Two posts ago I commented on the overlooked statistic of teen driver injuries. Today I’d like to focus on the number of licensed teen drivers under age 16.
Here are the basic numbers, which come from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Highway Statistics Series. As of January 2010, out of about 9,800,000 licensed drivers under the age of 20, about 400,000 were under the age of 16, which is about four percent. The five leading states with drivers in this category were Florida (66,000), Michigan (55,000), Iowa (44,000), Ohio (34,000) and Kansas (33,000). I note that these statistics are coming up on three years, old, and perhaps the passage of stricter teen driver laws has reduced these numbers. Certainly the new federal transportation law will give states a financial incentive to establish 16 as their minimum licensing age if they wish to qualify for federal funds aimed at safer teen driving.
I can speculate, without having done state by state research, about why some states allow those under 16 to drive. In rural states with miles of open and lightly traveled roads, the risks to younger drivers are probably lower than they are in urbanized states with jammed highways. The necessity of a vehicle for attending school and a holding a job is no doubt another reason. Tradition, the fact that the minimum licensing law has been less than 16 for a generation, is no doubt a third reason. It is probably also the case that teen driver crashes and fatalities are just an accepted part of life in some states, the price of freedom and a mobile society. And perhaps because there are “only” 400,000 licensed drivers under age 16, their crash and fatality statistics are a blip to which few pay attention.
Yet, we should note that every bit of evidence on teen driver licensing points to the fact that if the minimum during age were based on the science of human brain development and crash and fatality data, the age would be between 22 and 25. Which is to say that, in my opinion as one who has been studying this issue in detail for five years, there really is no justification for licensing a 15 or 14 year old. This said, in states where this way-young licensing is allowed, tight, daily parent supervision is absolutely essential.
When I served in 2007-08 on a statewide task force that overhauled Connecticut’s teen driver laws, an enterprising teacher in Litchfield, Connecticut who was teaching a civics class assigned his students to write to the task force to give their views on our teen driving laws, including the minimum license age. A few students recommended that we lower the age to 14 or 13. Their impeccable reasoning was that if we allowed driving to start at 14 or 15, “by the time these drivers reach age 16, they will be experienced.” Problem solved! It appears that this thinking still holds sway in some parts of the nation.
