State: Lawmaker's personal plea to counties: Fund driver ed

BROOKSVILLE -- State Rep. Irving Slosberg says he still cannot fathom that his daughter Dori, 14, died six years ago in a fatal car crash. For years after the accident, Slosberg recalled, all he could do was ask, "Why?"

Now, he is traveling the state, pushing the Dori Slosberg Driver Education Safety Act, which the Legislature approved this year. The act allows counties to add $3 to every civil traffic penalty and funnel the money to local driver education programs.

"I'm leading the safety charge out there," Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, told the Hernando County Commission on Tuesday. "My bill is about $3 every time there's a traffic ticket issued in Hernando County. That means about $60,000 more for driver education in Hernando County (annually)."

Slosberg, his family and staff members plan to eventually make their pitch to every county commission in the state, including meetings to be scheduled in Citrus, Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas. The Hernando commission tentatively approved the surcharge.

Slosberg said his goal of safer roads, in the aftermath of his daughter's death, spurred his successful 2000 election to the state House.

As a freshman lawmaker, Slosberg, 54, focused his efforts on promoting traffic safety measures such as tighter DUI laws, not giving up despite some setbacks.

The need for well-funded driver education programs is clear, he said.

One in three teenagers has an accident within one year of receiving a driver's license, Slosberg said, quoting national transportation statistics, and 65 percent of teen passenger deaths occur when another teen is behind the wheel. Yet a statewide crunch in education finances has left counties cutting back driver education rather than enhancing it.

"I guess I'm here asking you to please pass this good act," he told Hernando commissioners.

Attending Tuesday's meeting to bolster Slosberg's plea were state Rep. David Russell, R-Brooksville, chairman of the House Transportation Committee; Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Sterling King; Slosberg's daughter Emily, Dori's twin; and Hernando County School Board Chairman John Druzbick.

Druzbick, whose own daughter died two years ago in a traffic accident, choked back tears to tell commissioners that the Hernando School Board has a good program but had to eliminate summer driving courses last year because of limited funds.

"If we can save one child, if we can stop the number of accidents, I would hope you will pass this bill," he said. "Help save another child's life."

The Hernando commission must have paperwork drawn up and then will take a formal vote on the measure. The School Board would create a plan for the money.

"This is something that we have been trying to get into the schools, and make people realize the importance of driver's ed in the school," said Commissioner Diane Rowden, a former Hernando School Board member. "Anything that we do to improve that now in the schools is certainly going to help."

Russell, who tacked Slosberg's bill to a larger transportation bill to get it through the Legislature, said it represented one of only a handful of new fees that the Republican-dominated House adopted. The leadership agreed, he said, because it would "make Florida a better place."

He praised Slosberg for traveling the state to seek support.

"This is something you rarely ever see. This guy is out selling," Russell said. "I've never seen anyone work as hard as he has to enact a piece of legislation."

Slosberg, who was on his way to Lake County after his success in Hernando, explained.

"You send a letter, it gets buried," he said. "This gets immediate attention. I'm a guy who wants quick action. My stuff doesn't go on the bottom of the pile."

Lake County commissioners decided Tuesday not to adopt Slosberg's act. He had better luck in DeSoto and Martin counties. Earlier visits netted support in eight of nine counties, including St. Lucie and Liberty.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk