I'm all for this but the big cause of the 41,000 annual highway homicides
is still criminal driving by adults.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/17424106/detail.html
States should raise driving age, group says
More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes
updated 1:34 a.m. MT, Tues., Sept. 9, 2008
CHICAGO - 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.
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."
Many parents agree. They also like not having to chauffeur their teens to
school, s****ting events and any number of other places.
"Do we really want our kids dependent upon parents for virtually
everything until they go to college, can vote and serve their country?"
asked Margaret Menotti, a mother in Uxbridge, Mass.
More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of
crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is
almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the
National Highway Safety Administration. Many industrialized countries in
Europe and elsewhere have a driving age of 17 or 18.
(snip)
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