Group Proposes Higher Driving Age

September 2008

Traditionally, turning 16 has meant getting a driver's license. One prominent car safety group is looking to change that rite of passage in an attempt to reduce auto accident fatalities among teenagers. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the car insurance industry, wants the driving age raised to 17 or 18.

According to the National Highway Safety Administration, more than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of accidents per mile driven by 16-year-old drivers is nearly 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59. Researchers found that in New Jersey, the only state that issues licenses at 17, the overall rate of teenagers killed in car crashes has been consistently lower than in other nearby states. The Insurance Institute feels that implementing a similar standard nationwide would prevent many teenage car crash fatalities.

Others are not in complete agreement. Dr. Barbara Gaines, trauma director at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, said that getting the highest risk drivers off of the road is not a bad idea, but that there are other options to consider. She said that teen drivers in the Pittsburgh, PA area who have committed moving violations are required to attend a "reality education" program at the hospital. During the program, they tour the intensive care unit and talk with young drivers who have been in serious accidents.

Andrea Summers, coordinator of the teen driving program for the Delaware Office of Highway Safety, said that her state has strengthened laws without changing the driving age. Delaware, along with other states, has banned teens from using cell phones while driving, imposed tougher driving curfews, and expanded supervised driving time to combat teen car accident deaths.