Raising the driving age may not necessarily result in safer roadways.

A new debate has sparked since the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced in a Sept. 9 press release its support of raising the nationwide driving age to 17 or 18 years old. But for Illinois, waiting another year or two may not be a necessary step to ensure the safety of teen drivers.

“Raising the driving age to 17 to 18 years old would only defer the problems faced by new drivers,” said Frank Gruber, retiree of the NIU Traffic Safety Institute. “New 17 to 18-year-old drivers with no training would likely only make the problem worse.”

To improve teen driving laws with the aim of reducing traffic crashes and fatalities, Ill. Secretary of State Jesse White’s office initiated a new teen driver safety law that went into effect Jan. 1, according to an August 2007 news release. The law made several provisions to the teen driving rules already in place.

“The new law better prepares teen drivers by tripling the length of the permit phase, increasing parental involvement, limiting in-car distractions and strengthening penalties,” White said in a Sept. 9 news release.

So far, many have found these provisions to be successful.

“I think the state has done a good job with the restrictions,” said Mark Sykes, DeKalb High School driver education instructor. “The kids have to prove they can go get their license.”

One of the key points in the new teen driver safety law is the increase of parental involvement before and after they receive an Illinois license.

With the permit phase prolonged, parents and driving instructors may have more of an opportunity to monitor teens behind the wheel.

“Parents also need to do their part by providing the required practice driving time in varied driving environments rather than just practicing in sheltered places such as parking lots and neighborhoods,” Gruber said.

It is also up to parents to decide if their child is ready to handle a license.

“I think it’s really more of a time where parents and their children have to sit down and make the decision of whether they are ready or not,” Sykes said. “They also need to look at their everyday life skills and hopefully they can make good decisions when they get behind the wheel of the car.”

Regardless of age or experience, many continue to learn more about driving as time goes on.

“We have to accept the fact that everyday we drive, we’re still learning,” Sykes said. “Hopefully that’ll make them better.”