Is Shifting Driving Age A Fine Idea?
By KEITH MORELLI and NEIL JOHNSON The Tampa Tribune Published: September 10, 2008 TAMPA – Driving solo for the first time ranks high on the list of teen milestones, right up there with graduation, a prom or even the first kiss. A study released Tuesday, however, makes a case for delaying that thrill in the name of safety. The research compares New Jersey, where you have to be 17 to drive alone, with Connecticut, where the age is 16, and concludes that the highway death rate for drivers 16 and 17 is much lower in New Jersey. “Immaturity and inexperience both contribute to crashes. It’s hard to untangle the two,” said Anne Fleming, spokeswoman for the industry-funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which presented the study to state transportation officials at a meeting in Arizona. Tampa police see the benefits of older young drivers, spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. “Raising the driving age will save lives,” she said. “A more mature person behind the wheel would make better decis
