I think this a stupid proposal because of the shear lack of reliable and consistant public transportation outside in the suburbs and rural areas, on the other hand though; It could create demand for more public transportation. But untill Springfield can cough up the dough for the increased transit, isolated suburban and rural teens will be shit out of luck for two more years.
What do you guys think?
Raise driving age? Parents not thrilled
By John Keilman and Grace Aduroja, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporters Jeff Long, Christi Parsons, Jamie Francisco and Kayce T. Ataiyero contributed to this report
January 24, 2006
Amy Pfeiler has been the family chauffeur for a long time, driving her kids to everything from sports practices and voice lessons to after-school jobs. But with her youngest child finally on the verge of getting a license, she can see the end in sight.
So when the Crystal Lake mom heard that a state legislator wants to raise the minimum age for a driver's license from 16 to 18, she almost blew a mental gasket.
"I've [arranged] my work schedule around my daughter's so that I could be here to pick her up," Pfeiler said, parked outside Central High School in her Mustang convertible. "If it was 18, I would be very upset. She's very responsible. I'm very much against it."
A new bill to increase the driving age in Illinois is getting a frosty reception in the hallways of area high schools and in the corridors of Springfield, where key lawmakers say it's unlikely to pass. But the idea already has triggered debate, and its biggest foes might be parents, whose busy households demand that teenage children drive themselves.
Rep. John D'Amico (D-Chicago) said the legislation is a matter of safety. He introduced it last week, after two young men from his district, ages 16 and 17, died in a Dec. 29 crash in Lincolnwood.
His measure would increase the age for a driver's license to 18--highest in the country--and the minimum age for a learner's permit from 15 to 17.
"At 16 years of age, it's an awfully young age to be driving a vehicle that could potentially kill you or someone else," he said.
D'Amico said his office has been flooded with calls of support, but his bill seems certain to face a rough road in Springfield.
Downstate lawmakers often oppose restrictions that make it harder for minors to drive. Mass transit is sparse to non-existent in their districts, and in many of their communities, teens must drive to help out on family farms.
"Politically, it would be very difficult to pass," said Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), a frequent sponsor of road safety legislation. "That's one of the reasons I've never introduced it."
Lobbying against the bill has already begun, led in part by the Illinois High School and College Driver Education Association. Terri Biggs, a teacher in Downstate Neoga and the association's president, said the measure might steer teens away from structured lessons because with or without driver's ed, they wouldn't be able to drive until the age of 18.
In suburbia, where driving is the most prized rite of teen passage, aspiring young motorists were uniformly scornful of D'Amico's bill.
Shawn Peterson, 15, a sophomore at South Elgin High School, said he must scramble for a ride when his mother, who travels frequently for work, is unavailable.
"I have to rely on my brother, who isn't the most reliable person in the world," he said.
But in Chicago, where public transportation is more plentiful and the social pressure to drive perhaps less crushing, some youngsters agreed with the idea.
"I think it will save a lot of lives," said Roberto Garduno, 17, a drivers ed student at Lane Tech High School who admitted making plenty of mistakes behind the wheel. "Having a car is like having a weapon. It's like giving kids a license to have a weapon."
Back in the suburbs, though, parents seemed ready for their children to assume the responsibility.
"Before they got their license, one more carpool probably would have put me over the edge," said Maureen Dvorak of Naperville, whose two teenage sons have their own cars. "We encourage our kids to be independent and get jobs, and that would probably preclude them from doing that."
But Bellwood's Nikki Perteet said she would support the bill--even though she has a 17-year-old who already drives--because young motorists would benefit from more maturity.
"They're too young to be driving back and forth," she said. "You can't just drive for yourself, you have to watch out for other people on the road."
The parents of Dan Noble, one of the teens killed in the Lincolnwood crash, were conflicted, noting that Dan and his friends were already violating the law by driving past curfew and with too many people in the car.
"A law isn't going to prevent kids from doing dumb things," said Patricia Noble, Dan's mother. "But if a law gives parents pause and makes them think it's not a good idea to give their kids a car on their 16th birthday, maybe it would help."
Some statistics support D'Amico's view that older drivers make safer drivers.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's data show that 18-year-old motorists are far less likely than 16-year-olds to be involved in fatal crashes.
D'Amico, well aware of the odds his bill faces, said he's willing to compromise. One idea, he said, could be doubling the time young people seeking a license must drive with a parent from 25 to 50 hours.
But with his legislation already the talk of teens from the Wabash River to the Wisconsin border, he said, a small victory has already been achieved.
"If everybody talks about it, I think they're going to stand up and take notice and maybe take [driving] just a little more seriously," D'Amico said.
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jkeilman@tribune.com
gaduroja@tribune.com
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