Teen drivers: Tighter laws won’t prepare them for world
“Group says state needs tougher laws for teen drivers,” (TNT, 1/27).
As the parent of a new driver, this article caught my eye. My child is not allowed to drive with friends for six months, but we’re glad this limit isn’t any longer.
Under what this highway safety group proposes, teens would not be able to drive others until they turn 18.
The biggest issue I see is carpooling. Currently my daughter and all her friends have to take separate vehicles for every school event, shopping trip or movie. This puts a strain on the environment, roads and parking.
Secondly, decreasing driving hours after 10 p.m. is too extreme. If my daughter had a weekend job or wants to see her best friend, a midnight curfew would be more sensible.
I understand we want to protect our children and everyone around them. But I am training my children to function without me, to understand how the world works.
Creating unnecessary rules is not how to create strong youth. We need to give them freedom to do what we all did in our youth, and some of that involves letting them navigate the wild world.
J. Todd Steel, Tacoma
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 1:04 PM with the headline "Teen drivers: Tighter laws won’t prepare them for world."