• 17
  • August
    2011

Legislation isn't the answer to every problem. When it comes to driving a car safely, for example, personal responsibility is paramount.

But the structures that society creates for training and licensing young drivers are also important. Drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 are involved in three times as many fatal car accidents per mile driven as all other drivers.

With temptations such as texting that often distract them, these inexperienced kids need help learning to drive with competence and care. But many states have been slow to adopt the type of graduated drivers' licensing (GDL) requirements that have been shown to reduce teenage driving accidents.

Such requirements would be made more uniform around the country by a proposed bill in Congress known as the STANDUP Act. That is short for Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act.

The Act would create uniform standards for all states to follow in placing limitations on teenage drivers. These limitations would include restrictions on nighttime driving, as well as strict prohibitions on cell-phone use and texting while driving.

The minimum age for getting a restricted driver's license would be 16 and an unrestricted license would not be available until age 18. Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand of New York is one of the supporters of the proposed legislation, which is currently before the Senate Commerce Committee.

According to a recent poll by Allstate Insurance, a clear majority of Americans, almost six of every 10, are in favor of passing a national law to strengthen driver's license requirements for teens. The survey showed 81 percent of the respondents supporting prohibitions on texting or cell phone use by younger drivers. And 76 percent were in favor of a minimum age of 16 to obtain a learner's permit.

Source: "More Americans Favor New Teen Driver Requirements," CBS New York, 8-11-11