Just a few months ago, the

Georgia legislature defeated a bill that would have raised the legal driving

age for teens in our state from age 16 to 18. I don't know all of

the specifics of the proposed law, but I know that if the bill had passed,

it probably would have saved lives.

Following vocal objections from the constituency, our legislature chose

to keep the freedom of driving in the hands of our most dangerous and

inexperienced drivers. There are only two reasons that I can think of

that would have led parents to oppose raising the driving age - convenience

(or inconvenience if they had to drive their children everywhere) and

a desire to appease their children.

Now that school has started, parents of 16- and 17-year-old children will

be asked for permission to drive to school, work, soccer practice, parties,

and so forth. Before you relinquish the car keys, let me ask you to consider

some reasons not to give your child unlimited access to a car.

First, as I have told my own children, driving a car is probably the most

dangerous thing they will ever do. Driving is dangerous for all of us.

The roads are not only crowded with other drivers, but also road debris,

pot holes, and other obstructions that create a challenge even for proficient

drivers. Extra surprises like deer and stray animals as well as other

drivers who are angry or aggressive make driving a very complicated task

requiring great skill and maturity.

Second, teenagers are among the poorest and least skilled drivers. I know

this is a broad generalization, but I wasn't a good driver as a teenager

and I don't know any teenagers that I would fully trust to drive

my children around.

Even very responsible and mature teens are limited in their ability to

efficiently handle an automobile. That does not mean that they are all

bad drivers, per se, but they have more accidents than the rest of us

for a reason.

One reason is that they lack experience and it will take time for them

to polish their driving skills. A second reason teens are poor drivers

is that they are easily distracted. Even experienced drivers are at greater

risk on the road when they are talking on cell phones or tuning the radio.

Teenagers do not attend as well as adults to the task of driving, especially

if there are other teens in the car. Another reason they are poor drivers

is that they do not understand the laws of physics. Again, even some experienced

adult drivers fail to adjust for changes in road conditions, speed, condition

of the automobile, and weather.

Finally, teens perceive themselves as invincible and that accidents only

happen to other drivers. It is for all of these reasons that teenagers

are poorer drivers than adults are.

One final reason to be cautious about giving your child unlimited access

to an automobile is the fact that nationally, more teenagers will die

in automobile related deaths than by any other means. I know we all want

our children to live to be adults and yet our decisions sometimes do not

demonstrate that. For example, just because a child reaches the age of

16 and one day, doesn't mean he or she is prepared to drive or own

a vehicle. We must make discriminative judgements.

I am not supposing that teens should never drive, but I do encourage parents

to carefully evaluate their child's level of maturity and responsibility

as well as his or her skill behind the wheel.

Consider where they want to drive and with whom. Also consider whether

they will be driving in daylight, at night, during inclement weather,

or on roads that are hazardous.

As children improve in their skills and grow in maturity, they can earn

the right to drive more places, more often and with a wider variety of

passengers. Unpopular as these ideas may be, more children will live to

see their twenties if we follow these precautions.