Teen Driving

I think that teens (16-17) convicted of any moving violation should lose their licenses until they are 18. That may impress on them the necessity of driving courteously and lawfully.

This is blown out of proportion...to an extent. There are some very good teen drivers, and in my opinion, because of their fear of the law, they drive better thanmany adults. Adults feel care-free, they have had their liscence for a very long time, so they have exclusive rights to speed, cut people off and not obey obvious driving rules. Many students are fresh out of Drivers Education, where we learn the ins and outs and the correct rules of driving, which many older people choose to ignore. Although there are some who ruin it for the responsible people, you cannot generalize and punish the people who have worked hard for their liscence and who obey the law. We teens are criticized non stop, and anything that goes wrong, some how relates back to us. I am not trying to say that adults are bad drivers, but maybe we all need to brush up on the driving laws, because it isn't just teens that are the ones who cause accidents. And in response to the Anonymous poster, why should teens get their liscence revoked if we make a moving violation. If anything, law wise, teens are just as educated as adults; maybe not experience wise, but having to read that manual over and over again drills something into your mind. When you were a teenager, you would probably be incensed at a suggestion like that, because it is completely unfair. If, one time, I forget to signal, or speed(which everyone does, and shouldn't be done, but nonetheless is a common practice) I should have my liscence revoked. If that is the case, shouldn't it be the same for adults. There are a lot of adults who are terrible drivers, much worse than teens, that don't have that rule. People that get a DUI get their liscence taken away for what, 12 months, or is it 18? Either way, why should the charge for a DUI be more than speeding, or running a stop sign, or other things. Think about all of the responsible drivers,and take a look at yourselves, before you generalize teens.

I think that if parents actually parented this would not be an issue. The laws currently being considered regarding age, passengers in auto and no driving at night are almost exactly what our "family rules" were when our two kids (now in their twenties) were teenagers.

However we seem to be in an age where personal responsibility is not expected and therefore the state and schools are doing the job instead of providing education.
The state will never do a good job, its not capable! However I don't disagree with the laws being considered as it will save lives.

Sounds like you being too hard on yourself, Kathy. The other driver wasn't much of a teacher and besides once a driver signals and pulls to the side of the road the obligation is on them to make sure the way is clear before pulling out. You have the right of way, they don’t.
Aside from that, what is my pet peeve with teenage drivers is the way they thumb their nose at using their cell while driving. This puts them and anyone in proximity to them in a dangerous situation. An inexperience driver in combination with multitasking with a cell is on the verge of depraved indifference when it comes to life safety and should have their license immediately suspended for 6 months. Don’t get me wrong, adult drivers shouldn’t use cells phones either, but they think they are Masters of the Universe and unlikely to change until they kill or injure someone. However, it might not be too late for a teenage driver to reform.

I personaly think driving age should be 18 !!!

Why are we depending on the state to do the job a parent is supposed to? There are already laws about who new drivers can have in a car with them. 18 is just too old, especially in rural areas like here, where there is no public transportation to get to work in. Parents who let their kids drive - or buy their kids - fast cars are looking for trouble. Things like that should be common sense, unfortunately it isn't. Can we get the state to teach parents common sense? Maybe that'd help.

I got more gray hairs teaching my daughter to drive than in the course of her entire childhood. Spent many hours, much patience, & stuck her with an SUV. With lots of metal around her, just in case. Kids were asking her for rides during the time she wasn't supposed to be driving with them, & she'd tell them, "I'm not losing my license over you." That's it, plain & simple. Fortunately, in 4 years of driving, she hasn't had an accident or even a ticket. But I do make her pay for my hair dye :)

I've had more issues with Seniors than teenagers in my 25 years of driving. . however, I do think that the idea to lose the license until they're 18 is a good one. I witnessed a 16 year old female drive, with a cell phone in her ear at a high rate of speed around a deadly curve...drove right into a tree..Saddest thing about it, she had a small dog in the car..air bags went off etc etc. The state troopers were VERY leinient. Almost babying this girl to a degree that I almost said something. This girl almost hit a nurse coming home from work HEAD ON.
The girl seemed hardly worried about her dog at all. I watched the dog for her for about 30 minutes until her sisters came to scene. The sister pulled the dog away from me and yanked it back with her. As she's pulling this poor dog down the road I'm advising her to bring it to the vet. I was ignored and NO Thank You ever came out of anyone's mouth. I know it was a stressful situation, but it shows that kids that young are pretty thoughtless at times hence and obviously don't use good judgement. Allot of teens are spoiled these days and have luxuries that may not be appreciated or valued ..