Rep. Kevin Ambler, R-Tampa, wants to reduce the number of auto accidents involving inexperienced teenage drivers. He is proposing to make driver’s education a mandatory requirement for high school graduation.
Tampa Tribune’s online website, TBO.com, reports
According to a Florida Traffic Crash Statistics Report from 2006, drivers age 15 to 19 have the highest crash rate per 10,000 licensed drivers, while 18-year-old drivers have the highest rate of involvement in fatal crashes.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that auto accidents are the number one killer of teens ages 15-20. There were 3,490 teenage auto fatalities in 2006, and 272,000 injuries.
Rep. Ambler’s bill is also supported by many teenage drivers, one of whom helped write the proposed bill. Teens realize that many of their peers are bad drivers and would gain knowledge and experience by taking driver’s ed course, thereby, reducing the number of car crashes and teenage fatalities. Currently these courses are offered at many high schools, but they are only an elective.