Getting behind the wheel might take some focus... if West Virginia starts drug testing teen drivers.
Teens would have to pass three separate drug tests in order to get a learner's permit, an intermediate license and a full license if a bill introduced Tuesday in the West Virginia House of Delegates eventually passes.
The crackdown follows proposals to expand government-mandated drug testing in the Mountain State.
Bernie Buttrey, a driver's education teacher at Parkersburg High School says he's in favor of anything that can be done to try to make driving safer.
"On the surface sounds like a pretty good idea. Obviously anytime you can take an opportunity to try and eliminate drugs and especially in driving, that's obviously a good thing," Buttrey says. "I worry sometimes about maybe violation of our constitutional rights."
Buttrey says he thinks we've decided as a country that for the protection of the people on the roads, if a bill like this passes it may be reasonable to ensure that teens just starting out driving do the right thing.
"Our emphasis these days in driver's ed is distracted driving and cellphones and all that. We've passed laws that some people think maybe are excessive in the use of your cellphones, but I think evidence proves that the less you use your cellphone, the less you're distracted... the more likely you are to not have an accident. So this is just maybe another step in the right direction," Buttrey says.
