At terrifying intervals between 1996 and 2004, I had three 17-year-olds behind the wheels of cars in my name. While my kids are still here, the vehicles are not, their journey to the scrap heap hastened by various encounters at speed with heavy objects.

Two of my three teens were lucky to walk away from accidents -- one involving trouble with a one-way street, the other difficulty with a stick shift.

The third was luckier. I made sure of that. He had access only to cars that didn't operate half the time. It's a foolproof way to cut the chances of something bad happening on the highway by 50 percent.

My point is that it is a miracle that young people survive the traffic gantlet we put them through in Minnesota. When it comes to driving, we behave like a rube state where we don't mind losing a bunch of kids each year because we need them to drive hay balers.

And we do. Lose a bunch.

Every year.

Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for Minnesotans ages 15 to 17.

Almost 60 teens a year -- more than one a week -- are dying on state roads. And 60 percent of them aren't wearing seat belts. Those dreadful numbers make Minnesota one of the most dangerous states for teen drivers and have caused traffic safety organizations to label Minnesota as "marginal" when it comes to protecting teen drivers, who are twice as likely to have a serious accident as older drivers.

Right there, we have all the information we need to know we are not the brain power state any longer. But don't blame the kids: They are behaving like kids always have. The stupid ones in this equation are the adults who won't pass teen driving laws that would make us as newfangled as Iowa and South Dakota and save dozens of lives each year.

Minnesota is one of five states that don't impose a curfew on new drivers or limit the number of teens in the car with them. Most states, including Wisconsin, prohibit teens under 18 from driving without an adult between midnight and 5 a.m., unless the kid is returning home from a job or school. Wisconsin also limits the number of "peer passengers" -- other teens in the car -- to one.

Accidents and dumb decisions still happen: Wisconsin recently suffered a pair of triple-fatal accidents in which six teens not wearing seat belts died. But in general, laws tightly regulating teen drivers are proven lifesavers. And Minnesota, which used to pride itself on enlightened laws protecting public safety, is a disgrace.

Teens here are dying in defense of double-dating.

True: Preserving the right to double-date in high school or to drive carloads of classmates to school (what happened to school buses?) are among the arguments given in the House of Representatives as reason for not clamping down on teen driving habits that unquestionably contribute to dead teens -- four at a time, on occasion.

The state Senate and Gov. Tim Pawlenty are ready to act, Sen. Steve Murphy, a DFLer from Red Wing, said Tuesday. But the House has stood staunchly in favor of teenage rights to self-destruction. Yes, it is that simple. And that stupid.

But things may change.

The September rollover that killed two 17-year-old Minnetonka girls should be a call to action. Kylie Grayden was fooling with an iPod when she lost control of her car. She didn't have the shoulder portion of her seat belt on. Her friend Kelly Phillips had no belt on at all.

Both girls died.

They made mistakes; they were kids. It's the grown-ups who should make a promise.

We should promise to toughen teen driving laws, to impose stricter punishments for new drivers who are driving without seat belts or driving while using a cell phone or an iPod. Take their licenses away. Make the process of getting and keeping a license harder. Don't let them drive after midnight or in party cars crowded with kids.

Help them learn to drive in a way that helps them stay alive.

There is no such thing as a good 16-year-old driver, one safety expert told the newspaper last summer. But there are lots of dead ones.

It's time for Minnesota to get up to speed in helping teen drivers turn into adults.

Nick Coleman • ncoleman@startribune.com