Raise legal driving age to 18

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

We the undersigned have carefully considered and evaluated the current driving age law in California and support a change in the legal driving age out of concern for our childrens and all persons safety upon our streets and highways as well as concern for the environment. We urge you to support an increase in the legal driving age to 18.

Our streets and highways are a war zone as is evident by many statistics. The numbers of teenage deaths on roads in the United States are higher than the number of deaths of soldiers reported before and after the war in Iraq and the number of teenage deaths on the roads each year are higher than the number of deaths that occured as a result of 9/11. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has plenty more statistics on the staggering numbers of teen related driving deaths.

Research in several countries has shown not only that the younger people are when they start to drive the higher the chances of having a serious or fatal crash within the first year of driving, but also that a young person's brain is not fully developed until after the teenage years have passed, and that this, in turn, also reduces a young person's abilities as a safe driver. New findings from brain researchers at the National Institutes of Health explain for the first time why efforts to protect the youngest drivers usually fail. The weak link: what's called "the executive branch" of the teen brain the part that weighs risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behavior. Scientists at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., have found that this vital area develops through the teenage years and isn't fully mature until age 25. Why take this risk by licensing drivers as young as 15?

Additionally, our air is polluted by too many cars and our public transit systems inadequate and underutilized. Both of these problems are addressed by creating a demand for more people (those under age 18) to get out of their cars and walk, ride a bicycle, or use public transportation. Those of us who are parents are also willing to encourage our teenagers to satisfy their transportation needs by supporting alternative forms of transportation and carpooling.

Finally, we strongly believe that there is no good reason anyone under the age of 18 should need to drive a car. Driving is a privilege and not a right. We urge you to immediately enact legislation that would change the legal driving age to 18 in California with the hopes that this will lead the Nation to follow your bold and caring decision.