RAISING THE DRIVING AGE
Photo reprinted from www.magazine.ucla.edu
There are few things that can strike as much fear into the hearts of parents as seeing their teenager’s photo on a driver license for the first time. Yet at the same time it can come as a welcome gift to some parents as they are relieved of chauffeuring duties. For teenagers, it’s a highly-anticipated rite of passage and a ticket to temporary freedom. Now an auto safety group is encouraging states to put off that teenage milestone by at least a year, maybe two.
Take a look at this article from the Associated Press, which was in the Las Vegas Review Journal Tuesday.
CHICAGO (AP) _ Taking aim at a longstanding rite of passage for 16-year-olds, an influential auto safety group is calling on states to raise the age for getting a driver’s license to 17 or even 18.
Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry, acknowledged the idea is “a tough sell,” but noted that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.
“The bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives,” Lund said. He plans to present the proposal Tuesday at the annual conference of the Governors Highway Safety Association in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Not surprisingly, a lot of teens hate the idea.
“I would really be upset because I’ve waited SO long to drive,” said Diamante White, a 16-year-old in Reading, Pa., who got her permit in July. She said learning to drive is a “growing-up experience.”
View the entire article at
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap-driving-agesep08,0,223447.story?track=rss, then let us know what you think—should the driving age be raised or is it best left alone?
