A new law allowing teenagers who live or work on family farms to receive limited-use driver’s licenses has divided local residents over whether the privilege is a good idea.
House Bill 1962 makes 14-year-olds who live or work on a family farm eligible for driver’s licenses. The new permit allows these teenagers to drive directly to home, work or school.
District 26 state Sen. Darcy Jech, R-Kingfisher, was the lead author of the bill in the Senate.
“Many children in rural communities start working on the family farm at a very young age,” Jech said in a House press release. “By the time they are teenagers, they are well-versed in farm practices and are ready to take on larger roles in the operation. The farm permits and licenses available under House Bill 1962 will assist these teenagers in their work on their own farms and ranches, as well as making it easier for them to work in other local operations.”
The bill will go into effect Nov. 1 to give Service Oklahoma time to prepare the new permit.
District 9 state Sen. Dewayne Pemberton, R-Muskogee, voted for the bill.
“I think it can be useful to farms and ranches across the state,” Pemberton said.
Pemberton said he has no concerns about the law at this time. Asked if he thought the privilege should be extended beyond farmers in the future, Pemberton said he was not in favor of extending the bill beyond its intended purpose.
State Rep. Bob Ed Culver, R-Tahlequah, said he hasn’t really thought about extending the law to non-farmers. He said the bill was mainly made for rural areas.
“A lot of people are out doing farm work,” Culver said. “Most people start driving at a young age.”
As for the bill allowing teenage motorists to drive to or from home, work or school, Culver believes the state should “get on with it.”
“I know I probably wasn’t ready to drive in OKC or Tulsa at that age,” Culver said.
During a Saturday, May 20 Facebook forum, Tahlequah Daily Press readers were asked for their thoughts on the new law.
Pryor resident Debbie Davis identified herself as a former driver’s education teacher and spoke from that perspective.
“Teenagers who were raised on the farm already knew how to drive and it sure made my job easier,” Davis said. “I was raised on a farm and drove at an early age, and [I] he was driving without a license. I think it won’t cause a big problem because it mostly comes down to how the child was raised.”
Jack Webb, a former Cherokee County resident, said it just depends on the boy.
“It will benefit some [and] some will take advantage of it, especially driving to school,” Webb said. “I learn to drive in our apple orchard, but I don’t like the driving part of school.”
Wes Wheeler said other neighboring states already have such laws.
“I was one of those students on a permit and it was very helpful,” Wheeler said.
what you said
In a website poll, TDP asked readers how they felt about the new law. Just over 26% said they fully approved; 18% said they somewhat approved; 9.8% said they somewhat disapprove; 41% said they strongly disapprove; and 4.9% were unsure.
