Continued: Caution, teens: Effort to raise driving age ahead

Should the age for obtaining a driver's license be raised from 16 to 17? Maybe even 18?

That's what an influential nonprofit devoted to highway safety wants. At the annual conference of the Governors Highway Safety Association today in Scottsdale, Ariz., it will urge states to pass laws to raise the age.

Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry, acknowledged that the proposal will be "a tough sell" in a country where getting a driver's license is a rite of passage for 16-year-olds. But, he said, car crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teens.

"The bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives," Lund said.

But Minnesota teens and their parents aren't so sure that changing the driving age to 17 or 18 is the best way to protect young drivers. Many teens aren't shy about expressing their desire to get their hands on the car keys.

"I would prefer to get my license right away," Amanda Clarine, 16, of New Brighton, said Monday. She will take her driver's test in October.

Amanda didn't have to work to convince her mom, Beth, that it was time for her to get out on the road.

"By 16, they have all these sports practices, and parents need help driving," Beth Clarine said. "It will be nice to have a teenage driver to help with running errands and taking younger siblings to practices."

Beth Clarine said the six-month permit period and new state laws adopted this year will go a long way toward helping new drivers hone their skills and stay safe. Those laws include:

• A nighttime driving limitation during the first six months of the license that prohibits teens from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. unless he or she is accompanied by a licensed driver age 25 or older.

• A passenger limit for the first six months that allows only one passenger under the age of 20 in a car driven by a new driver unless a parent or guardian is present. During the second six months, only three passengers under age 20 are permitted.

Numbers tell a grim story

But for those advocating a later driving age, statistics indicate the need for something more drastic than the changes made in Minnesota.

From 2005 to 2007, 16- and 17-year-old drivers were involved in 116 fatal crashes, resulting in 133 deaths, according to the Minnesota Public Safety Department.

Numbers like that drove researchers from the Insurance Institute to call for a higher driving age. Its researchers compiled decades worth of data from New Jersey, the only state that issues licenses at 17. Studies have shown that the overall rate of teens killed in crashes in New Jersey has been consistently lower than in some nearby states.

Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, said she welcomes a debate on raising the driving age.

But she and others -- even the Insurance Institute officials who propose raising the driving age -- agreed it is not the only option.

Not just about age

For some teenagers, driving involves more factors than simply age.

Forrest Fritz-Storhaug, 17, of Roseville, said Monday that he made a conscious decision to not get his driver's license in favor of riding his bike and using mass transit for environmental reasons.

If more teenagers were willing to forgo hopping in the car, they would be healthier and would avoid falling into a lifelong pattern of dependence on cars, he said.

"I don't feel the need to get my license," he said. "If I need to get somewhere, I hop on my bike."

His mother, Eeris Fritz, said while she doesn't have to worry about her son getting behind the wheel at the age of 16 -- "too young" in her words -- she does worry about other young drivers on the road.

"I think you're giving a kid a loaded gun," she said.

lpabst@startribune.com • 612-673-4628 ppheifer@startribune.com • 651-298-1551 The Associated Press contributed to this report.