By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer

After traffic crashes killed eight Greater Cincinnati teens in just five weeks, authorities have begun pushing for more education, stronger laws and stricter enforcement.

"We have a problem. It is not a problem that has been overlooked, but it is a problem that has flared up again," said Lt. Michael Black, commander of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Hamilton Post.

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"It's going to take a combination of everything - it's education, it's enforcement, it's the parents - to solve it."

Black belongs to an informal group that has developed a multifaceted plan for preventing teen fatalities in Butler County - where half of the recent deaths occurred. The 12-member group, which intends to release its plan next week, includes police, juvenile-court officials, safety-council members and citizens. They began working late last year, after a spate of wrecks killed four Butler teens and injured 10 others.

Speed, alcohol use or failure to wear seat belts were factors in most of the crashes.

In a report released Tuesday, police said Joshua L. Poncy, 18, was killed while driving 90 mph in Hamilton - and he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice the limit for adults. Neither he nor his injured passenger, Timothy Sparks, 18, was wearing a seat belt.

Meanwhile, state and federal lawmakers are considering stricter laws at the urging of parents, such as Linda Barrett, 38, of Middletown. Her daughter, Kristen Norris, 17, was killed Feb. 14 as she rode with a teen who had had six traffic convictions, and was driving at 96 mph at the time of the crash.

"Even after establishing a pattern of irresponsible behavior dating back to 2001, he was allowed to remain on Ohio roads," Barrett wrote in an e-mail to U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio. "We need stronger laws. ... I am willing to do whatever it takes to see that tougher teen driving laws are enacted."

DeWine has sponsored a bill that would revamp driver-education programs and require states to enact graduated driver-licensing programs - which Ohio already has - to get federal money. Those programs gradually remove restrictions as young drivers gain more experience and establish safe driving records.

DeWine aide Amanda Flaig said DeWine is aware of the recent crashes - and he also knows teens are involved in a disproportionately high number of crashes nationally.

That shows "there seems to be a flaw in how we're training young drivers," she said.

Three area state legislators also said they like the idea of adding a restriction to Ohio's graduated licensing: limiting the number of passengers riding with teen drivers. State Sen. Scott Nein, and Reps. Shawn Webster and Gary Cates - all Butler County Republicans - said they know of studies that show the risk of a fatal crash increases when teen drivers carry passengers.

But Nein warned there could be opposition to other restrictions the Ohio Department of Public Safety recommends, including expanding the hours when new drivers cannot drive without an adult. He recalls how strenuously parents objected when legislators set up the graduated licensing program, which was phased in during 1998-99.

"There was such an outcry from the parents," he said, who cited the hassles of accompanying their teens during restricted hours. "We understand that," Nein said, "but we want your kid to come home."

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com