The proponents of Graduated Driver License (GDL) are taking a lot of credit for the drop in fatalities among 16 to 17 year-old teenage drivers.   We agree that the restrictions included in the various GDL laws deserve a lot of the credit for the drop in fatalities for teenage drivers.

However, we are perplexed as to why the GDL restrictions end when the new driver reaches the magic age of 18.  Anyone over the age of 18 can take a simple rules of the road written test, turn around and take the equally simple road test to get their license.  Now how does turning 18 make you any more prepared for driving?  Should I be required to have less training to fly a plane once I turn a certain age?  I think the answer is clearly no.   Yet for some reason we allow this untrained driver to put you and me at risk on the road.

We encourage you to write your representative and let them know that you want to keep your roads safe from untrained drivers.  Let’s require all drivers to be properly trained before hitting the roads.