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Driving Laws Must Keep Teen Drivers In Check
Our Opinion
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Commentary
The leading cause of death for young adults ages 16 to 20 is traffic accidents. Over 3,000 American youths in this age group die each year while operating or riding in a motor vehicle. Teen drivers represent a paltry 6 percent of drivers on U.S. roadways, yet account for 14 percent of all fatal motor vehicle accidents. Governor M. Jodi Rell and the members of the Connecticut General Assembly have seen these tragic statistics and are, as they should be, moving hastily to prevent more pointless and avoidable deaths on Connecticut roads.
On Feb. 20, the Transportation Committee, a joint committee of the General Assembly made up of both representatives and senators alike, held a public hearing on H.B. 5043: An Act Concerning Teen Drivers. The aims of the bill are simple. Rell hopes to increase the safety of every single driver on Connecticut's roadways. To achieve this end, sensible and practical ideas have been proposed.
H.B. 5043 suggests an increase in valuable behind-the-wheel driver training hours from a minimally acceptable 20, to a much more robust 50. The curfew for new drivers would be strengthened from midnight to 10 p.m., a prudent idea for reducing the amount inexperienced drivers on the roads late at night. New suspensions would be imposed for young drivers who are caught speeding, using a phone, or otherwise driving recklessly. Teenage drivers caught driving under the influence would face a mandatory suspension of their license for a minimum of one year.
All too often, the impressionable youths of Connecticut make stupid driving decisions based on the feeling of invincibility, mixed with peer pressure and the desire to get home after a house party. While this bill cannot prevent the bad decisions from being made the first time, it aims to prevent the second and third occurrences which serve only to ratchet up the odds of a fatal car accident taking place.
It seems that as years pass by, the amount of legislation required to protect teens from themselves only increases exponentially. Perhaps the culture of America's youth is changing or perhaps lawmakers are merely waking up to the trends which have been around, yet ignored, for decades. Maybe parents simply are simply ignoring their duty in properly educating and disciplining their teens regarding driving habits.
Apathetic parenting and lax controls on the behavior of society's most at-risk drivers is no longer tolerable. Since lawmakers are in no easy position to fix the first problem, they have attacked the second. They are rightly attempting to put the police and courts back in the driver's seat, while keeping dangerous and distracted teens riding shotgun until they more fully comprehend the responsibility of being as safe and courteous a driver as they can be.
On Feb. 20, the Transportation Committee, a joint committee of the General Assembly made up of both representatives and senators alike, held a public hearing on H.B. 5043: An Act Concerning Teen Drivers. The aims of the bill are simple. Rell hopes to increase the safety of every single driver on Connecticut's roadways. To achieve this end, sensible and practical ideas have been proposed.
H.B. 5043 suggests an increase in valuable behind-the-wheel driver training hours from a minimally acceptable 20, to a much more robust 50. The curfew for new drivers would be strengthened from midnight to 10 p.m., a prudent idea for reducing the amount inexperienced drivers on the roads late at night. New suspensions would be imposed for young drivers who are caught speeding, using a phone, or otherwise driving recklessly. Teenage drivers caught driving under the influence would face a mandatory suspension of their license for a minimum of one year.
All too often, the impressionable youths of Connecticut make stupid driving decisions based on the feeling of invincibility, mixed with peer pressure and the desire to get home after a house party. While this bill cannot prevent the bad decisions from being made the first time, it aims to prevent the second and third occurrences which serve only to ratchet up the odds of a fatal car accident taking place.
It seems that as years pass by, the amount of legislation required to protect teens from themselves only increases exponentially. Perhaps the culture of America's youth is changing or perhaps lawmakers are merely waking up to the trends which have been around, yet ignored, for decades. Maybe parents simply are simply ignoring their duty in properly educating and disciplining their teens regarding driving habits.
Apathetic parenting and lax controls on the behavior of society's most at-risk drivers is no longer tolerable. Since lawmakers are in no easy position to fix the first problem, they have attacked the second. They are rightly attempting to put the police and courts back in the driver's seat, while keeping dangerous and distracted teens riding shotgun until they more fully comprehend the responsibility of being as safe and courteous a driver as they can be.
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safe driver
posted 2/26/08 @ 1:07 PM EST
Why doesn't the CT General Assembly just ban driving for all people under the age of 50? Or how about requiring teen drivers to complete 10,000 hours of driver's education? Better yet, why not deny teen drivers the right to do anything other than drive to and from school (and maybe soccer practice)?
It seems like more and more of our rights are being taken away. (Continued…)
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