BATON ROUGE – The House Committee on Transportation and Highways Tuesday favorably sent to the full House for final debate a bill that would add to driver education training the appropriate behavior when the driver is stopped by a law enforcement officer.
Senate Bill 17 would require such instructions to be added to pre-licensing training courses, as well as the road knowledge test.
Sen. Ryan Gatti, R-Bossier, sponsor of the bill, said SB 17 would not cost any money since driving classes already exist. The bill would just “add a component” to teach young drivers what to expect when stopped by a police officer.
“It’s about driver safety,” he asserted. “There’s a lot of anxiety when you get pulled over.”
Rep. Barbara Norton, D-Shreveport, said sometimes there are confrontations because people do not know how to respond.
SB17 would be effective Jan. 1, 2018.