It has long been accepted that for every violation of a given law, a certain type of punishment will be administered to the offender. However, the extent of the punishment is often decided upon the seriousness of the infraction. For instance, there is a vast difference between what would happen to one who breaks the law by speeding in their vehicle and one who is caught speeding while in possession of an illegal substance. Nevertheless, there seems to be a continuing disagreement over the various types of punishments administered to unlawful behavior.
A relatively new law in Ohio (House Bill 343) requires that probationary driver’s license holders under the age of 17 will not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle with more than one person who is not a family member. Any more passengers could result in a ticket from a police officer, which often causes the relatively inexperienced driver to lose their license for a given time. House Bill 343 has also revised curfew hours for teenage drivers.
According to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, studies conducted by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety have shown that one passenger doubles the risk of a crash among teen drivers, two passengers triple the risk, and three or more passengers increase the risk by more than six. Although the proponents of the law believe that passing the bill will increase safety among young drivers, others tend to disagree.
“I think it’s more unfair than anything else,” said Haley Green, sophomore at Delaware Hayes. “Although there may be some who have a hard time paying attention to the road while driving with friends, I think it is unfair that the law has singled out 16 year old drivers… People who are in their 30’s can have the same problem.”
Another popular traffic violation that tends to be rather common among young drivers is speeding. Depending on the age of the individual, a speeding ticket can either be highly restrictive or a relatively minor inconvenience. For students who are 16, however, it seems to be a nightmare.
“I remember being so scared of being pulled over in my first year [of driving],” said Lucas Phillian, senior at Delaware Hayes. “It didn’t even matter if I was going fast or not; any small violation and I could lose my license for months.”
When it comes to being arrested off the streets, it tends to be a different story. In Ohio, individuals under the age of 18 have the opportunity to remove a felony from their record, depending on the seriousness of the violation. In Delaware, this program, headed by the Juvenile Courts, is known as the Diversion Program.
“I had to use the Diversion Program to get out of a serious felony,” said a student at Hayes, who preferred to go unnamed. “I was charged with breaking and entering during the summer of my freshman year. Although that sounds like a pretty severe offense, the courts recognized that it was redeemable, and offered me the opportunity to swipe it from my record.”
Apparently, the individual was with a large group of friends when they decided to enter an abandoned school. With the sole intent of being spooked, they climbed through an open window and began walking about the dusty hallways. Eventually, the police were somehow notified, and moved in to make the arrest. The student, along with all of his friends, was given the opportunity to take the Diversion Program, which required 40 hours of community service.
“It was definitely worth it,” said the student. “Since then, I have not been in trouble for anything else. It was a bit of a wake up call.”
Luckily for that particular student, he was only 16 at the time. If he were charged with the felony at the age of 18, the offense would still be on his record.
Although some laws are believed to be a bit harsh, they continue to be strictly enforced. Various punishments are offered as a result of breaking them, all depending on the particular infraction.