Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal
Getting your driver’s license can be a tremendous event. It signifies a new-found level of freedom and a chance to go out and explore more of the surrounding world. The privilege of being licensed to drive a car is a wonderful thing, yet not everyone thinks of it that way. A teenager with a learner’s permit is eager to make the jump to a full license – even if they might not be totally ready to carry that piece of plastic in their wallet or purse. A bill introduced in the spring of 2009 would make the learning process a bit longer by mandating graduated license programs.
Backed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a graduated license program would require a driver to go through three stages of licensing: learner’s permit, intermediate license and full driver’s license. The bill also proposes that the legal age to obtain a learner’s permit be set at 16, as well as no unsupervised night driving until the driver is 18 years old. All states currently have some form of a graduated program in place, with the exception of North Dakota. This bill would help create harmony amongst the states with regards to age and term limits as some states are more lax than others.
For example, the state of Michigan allows drivers to begin the learner’s permit process at just 14 years and eight months of age. Michigan drivers can then graduate to a full license by the age of 17. Is that too young? Perhaps, but it’s hard to lump every 17 year old driver into one “you’re-too-young-to-know-anything” driving group. Statistics do show that teenage drivers have higher crash rates compared to their older peers.
Perhaps a few more years in a better-thought-out licensing program can help bring that number down?
[Source: The Detroit News | Image: eBaum’s World]
Continue reading Government seen backing graduated drivers licenses
Government seen backing graduated drivers licenses originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Continue reading “Government seen backing graduated drivers licenses”