Is 16 Too Young to Drive?

Is 16 too young to drive?

This question has been on my mind a lot lately.  My 16-year-old son and his best friend are starting driver’s ed on Monday.  Yikes!

It’s not my first time experiencing this, but I’m still just as nervous as I was with my two older sons. Even though Illinois' driving age is 16, I feel most 16-year-olds are not mature enough to drive.

It’s not that my older sons are bad drivers who got into accidents or received tickets.  In fact, they’re good drivers who have been responsible and very cooperative with helping me shuffle the other kids around. 

But now, it’s my third son.  He’s a real nice boy who gets good grades.  He is very responsible and he even works part time.  There’s no reason why I shouldn’t let him get his license, right? 

Actually, I have several reasons:

• He doesn’t own a car.
• He can get a ride from anyone in our house or take the bus.
• Our auto insurance premium will greatly increase (three young male drivers in the house).
• And he’s only 16 years old!

My first three reasons are not as concerning as much as he is only 16 years old.  I realize that having a driver’s license is a rite of passage, but 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age. 

I’ve been avoiding registering him for driver's ed for the past year and a half.  He has been hounding me to get his permit because all his friends either have their license or have their permit.  Not to mention that both his older brothers got their license at 16. 

This week in Washington, the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection (STANDUP) Act is being proposed as a major legislation for beginning teen drivers.  This bill gives teens the opportunity to practice and learn how to drive, so they can build their driving skills over a longer period of time. 

The bill proposes three stages of licensing:

• The learner’s permit – available to those 16 and older and restricts nighttime driving.
• The intermediate license – contingent on having a safe record and mandatory practice time.
• The full driver’s license – available to those 18 and older, but not to those who failed the initial license classes.

For now, my son will be attending driver’s ed class on Monday.  We’ll see when I actually take him to get his license.  What are your thoughts?