Should the driving age be raised to 18? Alarmed by car accidents involving teenagers, a number of states are considering raising the age for getting a license.

• Author: D'Amico, John
• Position: DEBATE - Column

YES

On teenage boys from Chicago went out for a late-night drive and had a terrible accident. The car spun out of control and struck several objects, including a giant light pole. Two of the boys--a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old--were killed. The driver of the car was just 16.

After this tragic accident, thousands of people began asking what could be done to prevent this from happening again.

The answer is raising the driving age. That's why I introduced legislation to raise the driving age in Illinois from 16 to 18. I realize this idea is controversial, but I could not stand by and watch one more young person die because he or she was not quite ready to be behind the wheel.

All 50 states prohibit 16-year-olds from drinking alcohol, buying cigarettes, and purchasing handguns. Yet somehow most states are willing to put them in charge of a car, which could potentially be a deadly weapon.

Between 1995 and 2004, there were 30,917 fatalities in accidents that involved 15-to-17-year-old drivers, according to a study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. About a third of those deaths were the teen drivers themselves. The rest were pedestrians, passengers, and people in cars that teenage drivers struck.

As an Illinois lawmaker, I cannot sit back and watch more innocent lives be claimed because of lack of experience. Raising the driving age may seem burdensome to parents and busy teens, but we have to remember that this is a proposal about safety, not convenience.

--Representative John D'Amico Democrat, Illinois State Legislature

NO

If your neighbor robs a bank, should you go to jail? No. If your classmate gets in an accident, should your driver's license be taken away? Of course not. Neither situation is fair. Raising the driving age will punish all young drivers for the mistakes of a few of...