Torres, Ind.-Saipan, told Cabrera in a letter that House members have the obligation to hear the plea of many island residents who have been requesting an alternative to the “expensive” driving school on Saipan.
Senate Floor Leader Pete P. Reyes, R-Saipan and the author of the bill, said in a separate interview that he will wait for the House response to the veto.
But he reiterated that young residents, particularly students who will be driving for the first time, should be given an affordable driver education.
Leaving it the way it is right now, he said, will not address the concerns about many young and indigent people driving without license. The current situation, he added, is not helping young drivers.
Senate Bill 17-20 seeks to require the Bureau of Motor Vehicle to offer driving classes. It was vetoed by Gov. Benigno R. Fitial on Friday, saying that the BMV is not ready and equipped to offer such a program.
But Torres, in his letter to Cabrera, said the intent of the bill does not mandate an immediate creation of the program. It only authorizes BMV to have one.
Torres said the 50 percent collection of fees to be imposed by the bill would fund not only BMV’s driving school but all the programs and operations of the bureau.
This, he said, would imply that the Legislature did not expect BMV to begin a driving school until it acquires the needed funds.
He said that the governor did not consider the most important part of S.B. 17-20 which creates an alternative driver education, “utilizing a stateside method that fits in with the island way of teaching young drivers through family and relatives.”
Under the bill, an individual 15 and a half years old will pay for a driver learner’s permit and is permitted to drive with a licensed adult over the age of 21.
This, Torres said, provides sound driving experience through the care and concern of the young driver’s elders.
Also, he said, it is less expensive for many island families experiencing “financial turmoil.”
“We have too many illegal young drivers on the road who jeopardize themselves and their families by driving illegally and without the protection of insurance for themselves and others,” Torres said adding that the private driving school can still operate and offer classes to those who can pay $350.
“Is it fair that young drivers on Tinian and Rota do not have to pay for this expensive education to legally drive a car while our Saipan youths suffer?” Torres asked.
