Driving — something most everyone in our country does today, but where does it begin? We kick off our driving career at age 16 in most states, and it is at this time, it’s the most dangerous. Teen driving is a controversial topic, and according to James Gilbert (The Yuma Sun), claims the life of more American teenagers than anything else today.
Why is it that a teen driver is so much more dangerous than somebody older? As stated by (a) researcher in “Teen Driving” some say it’s the lack of experience, some say it’s because the brain isn’t fully developed yet, and some claim it’s a lack of parental involvement. The way I see it, Better graduated driver’s license (GDL) programs are a solution to all of the above. How can we expect teens to start off as good drivers when they hardly have practice? A well thought out GDL program with more adult supervision allows for Drivers to get more experience before actually obtaining a license.
The process for getting a license in Arizona and Utah are very different. In Arizona the GDL program is simple and requires only one day to take a written and road test, whereas in Utah the GDL program requires an approved course often lasting three to four months. While obtaining a license in Arizona may be easier, is it worth risking deaths of our Arizona drivers? A better GDL program would be beneficial to our community, and help the rising Death toll on Arizona roads.
Megan Nelson
Gilbert
Dale Whiting posted at 8:20 pm on Wed, Mar 7, 2012.
I know what you mean. I learned to drive in Utah. It took the better part of a month during the summer school break. I drove daily with three other students in the car. The instructor sat in the passenger side front seat with his own steering wheel and brake peddle. Since I had done some driving on private roads, I was not at all intimodated but was comfortable behind the wheel. I drove too fast while the others hardly broke 20 mph.
Then I moved to Idaho were the driving age was 15-1/2 due to the need for kids to drive farm trucks! I knew one kid who got run over and killed by his brother who was driving a truck on their farm. They had no drivers training programs at all!
Masterrogue666 posted at 6:38 pm on Fri, Mar 9, 2012.
I was driving for close to a year on a Driver's Permit. The only reason my parents wanted be to take the Driver's class (they already knew I was a good driver) was because it would lower the cost of insurance.
In any event, I still learned a few things that my parents didn't teach, so it was worth it.