The Ontario government is putting the brakes on a proposed law that would limit the number of teenaged passengers travelling with drivers ages 19 and under after more than 150,000 people joined an online protest driven by a popular social networking site.
Although the legislation was introduced with the intent to reduce the number of collisions by young drivers who have a G2 graduated licence, Transportation Minister Jim Bradley told the provincial legislature Monday that he is withdrawing the controversial passenger limits from the bill -- something many teenaged drivers are happy about.
"If someone's supposed to be the designated driver for a party, it's going to be safer having more friends in the car with you than only being allowed to drive one friend home," said one Ottawa high school student.
"You never know how many people are going to need a ride . . . you don't always plan on who you're going to be driving. Sometimes it's just how it ends up, so it works out a little better," said another student.
"It allows more carpooling and cheaper gas," added another.
Bradley says members of the legislature got a lot of feedback about the proposed passenger limit, especially from rural and northern areas of Ontario where public transit is scarce and long drives are the norm.
He says the government heard the public's concerns and moved quickly to remove the part of the legislation that most upset young people.
The legislation also includes automatic licence suspensions for speeding offences for young drivers and a zero blood-alcohol limit.
With files from The Canadian Press
