By Michael Hill
Associated Press
Sixteen-year-old Rich Meehan is happy to hit the road this summer with his new driver's license. He's just frustrated by all the detours.
As a new driver in Connecticut, Rich can't take his high school buddies for rides. He can't drive home from parties after midnight. A state law that took effect Aug. 1 tightened rules on the newest young drivers even more, with an earlier curfew of 11 p.m.
"Nobody likes to be held back for that long," Rich said. "That's one of the most exciting parts of getting your license: being able to go places with your friends. I would like to take my girlfriend out. And I can't do that."
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Borrowing the car keys from Mom and Dad -- an American rite of passage that dates to the age of jalopies -- is not what it used to be.
Connecticut is not alone in clamping down on young drivers -- a group that is statistically the most dangerous on the road. Dozens of safety measures aimed at teen drivers either have been considered or adopted in the last few years around the nation. Many states have restricted the rights of the youngest drivers to get behind the wheel late at night (except for work) and limited their ability to carry non-family passengers.
Studies show these "graduated licenses" save lives.
Just a few recent examples:
On Aug. 1, Connecticut started suspending the licenses of 16- and 17-year-olds convicted of talking on cell phones (30 days), speeding (60 days) or street racing (one year).
California on July 1 banned handsfree devices for drivers under 18.
Alabama this year considered new curfews and a cell phone ban for the youngest drivers.
New York is looking at a ban on iPods and all other electronic devices for drivers younger than 18, and an optional, yellow Safe-Teen-NY Driver sticker for parents to put on cars with young drivers.
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"Our teens are at risk every time they get behind the wheel," a press release introducing the New York bills explained.
Dissenting voices are few -- how can you be against saving young lives? -- but there are some who see excesses in the bumper crop of new measures. And it's not just the kids, or parents grumbling about having to chauffeur high schoolers from parties.
In Connecticut, Rich Meehan has his father in his corner. The elder Meehan, a criminal defense lawyer in Bridgeport who is also named Richard, said his fifth son is a responsible student and athlete. He said people don't realize that the suspensions can be costly to parents in terms of higher insurance rates. And the harsh penalties create the risk of producing a "generation of suspended drivers."
"Thirty days for picking up a passenger in your car, 30 days for picking up your cell phone or even having a hands-free earpiece in your ears," Meehan said. "It's a little draconian, I think."
Alex Koroknay-Palicz of the National Youth Rights Association also opposes many of the new restrictions, saying teens are scapegoats. Men are more dangerous drivers than women, he said, and senior drivers are statistically more dangerous than middle-aged drivers. So, why aren't there waves of legislation cracking down on unsafe men or retirees?
"Teens don't really have any political power in society. They can't vote, they don't have that much money to donate to campaigns. They're really overlooked and cut out of the process," he said. "It's far easier to blame youth . . . than to address the issue holistically."
Koroknay-Palicz makes an impassioned argument, but he may as well be shouting it at freeway traffic. The trend is clearly going the other way in state after state.
Rationales for the restrictions are well documented. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15- to 20-year-olds, a group representing 6.4 percent of licensed drivers and 13.2 percent of fatal accidents. Inexperienced drivers are more prone to distraction and less likely to wear safety belts. One in four young drivers killed in crashes had been drinking.
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Horrific accidents keep making headlines. In Alabama, a car crammed with seven high school cheerleaders careered down a hill in December, killing three of the girls. In upstate New York, five girls died days after graduating high school when the 17-year-old driver swerved into an oncoming truck; text messages were swapped on the driver's cell moments before the crash. In Connecticut, an 18-year-old driver reportedly was driving his Subaru Impreza at least 100 mph when he lost control on the way home from a pool party last summer, killing himself and his three teen passengers.
In Alabama, Rep. Mac Gipson concedes that his 13-year-old granddaughter is "very opposed" to the curfew bill he proposed. But he argues that young minds have far more distractions now than he had as a new driver back in 1951.
"A lot of people say, 'Oh well, you didn't have to do that when you got your license,'" Gipson said. "But when I got my license, there weren't as many cars on the road."
