This article was reprinted with permission from .听
Lawmakers will consider a bill in January that aims to stop unlicensed minors from operating a vehicle by charging the vehicle owner with a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Tammy McGee, whose son died in a 2019 car accident after an unlicensed and underage teen driver crashed the car he was in, has become an outspoken advocate for safe driving laws. She is now working with lawmakers including Del. W. Chad Green, R-York, to create accountability for parents and adults regarding driver safety for teenagers with聽.
鈥淚t鈥檚 another tool that law enforcement would have to hold parents responsible,鈥� Green told the Mercury. 鈥淢aybe with this change in law, parents and adults will say, 鈥榟ey, we鈥檙e not going to let this happen,鈥� and it could end up saving some lives.鈥�
Under current聽, owners only face a penalty if they knowingly allow someone whose driver鈥檚 license, learner鈥檚 permit, or privilege to drive a motor vehicle has been suspended or revoked to drive a vehicle.
If the General Assembly and the governor approve the new bill, vehicle owners could face a one-year jail sentence and a $2,500 fine.
McGee, who operates the聽, in honor of her late son, Thomas Conner Williams Guido, affectionately known as 鈥淕weedo,鈥� died in a car crash on Oct. 26, 2019 in York County. Since the accident, she has advocated for teen driving education in Virginia.
In 2021, the General Assembly passed a bill that she pushed to address safety in聽聽and another the following year requiring聽聽in teen driver education. She also launched a聽聽to allow people to anonymously report tips about unsafe driving, illegal activities, and bullying, to name a few.
McGee said she hopes the momentum will carry during the short session beginning on Jan. 8 with House Bill 1549 and another bill, still to be filed, that will ensure all students have access to in-car driver education. McGee said not all school divisions offer behind-the-wheel education in Virginia.
She fears that if students don鈥檛 have a behind-the-wheel education, they are likely to drive without a license if they or their families cannot afford private instruction.
鈥淭hat gives our parents a peace of mind about the quality of education and the safety of their child when you think about these driving schools,鈥� McGee said.
鈥淲ould I have been in these shoes had my son not died?鈥� said McGee. 聽鈥淣o.鈥�
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be passionate about driving and safety,鈥� she added. 鈥淏ut what I do know is that what happened to me shouldn鈥檛 have happened. 鈥� My baby鈥檚 aspirations to play collegiate soccer were wiped away by an innocent act of stepping into a vehicle, and anybody should be able to hop into another vehicle and know that that teen is licensed, and that wasn鈥檛 the case.鈥�
