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Jed Boal ReportingUtah lawmakers today heard a pitch on a safety bill from an unusual source. A Girl Scout pushed a simple idea to save lives.
When you hop in your car on a day like yesterday, you certainly turned on your windshield wipers, but did you turn on the lights, too? One Utah teen wants to make sure we do,
When it rains in Utah, it often pours. When it snows, it's often a blizzard. For those reasons, 16-yearold Chloe Dauwalder of Alpine wants to make a common practice one of the laws of the road. Today she presented her Wipe, Shine and Go campaign to the Transportation Committee at the Capitol.
Chloe Dauwalder, Driver's Safety Advocate: "If there's even light rain, the cloud cover will create enough darkness that if somebody doesn't have their headlights on, it's really difficult to see them. It's not for you to see the road, it's for other cars to see you."
Wipe, Shine and Go proposes an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Code. All motorists would be required to turn on the headlights when they turn on the windshield wipers. The bill's sponsor calls it important public education
State Rep. John Dougall, (R) District 27: "If you've got your wipers going, get the headlights on so people can see you. Let the other drivers on the road be able to see your vehicle so you're safer."
Three committee members opposed the bill, saying it was already covered in the law, but Chloe and the bill sponsor believe it's a matter of bill safety and clarification.
Chloe Dauwalder, Driver's Safety Advocate: "This is a clarification because it says like in dangerous condition, or when you can't see one thousand feet, who knows how far one thousand feet is. It's to let you know for sure when you should have them on."
The Girl Scout is working towards the prestigious Gold Award this year. She's also a freestyle aerialist jumper who will drive up to Park City often to train this winter.
Elaine Gause, C.E.O., Girl Scouts of Utah: "It's absolutely amazing for a young woman to have the opportunity to go before our legislature and talk about an issue close to her heart and all of our lives."
AAA and the Utah Trucking Association sounded off in support. The bill passed out of committee; we'll tell you what happens with it this legislative session. Thirteen other state already have the law.
