You idiot! This is not criminalizing teen driving behavior. Law enforcement is almost never involved with these kinds of licensing restrictions.

And, for a change, this is that evil boogeyman "big government" coming down firmly on the side of parents, as survey after survey of parents in state after state has verified.

And the result is that far fewer teens will crash, be injured and die. Along the way, far fewer of the rest of us will be hit by a teen. Look at the latest issue of the Journal of Safety Research for a review of the dozen+ studies in other states that illustrate this.

First of all Teen Guy, thank you for taking time to respond to this post. Calling somebody an idiot does not seem to be the most professional way of engaging in a constructive coversation, however, you raise interesting and important points in your message.

Please keep in mind that the legislature chose to criminalize certain behavior in this bill which Governor Napolitano signed yesterday. The new law requires teen drivers to stay off the roads at night and limits the number of other teens in a car. How do we ensure that teen age drivers actually follow this new law? I believe that law enforcement must now get involved to ensure compliance. Enforcement to ensure the age of other passengers in a car with a teen driver presents some real logistics problems and seems like it will draw enforcement resources away from police agencies' traffic enforcement and crime prevention responsibilities.

I raised questions about the new statute but certainly do not suggest that the objective outlined in the statute is a bad idea. I agree that we need to find ways to reduce crashes caused by poor teen drivers. However, I just do not necessarily believe this new law is the best way to accomplish such a laudible goal. It will take time to tell whether punishing a young driver criminally is the best way to accomplish the goal of reducing teen accidents.

Perhaps the true answer to problems of teenage driving requires changing the legal driving age to eighteen. It seems to me that enforcement becomes easier and we still address the problems associated with teenage driving. What do you think Teen Guy? I mean no disrespect when I say this but if you'd like to respond, please refrain from volleying about any verbal insults and I will be happy to post any responses. Thank you for taking the time to provide your input into this issue.