TEEN DRIVING: Teen drivers take a turn
Berkmar group says don't raise age, calls test standards a joke
Duane D. Stanford - Staff
Thursday, December 21, 2000

As legislators and parents prepare for yet another push for tougher teen driving laws during next year's General Assembly session, teenagers can do little more than sit back and wait to see what happens.

They still have opinions, though.

Last week, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution brought parents, lawmakers and students together for four town hall meetings to discuss ways to reduce accidents among teenagers.

A few adults suggested raising the driving age. Some suggested making student drivers log a certain number of training hours with Mom or Dad. Others wanted lawmakers to make driver's education mandatory. Nearly everyone advocated a stronger driving test.

But what would the teenagers think? The AJC took some of the proposals to Berkmar High School in Lilburn to see how they rated with more than 50 juniors and seniors who, by now, know all about the state's driver's license laws.

Nearly two-thirds of the students who participated have their own cars. Of those, nine got their cars brand new. A majority of the students have cell phones. All but a few already have driver's licenses.

Overwhelmingly, the students liked the notion of logging a certain number of driving hours with their parents before they would graduate from a student permit to a full driver's license. But the teenagers were quick to point out that some parents cheat.

"How do you know it's for real?" asked 16-year-old Kim Larson, whose parents made her drive an extra five months on her learner's permit to get more road experience. "Some parents will sign anything without reading it."

"Yeah, that's good, but what you fail to realize is a lot of parents are going to lie anyway," said Melissa Rishak, 17.

The students said lawmakers would need to set penalties for parents who fake the log.

One of the big questions facing lawmakers is whether to raise the driving age to 17 years old or older.

The Berkmar students generally echoed the sentiment of opponents of the proposal who say experience, not age, is important. They said raising the driving age doesn't ensure that parents will train their children better.

"It takes experience to know how to drive," said Cara Pallozzi, 17.

A few students, on the other hand, suggested that raising the driving age would leave more time for students to practice, as long as they could still get a permit at 15.

So if experience is important, should driver's education be mandatory? On this one, opinion varied widely.

Tiffany Miller, 17, said driver's education should be required, and she believes the state should pay for it. Some said driver's education costs too much, while others said the insurance savings more than makes up for the expense.

Ashley Lamberton said she didn't take driver's education. Her parents taught her to drive, and they critiqued her every move.

"Just because you take driver's ed," added Dantrell Mitchell, "that has nothing to do with what that kid is going to do by themselves in that car."

As it turned out, a majority of the Berkmar students did not take driver's education.

While driver's education is voluntary, the driver's license road test is not. However, nearly all of the students who had taken it said it was ineffective.

"My little sister can drive around a parking lot," mocked 16-year-old Mary Adkins, who drove to a Gainesville licensing facility to take the exam.

Several of the teenagers said the testers were inconsistent. One student laughed about passing the already simple test, even though she bumped a cone parallel parking. Others talked of strict testers.

To solve the problem, the students said, the test should put them in real-life driving situations. One student even suggested requiring 10 hours of driving with an instructor, which would be taken in steps during the entire permit period.

David Pham, 18, who got his license in Ohio, said he was surprised when he heard about Georgia's requirements.

"They took me out on the real road, through neighborhoods," Pham said of the Ohio testers. "Then we went on a busy road."

When one student suggested such testing would make lines at the license centers even longer, 18-year-old Emily Duncan lashed out.

"You don't have to sacrifice everyone else's safety," she said, "just because you don't want to wait in line."

Before the bell rang, the students in each class fielded a final question: Should teenagers be banned from using cell phones? Again, the response was overwhelming.

Yes, they said, as long as adults are banned from using them, too.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Across metro Atlanta, parents are struggling with the issue of teenage driving. Share your opinions, advice and strategies by calling 404-222-1916 or e-mailing [email protected]. We will publish responses, so include your name, city and phone number for confirmation. (We won't publish phone numbers.)