Licensing to save lives

Opinion: November 1, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Los Angeles Times: There was good news in a report released last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control: Fatalities among teenage drivers have fallen steadily and markedly since the mid-1990s.

The CDC analysis attributes most of the drop to graduated-license laws, under which new teenage drivers are subject to restrictions on their driving privileges during the first year or two.

There will be debate forever about the extent to which government should infringe on personal freedom. There should be no argument about our collective responsibility to protect the safety of minors — and the innocent drivers and passengers who might be injured or killed in collisions with inexperienced, overconfident teen drivers.