Parents, teens split on driving age

HANOVER -- In the marble halls of the State House, the consensus among lawmakers is clear: Massachusetts should raise the age at which a teenager can get a drivers' license from 16 1/2 to 17 1/2. They say drivers under 17 1/2 are unready for the dangers of the road.

But in a gleaming suburban mall yesterday, some parents and teenagers defended the current law. They said driving is a rite of passage that can usher teenagers into adulthood by teaching them responsibility and providing the freedom to get around without relying on their parents.

Other parents said the problem is not the age requirement, but how well teenagers are taught to drive -- and how well adults negotiate the question of when to let their teenage children drive.

Following recent fatal accidents, legislators have vowed to overhaul teen driving laws by July 31. On March 17, Scott Connolly and Amanda Nadeau, 16-year-olds from Reading, died when their BMW hit a tree on Route 128 in Wakefield.

State Police have said speed and the inexperience of Connolly, who was driving, might have caused the crash. David Morrill, a State Police officer who investigated the accident, said alcohol was not involved.

The sharp divide between Beacon Hill, where lawmakers want to toughen the law following several fatal accidents involving 16-year-olds, and suburban Massachusetts, where the car is king and public transportation scant, shows parents and teens are grappling with legislation that could change their way of life.

''I'm the one who has to drive her around everywhere," said Wendy Cohen of Abington, who was at the Hanover Mall yesterday with her 13-year-old daughter, Rachel. ''It's hard. Once she's in high school, she has to get around."

Rachel, an eighth-grader, also opposes raising the age to 17 1/2. She said she wants to get her license at 16 1/2 so she can drive to school and to Stop & Shop, where she plans to work.

''I want to drive right now so I don't have to get in the car with my psycho cousins," Rachel said. ''They speed."

Some parents said they support raising the age to 17 1/2 because it would give teenagers more time to gain experience with a learner's permit and consider the perils of a license.

''Kids tend to think they're immortal and they don't think anything can happen to them," said Ellen Daigle, a Rockland resident who was at the mall with her son, Andrew, 15. ''Well, it does happen. Take a look in the newspaper. At 16, I don't think they're ready. They don't have the responsibility for the most part. You gain responsibility with age."

Andrew, shaking his head in disagreement, said raising the age to 17 1/2 would hurt his ability to get out of the house and experience the freedom of the open road. ''It's a whole another year you have to wait," he said. ''I can't drive to school and do all the other things I've waited so long to do."

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, three out of every 10 Massachusetts 16-year-olds get into a serious accident.

Current law allows a teenager to receive a learner's permit at 16 and a junior operator's license at 16 1/2. Drivers with learner's permits must be accompanied by a driver 21 or older who holds a full license.

Junior operators, those under 18, face enhanced penalties for some vehicular offenses, such as speeding and drinking while driving.

Besides raising the driving age to 17 1/2, the bill would double the duration of learner's permits to one year and raise the minimum age at which a teen could get a learner's permit by six months, to 16 1/2. The bill would also require teens with learner's permits to log 50 hours of driving under the supervision of a parent or guardian, including 10 hours in wintertime and 10 at night. The current requirement mandates 12 hours of supervised driving.

''I've had three or four friends die from drunk driving accidents," said Ali Morales, 18, a senior at Fenway High School who was shopping in Downtown Crossing yesterday.

She said she supports raising the age to 17 1/2. ''There would be a lot less accidents."

Younger teens interviewed yesterday cited their desire for more independence in defending the current age limit.

''I'd like to be able to drive myself around," said Jenn Reynolds, 15, a sophomore at Winthrop High School, who opposes raising the age to 17 1/2. ''I wouldn't have to rely on other people."

Some parents echoed the position of AAA Southern New England, which maintains that toughening the curriculum for drivers' education classes would save more lives than raising the driving age.

''One year isn't going to make a difference," said Peggy Welby, 43, of Hanson, who was at the Hanover Mall with her son, Michael, 16. ''I mean, I think they need to get out there. It teaches kids responsibility."

Michael, who rides his bike to his job at McDonald's and relies on his mother for rides to Whitman-Hanson Regional High School, said he also opposes raising the age to 17 1/2.

''I would like to get my license as soon as possible," he said. ''I wouldn't have to ask my mom for a ride wherever I want to go."

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.