Less teens getting driver's license early

[JennK13]

I had my permit at 15 1/2, and license at 16. I couldn't wait!
Now, all but one of my nephews and nieces are waiting. I don't get it!

[Owlie]

Here in Ohio, if you get your temps after you turn 18, you don't need to go through driver's ed. Since in most cases, it's not provided by the school, it's cheaper to wait. You also don't need as many hours of behind-the-wheel practice on your own time. I know several people who put off getting their license for those reasons.

I got my license just before I turned 18. Too many after-school activities.

[Crankin]

My oldest son, who is 28, got his license just as the graduated licensing laws were established in MA. They are even stricter now, though. One part of the law says anyone between 16.5 (the youngest you can be to get a license here) and 18 can only drive alone, with parents/those over 21 or a sibling. One day DH was coming home from work early and was behind him; he was driving his best friend home. Turns out, he had been doing this all year; DH saw him turn into the parking lot of a store and dump his friend out, when he saw DH in the rearview mirror! Both of my kids got their licenses the day they turned 16.5 and we couldn't wait. At the time, we lived about 6 miles from their school, in a more rural town. There was a commuter rail about 3.5 miles from the house, but it was not really walkable. I was *so* sick of driving them. When DS #2 didn't have to rely on us to get to races, it was a good day. We still went to watch some of them, but it was our choice. Cycling parents are as bad as soccer moms...

[lph]

16!! Yoicks Here it's 18, and having got my own licence at *ahem* 36 (or whatever), and having sat in class with some of those emptyheaded doofuses about to go out there and handle a ton of motorized vehicle at high speeds, I think 18 is still a bit early.

It's not the physical handling of the car I'm worried about, it's the patience, maturity and calm you need to be a safe driver in traffic that worries me. One place you do not need hot tempers and easily aroused feelings is in traffic.

Sorry for the hijack, but it bothers me how easily society accepts the risk connected to car traffic and our beloved "freedom" while making a great stink about other risks.

[OakLeaf]

From the perspective of someone without children but very interested in traffic safety ... has graduated licensing maybe made things less safe?

I thought the point of graduated licensing was to allow new drivers to learn to apply their skills in a controlled fashion. Instead, if kids are allowed to just wait until they're 18 to drive with no restrictions, they'll be out there with zero experience and zero driver's ed, driving without restrictions, just as they binge drink as soon as they turn 21.

[Crankin]

I know that the number of accidents in the 16.5-18 age group has gone down considerably here.

[OakLeaf]

Is that crashes per mile driven - as NHTSA figures it - or is it raw crashes among the age group? Because if fewer people in that age group are driving, then a decline in the total number of crashes doesn't mean they're driving more safely.