Teen drivers
An interesting editorial in USA Today notes a decline in youth traffic deaths in states with so-called graduated licensing laws, which prevent full driving privileges until the age of 17. Arkansas is among a dozen or so states said to have made little effort in this direction. They are mostly rural states where, it is argued, driving limits would inconvenience parents and working teens. Still ...
A report finds that when states have strong graduated licensing laws, the rate of fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers is 18% lower. The study, released Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, shows that the more comprehensive the restrictions, the more lives are saved. Laws that are cosmetic do little. The strictest versions cut fatal crash rates by 21%.
Several restrictions are proving particularly effective:
• Raising the driving age above 16. Data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that a single year makes a huge difference: Driving at 16 is riskier than at 17, 18 or 19.
• Restrictions on driving at night.
• Limits on the number of passengers. A teen driver's risk of dying more than doubles with two or more male passengers on board.
• Requiring at least 30 hours of supervised driving to get an unrestricted license.
Comments
Arkansas has a graduated license law. Not saying how well, or poorly, it's being implemented, but the state has one.
Posted by: Quapaw | July 5, 2006 08:12 AM
The combination of a car and a job often causes a student's grades to plummet. And in fact, often teens get jobs to pay for car related expenses.
Parents who allow this, and there are many, are doing a greater disservice to their teens than those who insist that jobs can wait, that getting a good education is foremost.
The "rural state . . . inconvenience" cry is a dominant issue. I've seen it in my own family. I can't say how this fits into an ingrained family values theme, but I generally keep my mouth in a firm thin line, at least until kiddie comes home with Ds instead of As and Bs.
A further note: unless the law has changed lately, a 14-year-old can drive unsupervised with a special permit if she is going to a job.
Arrrrrgh!
Posted by: Doigotta | July 5, 2006 08:18 AM
Not being able to drive at 16 would change the whole teenage culture.
Until this country gets serious about mass transit, I'm against it.
Posted by: Irene | July 5, 2006 09:02 AM
You'd be surprised how many parents oppose changing the driving age. Not only does it make it easier on Mom and Dad, but as Irene points out it would change the entire teenage culture.
Of course, death changes the local teenage culture.
It's like seat belts; people get so angry at the government looking out for their safety that they deliberately take risks. And then you and I pay for the stupid actions of a few.
Posted by: Roland | July 5, 2006 09:42 AM
Of course, there is no reason why parents can't implement their own "graduated" driving program.
Our 14 year old daughter just got her learners permit last month. We intend to apply the same rules to her that we did to her now 19 year old brother: No driving without an adult in the car until you are 18.
That allows for four years of supervised driving and hundreds of hours of experience behind the wheel.
There may be whining involved but we are the parents and we are in charge.
Another benefit is that our insurance company (Shelter) accepted our word on the matter and kept our rates unchanged when our son turned 16. That saved us several thousand dollars over the two years.
Posted by: arkie | July 5, 2006 09:52 AM
We lost our 16 year old grandson and his best friend in a car driven by a 16 year old driver.
It was the parents of the driver that invited our now two dead boys to ride in that car.
This was done without the knowledge or consent of our boys parents.
It's not just when your child is about to become a driver you need to worry about. You need to protect your child from not only other teen drivers, you need to protect them from other parents.
Be very specific about who can and cannot give them permission to get in any car.
Posted by: Dennis | July 6, 2006 11:57 PM