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An Act To Improve the Safety of Minors by Collecting Data on Vehicle Collision Rates
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §1359  is enacted to read:
§ 1359.  Collision data
 
1.  Driving schools.     The Department of the Secretary of State shall collect data regarding motor vehicle collisions involving minors to whom successful driver education course completion certificates have been issued by driver education schools, as defined by section 1354, subsection 1, paragraph D. The collision rate is computed by determining the number of driver education schools attended by the minors who complete driver education courses during a state fiscal year and dividing that number by the number of collisions that involved minors who complete such courses and that occurred in the 12-month period following their licensure. The quotient must be expressed as a percentage.
 
2.  Course instructors.     The Department of the Secretary of State shall collect data regarding the motor vehicle collision rate of minors taught by instructors, as defined by section 1354, subsection 1, paragraph F, approved under this subchapter. The collision rate is computed by determining the number of minors who complete approved driver education courses under section 1351, subsection 2 during a state fiscal year and dividing that number by the number of collisions that involved minors who complete such courses and that occurred in the 12-month period following their licensure. The quotient must be expressed as a percentage.
 
3.  Publication.     No later than October 1st of each year, the Department of the Secretary of State shall issue a publication listing the motor vehicle collision rate for minors taught by each driver education school and the collision rate for minors taught by each driver education course. The collision list must include the severity of the collisions involving minors who are students of each driver education school and each type of course taught by a driver education instructor or an instructor of a commercial driver education school. The publication must include the calculation determined in subsections 1 and 2.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of the Secretary of State to collect data regarding the motor vehicle collisions involving students taught by driver education schools and driver education instructors. The department shall gather the data and publish a list of the collision rates by October 1st of each year.