A key legislator wants new rules for Iowa 14 and 15-year-olds who have a permit to drive to and from school. Representative Clel Baudler, a Republican from Greenfield, is a retired state trooper who would like to get rid of those school driving permits altogether, but he says that’s not “politically possible.” Instead, he’s considering a variety of new rules for those young drivers, including some sort of sticker on the car to show it’s being driven by a 14 or 15-year-old. Baudler wants vehicles to be clearly identified as a car or truck that’s being driven by a beginner. He also suggests a change in state law that would limit passengers to “siblings only” when a 14- or 15-year-old is behind the wheel. Baudler says he’s going to “go after” those changes this year because young kids don’t drive well when they have friends in the car. “Quite frankly, in rural Iowa, there’s times when a school permit is a defacto drivers license,” Baudler says. Baudler says cops often see kids “scooping the loop” with their friends after school rather than driving directly home. According to Baudler, the best policers of teenagers behavior are the kids’ parents. “And if they don’t, it’s job security for cops,” he says.
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