Buyana Ganbold
Asst. News Editor

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) issued a statement Sept. 9 supporting an increase in the driving age as a means of lowering the fatalities related to teen crashes.

The IIHS encouraged the rest of the country to follow New Jersey’s lead and raise the licensing age to 17, noting that the rate of teen deaths due to crashes has been consistently lower than some of its neighboring states.

Senior Kathleen Mechelke said, “They shouldn’t [raise the driving age] because kids need a way to get around. They need to go to work, school and around [town]. They need the driving experience before the restrictions are lifted [at age 18].”

In opposition to the IIHS, Secretary of State Jesse White responded by reiterating that improved preparation of new drivers will decrease teen car crash fatalities better than increasing the driving age.

“This is why my office initiated a new teen driver safety law, effective Jan. 1, 2008, that gives Illinois one of the strongest graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs in the nation,” White stated in a press release.

Graduated driver licensing (GDL) programs, which have become a part of the standard licensing process, have influenced a change in teen driving laws.

A Johns Hopkins University public health study released in July 2006 found that states with stricter GDL programs see about a 21 percent decline in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. Researchers concluded that teens become safer drivers because they experience more time behind the wheel with adult supervision (as well as a greater variety of weather conditions).
According to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, another factor in bringing about change was the “Teens at the Wheel” series, a-year long assessment of teen driving habits conducted by the Chicago Tribune.

The goal of the new graduated licensing law in Illinois is to prepare teens through an increased permit phase from three to nine months, therefore increasing involvement of the parents, according to White.

The new law also imposes stricter limitations on teen driving conduct, such as allowing only one family member to ride with the teen driver and forbidding the use of a cell phone unless there is an emergency.

“I think [the new law] is okay for kids now because a lot of them are irresponsible, and three months doesn’t help a driver. [For example,] I didn’t drive during the three months of the permit phase and people can totally b.s. their hours,” said Junior Arianne Senires .

Driver Education teacher Paul Zwiercan feels no need to increase the licensing age but said, “Students should spend additional hours driving with their instructors, not so much with their parents. Some parents might feel compelled to just fill in the [50 hour driver’s] log.”