Teens split on best age to start driving

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Alexandra Cazales-Larios, a Joliet West student, believes that the legal driving age should remain at 16. On Monday, she debated classmate Natalie Mander over the issue in a Journalism 1 class. | Tony Graf~Sun-Times Media

fewer Teens driving

In 1983, about 46 percent of Americans age 16 had a driver’s license, but by 2008, only 31 percent had one, according to a recent study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Older teens are also driving less: The number of 18-year-olds with licenses fell from 80 percent in 1983 to 65 percent in 2008, while the number of 17-year-olds on the road dropped from 69 percent to 50 percent.

In fact, the number of drivers all the way up to 29 has dropped, according to the study, which is based on data from the Federal Highway Administration.

Study co-author Michael Sivak says the Internet may be a big reason for the drop.

“Virtual contact through electronic means reduces the need for actual contact,” Sivak wrote in an email to Sun-Times Media, adding jokingly, “My favorite characterization of the social-media explanation (with some anecdotal evidence for it) is that ‘driving interferes with texting.’ ”

Concerns about preserving the environment, the recent economic downturn and a migration of young people to the cities — where public transportation is more readily available — likely are all contributing to the lack of interest in driving, Sivak said.

— Sun-Times Media

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• Poll: Age to drive

Updated: March 2, 2012 8:14AM

JOLIET — Not all high school students are excited about driving in the Junior Year 500.

Natalie Mander, a student at Joliet West High School, favors raising the legal driving age to 18, citing concerns about traffic safety and financial stresses. She is one of many students who, for a variety of reasons, are not enthusiastic about getting a license at age 16.

On Monday, Mander debated classmate Alexandra Cazales-Larios over the issue of whether the current driving age should be raised to 18.

“When 16-year-olds are driving, at such a young age, they don’t really know the road system. They aren’t mature enough,” Mander told the debate audience in a journalism class at West.

Mander cited a study stating that drivers ages 16 to 20 are less likely to respond to an accident as quickly as drivers in other age groups. She cited an Allstate Insurance Co. statistic that 5,000 to 6,000 teens are killed every year in crashes.

Mander discussed a local case: a 16-year-old driver involved in a crash only six days after obtaining a license. A passenger was transported to a local hospital. The young driver’s car was totaled. Mander displayed pictures of damage to both cars.

The consequences for the young driver included a $240 ticket for not having an insurance card, the loss of the car, a mandatory court appearance, an eight-hour driving class and supervision.

Opposing argument

Cazales-Larios countered with her arguments supporting the current legal driving age, namely that 16-year-olds have parental control.

“Teens who are 16 live under the roof of their parents, so it’s not like their parents are going to give them the keys if they’re not ready for it,” she said.

When teenagers are 18, they are more independent, and parental control is not as likely to be there, Cazales-Larios said.

“If you raise (the legal driving age) to 18, they’re going to go off to college with a car, and they won’t even have any experience with it,” she said.

“In college, they want to have fun. Whatever they do, it’s not like their parents are going to be there telling them not to. They’re on their own,” she said.

As an example of this, Cazales-Larios mentioned the partying and drinking that take place at college.

When teacher Jennifer Galloy polled the classroom, most students expressed a desire to get a license and drive once they turn 16. However, two students indicated that they will be waiting until 18 because they were told by their parents that they needed more experience.

Galloy is the sponsor of the Tiger Tales newspaper, which students produce in the adjacent office.

Drivers education

Joliet West High School is currently running full sections of drivers education classes, serving around 500 students in all.

Terri Schrishuhn, academy coordinator for the Arts and Communications Academy at Joliet West, oversees the drivers education program at the campus.

One full-time staff member handles instruction during the regular school day. An additional five to seven certified staff members teach classrooms and behind-the-wheel instruction after school and during the summer.

The school offers students the opportunity for drivers education once they turn 15. The state requires high schools to provide some form of drivers education. However, it is not required coursework at Joliet Township High School.

For all schools that sponsor a state-sanctioned course, the state requires that students get 30 hours of classroom learning and six hours of behind-the-wheel learning with a certified instructor.

Joliet Township High School supplements the 30 class-work hours with six hours of instruction on a computer driving simulator. The simulator has a steering wheel, turn indicator, brake pedal, accelerator and computer screen. Not all schools offer computer simulation, Schrishuhn said.