Teen driving curfew laws and their effectiveness

¶ … teen curfew laws in the state of Virginia. Specifically it will discuss the teenage curfew driving laws in Virginia, and why they work. A curfew is a ban on driving during a certain time (between midnight and 4AM in Virginia if you are under 18), and it is enacted to help save lives and keep teens off the road at the most dangerous times for drunk driving. The curfew in Virginia is a good idea because it helps save lives and makes people more aware about driving under the influence, along with making parents more aware of their children's activities.

Studies indicate that teenage driving curfews, such as the one in Virginia, help save lives. A national Web site geared to teen driving notes, "Each year, motor vehicle crashes claim almost 42,000 lives, cause millions of injuries, and cost more than $150 billion in damages. Motor vehicle crashes are not accidents. They are the result of bad decisions and risky behaviors" ("Virginia Licensing Laws"). These laws may seem domineering and controlling, but studies have shown that teen driving curfews do work, and that they can reduce teen deaths after they are implemented. Virginia, along with a few other states, have some of the toughest teen driving laws in the country, and a study by the Insurance Institute shows that "fatal accidents among 15- to 17-year-old drivers dropped 19% between 1992 and 2002" (Mussenden) in these states. However, even with these improvements, "Auto accidents are still the leading cause of death for 16-20-year-olds, according to the federal government" (Mussenden). In fact, in Fairfax County in the first 10 months of 2007, 37 people have been killed on the road in Fairfax County, and 10 of them (27%) were under the age of 21 (O'Donoghue), which indicates the problem is still incredibly close to home. This indicates that the teen curfew is working, but that it needs to be expanded to combat the still prevalent number of auto accidents that account for teen deaths in Virginia. This is also evidenced by the same Insurance Institute study that showed in states where teen driving laws are not as tough, crashes only dropped six percent, rather than 19% (Mussenden).

The teen curfew is in effect because of the studies that indicate tougher driving laws, like curfews save lives, but they also increase awareness of problem behaviors, such as drinking and driving, among teens. Teenaged drivers can be the most dangerous on the road, as the statistics show, and this danger increases when they drink and drive. Many teen drivers are on the road after parties, and this is often after midnight, which is one reason the curfew exists. Most teens seem to be educated about the dangers of driving under the influence, but many do it anyway, but the curfew keeps at least some of those teens off the roads, as statistics show. Another study shows that in Virginia, "Among the teen population (ages 15-19), the results have been even more substantial, with alcohol-related traffic fatalities and injuries in this group decreasing by nearly 28-percent and 26-percent, respectively, since 2002" ("Virginia Steps Up"). This shows that laws are working at curtailing teen drunk drivers, and the curfew is one of those laws.

Finally, the teen curfew law helps make parents more aware of their children's activities. It is up to the parents to primarily ensure their children do not drive after midnight, and it should be parental responsibility that ensures teens do not have too many other teens in the car, as well, which is another aspect of Virginia driving law. There is only supposed to be one other teen under 18 inside the car of an under aged driver (O'Donoghue), and this helps keep teen drivers safer, as well, as too many people in the car can be a distraction to the driver. Parents should ensure that these rules are followed, and the curfew causes parents to be more aware of where their children are and when they return home at night. It should open up new avenues of communication, which is good for teens and parents.

The arguments against the teen curfew laws are many. As reporter Mussenden notes, they are difficult to enforce. He writes of a driver education teacher, "But, based on conversations with students, she suspects that few teens obey all the rules, especially curfew restrictions. Police say enforcing some restrictions are a challenge, since telling a 16-year-old from a 19-year-old at 55 miles per hour is difficult" (Mussenden). In addition, police cannot pull a young driver over simply because they look too young, there must be a "primary offense" such as a running a red light, before they can pull a driver over, which makes it more difficult to enforce the law (O'Donoghue). That means that essentially, although there is a law on the books, it is not being enforced as it could be, and that means it is not strong or relevant to teen drivers, who find it easy to disobey it. In addition, many accident studies have shown that many teen accidents occur during daytime hours, which the curfew law can do nothing to prevent. One tragic accident on a rural two-lane road in Virginia took the lives of four teens sixteen and under, and it happened in broad daylight (Crash Investigation Team 4). The curfew would not have helped in this situation, and it does not help in many others. However, the curfew helps save lives, and that is the most important consideration, all the other arguments do not hold water next to that.