Do as we say, teen drivers, not as we do

By BOB GREENE

The do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation is in power now, and seems poised to hand down the most significant restriction yet on young Americans.

The do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation - i.e., those of us in middle age - is controlling everything from the White House to state legislatures to corporate boardrooms. So far, the edicts of the do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation have concerned colorful, headline-grabbing subjects. You want to drink before you're of legal age? Don't tell us that we did it when we were young - we were wrong. Do as we say, not as we did. You want to experiment with illegal drugs? Don't even talk to us about what we might have done. We were clearly nuts. Do what we say, not what we did.

There has been an almost inevitable fuddy-duddiness to the pronouncements of the do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation. When a cruise line recently announced it was placing age restrictions on its passengers, that seemed to be the ultimate symbolic thrust of the do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation. Those of us in middle age may have enjoyed taking over public places in large groups when we were younger - but now that we want a little peace and quiet, we're making sure there aren't noisy bunches of vacationing teen-agers to bother us. We need our sleep, after all.

But there is a movement that is gaining more and more supporters that seems to be the ultimate test of the do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation's ability to change the rules now that we're no longer young. It appears destined to stir great arguments between young people who feel they're being robbed of something they assumed was their right and middle-aged people who feel this is such an obvious improvement that it should have been instituted years ago.

There is nothing remotely frivolous about it.

All over the United States, legislatures are amending the traditional American assumption that when a person turns 16, he or she should have the right to a driver's license, free and clear.

By the end of 1997, at least 21 states will have altered their laws so that teen-agers must gradually earn the right to drive a car. What this means is that no longer will a 15-year-old assume he or she can soon secure a learner's permit, practice for a few months, then hit the road on his or her own. There is a clear movement toward making teen-agers ease into the discipline of driving - making them live with limited driving rights until they have proven they're ready to drive alongside more experienced motorists.

In some states this involves some sort of intermediate license with restrictions on when, and with whom, a young person can drive. In some states it involves a ban on young people driving at night. In some states there are provisions for parental supervision of driving. In some states if a young driver is involved in an accident or accumulates traffic tickets, the right to a full, unrestricted license is delayed.

What this means is that many American teen-agers who once assumed they could earn a regular driver's license at 16 now will have to wait until they are 17, or even older, for that privilege. The reason is an obvious one: Teen-age drivers have the highest accident rate of any age group on the road. Sixteen-year-olds are involved in far more accidents per 1,000 licensed drivers than any other group on the road - followed by 17-year-olds, then 18-year-olds, then 19-year-olds.

As a matter of public safety, it seems evident that to require young drivers to earn their unrestricted licenses gradually makes sense - not only for other motorists, but for them.

As Patricia Waller, director of the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, told USA Today: "We don't ask teen-agers learning the piano to take 30 hours of classroom instruction and then six hours of practice and expect them to perform at Carnegie Hall. That's essentially what we've always done with young drivers."

Yet if all of this is logical as can be to those of us in the do-as-we-say,-not-as-we-did generation, it's probably too much to ask the young people who are waiting to turn 16 to understand our reasoning. They don't want to reason with us - they want to drive.

So did we. That's what we did. But it's not what we say. Not now.

Chicago Tribune