and 17-year-old drivers from 2005 through 2009, Gillibrand's office said.

Tougher graduated licensing laws and stricter enforcement could help reduce teen car crashes by giving "our children more time to learn the rules of the road," said Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

The legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), would set minimum requirements for three stages in the licensing process: a learner's permit, an intermediate license and a nonrestricted license.

The federal rules would change one aspect of New York's graduated licensing law, making full licenses available only to drivers 18 or older.

Full licenses now are available to 17-year-olds who have completed a driver's education course.

The legislation, called the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection, or STAND UP, Act, would restrict high-risk activities for novice drivers, including night driving, nonemergency cell phone use and the presence of young passengers.

Thirty states, including New York, and the District of Columbia have some form of graduated licensing, but restrictions vary widely.

The proposal comes as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood this week launched an education campaign against cell phone use and text messaging while driving, particularly among teens.

Assa, 58, now runs a foundation called "Think First" and talks to teens about making safe decisions.

"They feel they're invincible, and we're here to convince them that they're not," he said.