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Restriction needed for young drivers
Tuesday July 22 2008 Dear Editor,
I would like to comment on your editorial, Profiling not the answer (July 18), in which you stated that, “...maturity and common sense are the key issues, not age.”    
I agree that many 21-year-olds are very mature and have a great deal of common sense. I am proud that my own two daughters demonstrated maturity from the moment they got behind the wheel of a car at 16.
However, young drivers do not have the same driving experience as older individuals. Driving is not a right; it is a privilege. Society has an obligation to continually look at evidence as it becomes available and make proposals that will protect both the young driver and those sharing the roads with them.
While it is true that it is not only young drivers under 21 who are in major collisions, they do make up a disproportionate number. The age of 21 might seem arbitrary but it has long been considered a milestone in a person’s life. It seems suitable to use it as a guide in these discussions.
Your editorial ends with the suggestion that we need a machine to test for maturity and common sense. I read this over twice to make sure I understood it right.  You invested considerable energy in stating your reasons why you felt restrictions based on “profiling” were not the answer.  Yet your tongue-in-cheek alternative (a non-existent, impossible to build machine) did nothing to advance discussion of the issue.  
I would like to also say that I found the assertion that MADD was “jumping on the bandwagon” to be equally puzzling, since “jumping on the bandwagon” means to start proclaiming or doing something, simply because others are doing it.  
Mothers Against Drunk Driving  (in addition to its excellent victim support and education programs) has been advocating for driving restrictions for years. Their support of these proposals seems quite natural to me, hardly the bandwagon effect.
I do agree that cell phone usage while driving should be banned for all drivers, regardless of age.
Barbara Moulton, Orangeville

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