« Car and Driver Race Series -- Sponsored by Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! |
Main
| Carlos Ghosn Interviewed at AIADA »
January 28, 2005
More Ways to Ruin Your [Teenage] Life
The Virginia State Senate is working on a bill to prohibit teenage drivers to use cell phones while driving, according to the Washington Post. This, on top of a company that emblazons your car with a CAUTION: MOMMA's BOY DRIVING bumper sticker. Life's just not fair.
Besides the proposed cell phone ban, Virignia has recently limited the passengers that can be driven drivers younger than 18. Teens can get a learner's permit at 15 1/2 years old, and must spend 40 hours driving with a parent or guardian before getting a license.
But compare this to the requirements necessary to become a hairdresser at the age of 16 in Hawaii -- you either have to have 2,500 hours as an apprentice in a beauty shop or 1,250 hours of training in a licensed beauty school.
Now, I know scissors are dangerous. Especially when you're trimming your bangs while talking on your cell as you're driving over to your friend's house.
But come on, the basic flaw in teen driving is the amount of training they actually get. About two or three hours in a parking lot, maybe as much as ten hours total, of the kid giving his mother a heart attack on the way home from Target.
Sorry parents and politicians, if you want to decrease the number of teen driving deaths, and still let them drive, it's time for a complete overhaul in the concept of driver's ed. I'm talking real schools taught by real teachers [not the soccer coach's son], driving simulators, videotaped driving courses, and performance testing, etc.
I've got one auto editor friend who told me that when his kids are old enough, he's going to pony up the cash to send them to a Skip Barber driving course. Based on the famous company's racing program, there is a one-day New Driver course that goes for $695, and a two-day program for $1,295.
Someone has to step up and muster the political will to radically overhaul the way we grant young people driving privileges.
Posted by Frank at January 28, 2005 6:55 AM | Filed under Auto News
| Safety