Over the last few posts we have been talking a lot about the dangers of teen driving and the causes of teenage car accidents. Car accidents are the number one cause of death for teenagers, and the major causes of teenage car accidents including fatal and non-fatal accidents are distraction and inexperience. This week a United States Senator introduced to the Senate a proposed national law on teenage driving that would restrict teenage driver’s licenses until age 18.
The name of the proposed national teenage driving law is the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act, and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand proposed the law because she does not want car accidents to be the number one cause of death among teenagers. As a mother the Senator says she has two boys and their well-being means everything to her, and as a Senator she says every reasonable precaution should be taken to ensure teen drivers are prepared to be on the road.
The national teen driving law would divide the teenage driver’s license process into three stages: learning permit, intermediate status and full nonrestricted driver’s license. Teenage drivers with learning permits and intermediate driver’s licenses would not be allowed to drive at night, and teenage drivers with intermediate licenses could only travel with one non-family member under the age of 21. Teenage drivers would earn a full unrestricted license at age 18. Many states already have a three-tiered system for teenage drivers but the systems do not reflect the rules of the proposed law.
Teenage drivers and parents naturally have opposing viewpoints on the rules of teenage driving laws. One 16-year-old boy says he understands that car accidents are the leading cause of fatalities for teenagers but still believes his state’s rule of 35 hours of requisite practice time is sufficient for him to be on the road. The boy’s mother disagrees and says she does not even like to be on the road at night because of drunk drivers, and her son without sufficient defensive driving skills should also not be on the road at that time.
Source: Times-Picayune, “Teens should wait until age 18 to drive, New York senator says,” Bruce Alpert, 4/13/11