Rasing The Driving Age?
Are you kidding me?
Evidently there’s an effort to raise the driving age from 16 to 17 or 18 in this country. The case is being made because driving accidents are leading cause of teen deaths. Here’s the problem though, the Insurance Institue for Highway Safety is providing the wrong solution to the wrong question.
This isn’t a question about age, it’s about maturity and practice. Age doesn’t guarantee maturity, so why should a 16 year old safe driver be penalized for his or her peers? Because it’s easier to lump everyone together? I’ve seen plenty of drivers over the age of 18 that should be off the road. The United States takes a view that a driver’s license is pretty much a right and not a privledge. That’s the ultimate question, should driving be a privilege?
If the IIHS is really worried about creating safer roads through better driving, then we should be talking about the following things:
- Mandatory Driver’s Education
- Better enforcement of aggressive driving and traffic laws
- Required written testing, not just once-and-you’re-done
- Required driving tests every few years
- Stricter DUI limitations
- Fuel efficent, less powerful cars
- Required Headsets or Speakphones for in car use of cell phones
- Black boxes for your car
- Increased punishment for traffic violations
September 9, 2008 10:02 am 
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