Your daughter has a small party and four girls drive up at the same time in four separate cars. Later they all have to hustle, in their respective cars, to make it back home by 11 p.m. On another day you arrive at the end of your sons’ soccer game. One son gets in the car with you, the other gets in his car and follows you home. What is going on here? People being stupid? Gas being wasted? Well yes, but it is also just kids obeying the law.
California’s 16-year olds can only get a provisional drivers license which limits when they can drive and with whom. Is this a good idea that will save lives or is big brother getting a little too involved in people’s lives?
For the first year after you receive your drivers license in California, no passengers under 20 are allowed in your car unless a licensed driver 25 years or older is present and no driving is permitted between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless accompanied by a licensed driver 25 years or older.
These rules are part of a trend that has swept much of the country, and when you look at the statistics regarding teen drivers, it is easy to understand how these laws came about:
• Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.
• Teen drivers make up a small percentage of drivers, but a high percentage of crashes.
• Fatal teen crashes are most likely to occur at night and with fellow teens in the car.
Any adult (who can remember his teen years) remembers that if your friends were in the car they tended to encourage you to drive faster and more recklessly. In addition, you might also remember that the later you were out, the more likely you were to get into trouble. The provisional license is designed to give inexperienced drivers an opportunity to spend more time behind the wheel without distractions. The hope is it will lead to more responsible teen drivers. And it seems to be working.
Since the licensing law came into effect in 1998, nighttime crashes involving teenagers were reduced by 27 percent and overall crash rates with teens by 38 percent, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s report, ‘Evaluation of California’s Graduated Licensing System’ released August 2006. The Automobile Club of Southern California found a reduction in fatal and injury collisions of 16-year old drivers of 24 percent over the law’s first two years.
It looks like successful legislation, but there are several groups that are not so sure. One of course is teenage drivers, who have difficulty understanding why they cannot drive a friend or relative to or from a school activity. Plus, what about jobs that end late at night? On a website seeking feedback on the law one 16-year old said, ‘The kids that get into crashes as teenagers are probably kids who take risks and this law isn’t going to stop them from driving with friends.’
While most parents certainly applaud the concept of attempting to keep kids safe, some agree with their children who feel that the law penalizes students who act responsibly because of the behavior of children who do not. In addition, there are some parents who feel that having another person in the car in the event of an emergency could be a lifesaver.
Another important question is to ask whether it is fair to single out kids when accidents are also caused by elderly people with poor eyesight or motor skills or those who are distracted by eating and talking on the phone while driving? What is the balance between our society’s desire to protect our children and individual freedom?
