THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 8, 1996 TAG: 9603080069
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BETH HODERMARSKY, HIGH SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
YOU TAKE drivers ed, you drive around with your parents for awhile, you pass your driving test, and you begin to think that you know how to drive.
But do you?
Many people are beginning to question whether present licensing standards are adequate. With more and more teenagers crashing, states, including Virginia and North Carolina, are considering making it harder for teens to get a driver's license.
Fatal car accidents involving teenage drives are on the rise. In 1994, 148 people between ages 16 and 20 died in auto accidents in Virginia, says Margaret Ware, a consultant for Drive Smart, a volunteer alliance of 290 members of non-profit and traffic safety organizations started by the USAA insurance company. This was a 44 percent increase from the 103 who died in 1993.
Things like speeding and safety belt use are always a problem with young drivers, says the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington.
Local students admit that they speed out of habit, for thrills or, as Emily Castillo, 18, a senior at Catholic High, said, ``I'm always late!''
The type of crashes that people between 16 and 20 have differ depending on the ages of the driver. Alcohol-related crashes occur more with 17- to 19-year-olds while single-vehicle crashes, usually involving speeding, occur more with 16-year-olds, the highway institute said.
Are people too quick to assume that a fatal crash involving a teenager is automatically a result of the young driver's error? Not according to research.
One study by the Insurance Institute showed that 82 percent of fatal accidents in 1993 involving 16-year-olds were a result of at least one mistake by the driver.
Statistics like this have prompted lawmakers to consider making it harder for students to get full driving privileges.
One popular option is the ``graduated license.'' With this system, teens would go through driving ``stages,'' which they would have to complete successfully to earn their license.
Under a system proposed by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, teens would spend a year driving with an adult only between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m.
After that, they would receive a six-month restricted license, with which they could drive alone during the day and with an adult at night. Upon completing this stage with no driving infractions, they would receive an unrestricted license.
Most teens interviewed for this story don't like the sound of the new system. Mike Gundlach, 15, a freshman at Catholic High, says: ``A probationary license is too much. Once you pass your test, that should be it.''
This system has been suggested by both North Carolina and Virginia lawmakers, but it doesn't look as though it will be implemented soon.
Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly recently passed a bill raising from 18 to 21 the age of the required front seat passengers with drivers with learner's permits. The new age rule would apply unless the passenger is a brother or sister. They may be 18. The bill on Thursday morning was awaiting the signature of Gov. George F. Allen.
Some local teens approve of the new restrictions.
James Stull, 17, a junior at Catholic High, agrees with this proposal, ``because with an 18-year-old, the attitude isn't always safety. Twenty-one-year-olds would be more concerned with safety.''
Most of those interviewed for this story said that Virginia's new law won't effect them because they only drive with their parents while learning.
Jose Leoncio, 15, a sophomore at Catholic High, doesn't like this newest proposal. ``I feel I am responsible enough that I don't need a 21-year-old in the car with me,'' he said.
Some states have considered raising the age at which teens can get their license. New Jersey, for example, makes teenagers wait until they are 17.
``Basic (driving) education is adequate,'' James said. ``It's actual experience and more behind-the-wheel that people need.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Beth Hodermarsky is a senior at Catholic High.
by CNB