News-Record.com

Wednesday's No. 1 editorial.

The debate on graduated drivers’ licenses is long over. People have seen that phasing in driving privileges for younger drivers is a good idea that has reduced crash rates for the youngest drivers.

But widespread support in this country for graduated licenses didn’t happen overnight. It took longer than a decade from when an influential safety group first supported the concept until the first state — Florida — passed legislation for graduated licenses. It then took several more years for most other states, including North Carolina, to follow suit.

Now that same group — the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — has stepped up in support of another measure that would reduce crash rates and traffic-related deaths. It recommended Tuesday at a meeting of the Governors Highway Safety Association in Scottsdale, Ariz., that states raise the minimum driving age to 17 or 18.

The idea is sound. But how long will it take this time for the public — and state legislators — to act?

The organization didn’t come by its recommendation lightly. It made it only after an extensive review of research. A key aspect of its study centered on examining this question: Do the high crash rates of young drivers result from age or from inexperience?

A review of 11 studies concerning traffic rates and ages of new drivers determined that age was the deciding factor: Teens who are older when they begin driving have lower crash rates than 16-year-olds who get behind the wheel.

Much of the research centered on New Jersey because it is the state with the highest driving age: 17.

But look outside the nation, and there also are studies warning against letting younger teens drive.

For example, the Australian state of Victoria decided to keep its driving age of 18 after researchers estimated that lowering the driving age to 17 or 16 would result in hundreds of additional crashes, even if a graduated license program were adopted.

Indeed, many other countries are not as lenient as the United States when it comes to driving.
The United Kingdom requires drivers to be 17. Brazil, China, Russia and most European Union nations make 18 the age for first drivers.

The higher age limits seem prudent. Research has shown that 16-year-olds are involved in crashes at a rate almost 10 times as high as those between the ages of 30 and 59.
Sure, it’s convenient for parents to hand the car keys over when a child turns 16. But it’s a convenience that is far too costly.

Car crashes are the No. 1 cause of teen death. Let’s protect our youth by making them wait until 17 to drive.