Title of Bill: Tennessee Vehicle Operator’s Retraining Program Bill -
Please note that the Geogria State Assembly passed in 2019 a bill that in 2020 requires each new driver license applicant to receive professional training by Instructors of an accredited Driving Academy. Georgia leads the southern states in forward thinking and laws making to ensure greater number of skilled drivers are on their roads.
*Georgia and N. Carolina have the lowest per capita fatality rate of all southern states.
->THE COMMON DENOMINATOR OF ALL COLLISIONS OF VEHICLES IS THE LOSS OF CONTROL OF VEHICLE. Thorough Training of drivers brings about a renewed confidence to control a motor vehicle.
Go to Statistics and see how your state compares in fatalities.
Be It Enacted By The Tennessee Congress
Preamble: WHEREAS, current Tennessee and other state statutes concerning driving school permits convicted moving violators to option for ‘traffic school’ if no earlier conviction on their driving record exists in a prior 12 month period, and WHEREAS, major moving violators can avoid points and increased insurance rates by taking this option, and WHEREAS this practice can permit and has permitted serious offenders—those whose offense could have injured or killed one or more persons, to avoid permanent remedial actions in contrast to verbal traffic school lectures, and WHEREAS this existing option system allows therefore non-optimum individual drivers to be a liability on our roadways,
SECTION 1: This act may be cited as the “Tennessee Vehicle Operator’s Retraining Program Bill.”
SECTION 2: Major moving vehicle violators, such as speeding in a work zone, running red lights or running stop signs, overtaking and passing school, youth or church bus, reckless driving are remanded to this program.
Sub-SECTION A: Any convicted moving vehicle violator comes under and is remanded to this vehicle operator retraining program who commits a traffic violation of four (4) points or more.
Sub-SECTION B: The convicted moving vehicle violator is remanded to either a PD or private Driving Academy, with the full particulars of the offense transmitted in duplicate, one copy for the Driving Academy, one for the violator who becomes a student in the retraining program. Note: Often the violator will have never had any formal training much less professional training in how to control and drive a motor vehicle. And, although in some instances the student may exhibit bad emotion, such as protest, or anger to begin with at being carefully instructed, same student will not pass until without said protest, justification or alibi for the convicted offense the student performs the action according to best driving principles and the extant law, and, more importantly shows a new understanding to the instructor as to why the traffic rule exists.
Sub-SECTION C: It is vital to note that in cases such as DWI and texting while driving that a student may protest, sometimes loudly, knowing in truth that they could have caused death or irreparable bodily injury to another by their carelessness and this must be dealt with in a firm but not accusative manner by the instructor assigned to the student. But, that no student may be passed in a state of mind whereby they glibly do the action they failed to perform or that continue to exhibit protest, justification or alibi for their mistakes.
Sub-SECTION D: When a student so remanded to professional driver retraining has honestly and successfully passed, they can apply to the court of jurisdiction for the waiving of the sentence so as not to accumulate the points, and this is done in a conciliatory inducement to the student to obey the law from here on, with the proviso that if they are cited and convicted within a 3-year period for the same or similar offense then they not only pay all fines and costs of courts, but they also have the points waived as well as the new points go against their driving record.
Sub-SECTION E: In accordance with TN 55-10-301, (b) (1) (C) (2) the fees for this driver retraining program should not exceed those given in the above cited sub-chapter, including the verbiage for inability to pay with an amendment to 55-10-301, (b) (1) (C) (2) allowing for this bill’s fee schedule to be the similar.
SECTION 3: This bill shall go into effect 91 days after passage.
Title of Bill: Tennessee Senior Driver Capability Assurance Bill
*It should be noted that the ratio of vehicle caused deaths involving seniors over the past 5 years is 200% greater than that of teens.
Be It Enacted By The Tennessee Congress
Preamble: WHEREAS, current Tennessee statutes concerning driver license renewals allow for a 8-year period with automatic renewal by mail or online, and WHEREAS this practice can permit and has permitted senior citizens with lessened driving capability to drive on our highways and streets, and WHEREAS this existing renewal system allows therefore non-optimum individual drivers to be a liability on our roadways, unbeknownst to other drivers,
SECTION 1: This act may be cited as the “Senior Driver Capability Assurance Bill.”
SECTION 2: Seniors, 60 years or older are required to pass a vision, every 3 years to obtain/retain driving privileges.
Heading 4
Sub-SECTION A: Seniors, 60 years or older who have been involved in vehicle, pedestrian, or animal collision within the past 3 years are required to pass a vision, hearing and reflex test to obtain/retain driving privileges. Note: provision for these additional tests are already covered under, 55-50-322 (a) (1) (A) but are made mandatory with this bill for seniors 60 years and older.
Sub-SECTION B: Statute 55-50-322 (b) (1)* is amended to read: In the case of a non-resident 60 years of age or older, applying for a Tennessee driver’s license, they must submit to a vision and hearing test, as well as a reflex test if they have been in a collision with another person, animal, or vehicle within the past 3 years.
Preamble: WHEREAS, current Tennessee statutes concerning driver years to obtain/retain driving privileges.
Sub-SECTION C: that this bill amends also T50-322-50-322 (I) (2) (B) wherein a foreign country driver age 60 or older must submit to the same eye and hearing tests as a resident 60 years or older, and the reflex test if they also have been in a collision with a person, vehicle or animal within the past 3 years. Note: 55-50-303 (a) (5) does not need to be amended since that provision does not specify a written examination.
Sub-SECTION D: That a neighbor by way of personal repeated observations, may, as well as a family member or health care professional, make a report of an elderly unsafe driver to The Tennessee Department of Safety Driver Improvement Section, provided they have first informed the family of the elderly person with whom that elderly person lives, or the elderly person themselves, if that person lives alone.
SECTION 3: This bill shall go into effect 91 days after passage.
Title of Bill: Tennessee Driver's Road Test Improvement Bill
Be It Enacted By The Tennessee Congress
Preamble: WHEREAS, current Tennessee road tests are inadequate to the demands of our daily Interstate and highway traffic, and whereas a new applicant for driver’s license is only asked to go the speed limit, stop at stop signs, and make four legal right turns in order to pass, and whereas 94% of all serious crashes are due to driver error. NHSTA (2019). Whereas current TN road tests for new drivers should but doesn’t demand skills necessary to navigate Tennessee Interstates and back roads successfully without collisions. Whereas the fatalities on Tennessee roadways has essentially and steadily increased over the past five years, when they should be declining due to state and local police and safety organizations efforts but are yet at an unacceptable level. The statistics are 2014/963; 2015/962; 2016/1014; 2017/1037; 2018/1041 deaths on Tennessee roadways. Whereas from survey of 100 plus Tennessee drivers in 2019 the main complaint of their fellow drivers is the poor lane changing and no or inadequate signaling that drivers demonstrate continuously, followed by excessive speed and, whereas many northern states with fewer fatalities than TN road test their drivers requiring demonstration by applicant of far more skills than Tennessee’s requirements the following should be made Tennessee statutes.
SECTION 1: This act may be cited as the “Tennessee Driver's Road Test Improvement Bill.”
SECTION 2:
Sub-SECTION A: A suitable minimum road test should include the following (From the 2006 AL Driver Education Course*): After examiner makes all vehicle checks:
Proper Signaling (Giving cars behind and to either side, if it applies, sufficient clicks of the signal: usually three).
Lane changing (Interstate) both left and right.
Right and left turns and a U-turn.
Use of marked and unmarked lanes of traffic.
Backing of vehicle (In Wisconsin / Utah 30-50 foot and100 foot back up smoothly required respectively).
Making a quick stop.
Observance of traffic signs and signals.
General control of vehicle.
Observation
Three point turn. With turn signals. Stop vehicle at right side of curb. Viz, When safe make a sharp left turn; back vehicle. Move forward in right lane. Do not bump curb or use driveway.
Parking (uphill and downhill)
*And Utah Driver’s Road Test 2014
Sub-SECTION B:
SECTION 3: This bill shall go into effect 91 days after passage.