Do Some Teens Have a Driving Need to Get a License?

Frederick

Call Car Guys Inc. of Rockville at 800-800-GUYS or BSR Inc. of Summit Point, W.Va., at 304-725-6512 or 304-725-9281. BSR is near Harpers Ferry, W.Va.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

I have two 16-year-old drivers in training. At the Motor Vehicle Administration office in Gaithersburg, I was able to get a free magnetic sign, about 3.5 by 15 inches with yellow and white stripes, that reads "Rookie Driver" in black letters.

It is very visible and easily transferred to an alternate vehicle. It does seem to make a difference.

Romana Nixon

Damascus

Those signs were funded by a grant that has since run out. A Rockville parent has taken up the cause and offers them for $9.95. Call Jackie Kurtz at 301-468-2342 or e-mail newdriversigns@aol.com.

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

Raising the driving age to 18 won't accomplish anything without the involvement of parents. We will have 18-year-olds who do not know how to drive instead of 16-year-olds who do not know how to drive. That extra two years means nothing if the parents do not insist on experience and training behind the wheel.

I did not get my license in high school because I did not want to learn how to drive. Once I turned 18, my mother required me to get my license by signing me up for a driver's ed class.

I had two weeks of practice during my class, which amounted to about seven hours of driving, and then I was a licensed driver. Needless to say, I got in an accident very soon.

I can say without hesitation that the majority of my friends who got their licenses when they were 16 were significantly better drivers than I because they had had more time to practice before going away to college.

Their parents felt that because they were younger, they needed more parental supervision while learning.

Raising the driving age will not help unless parents put in the extra effort, and it may allow parents to feel like some of their responsibility is lifted because their teenager is more "mature."

Kate Laflin

Fairfax

Raising the age to 18 would give parents more time to train their children. The 18-year-olds should be more experienced, better drivers when they get their license than the often poorly trained, new 16-year-old drivers.

Transportation researcher Diane Mattingly contributed to this column.

Dr. Gridlock appears Sunday in the Metro section and Thursday in Extra. You can write to Dr. Gridlock, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071. He prefers to receive e-mail, at drgridlock@washpost.com, or faxes, at 703-352-3908. Please include your full name, town, county and day and evening phone numbers.