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OzzyKP
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Rockville, MD
Oct 1999
time: 00:35
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Sorry, I didn't see either of them. But I saw some guy who was Attorney General for Bush Sr. and/or Reagan (i forget). I was about to goose him, but he's a quick bugger.
For those of you not lucky enough to catch it, the audio is here: http://www.snipeme.com/sounds/Alex_...June_6_2005.mp3
And the transcript is here:
Host: Getting a driver's license is a right of passage, of course, for teenagers, but it sometimes can have some deadly consequences, unfortunately. Statistics show that cars are one of the biggest killers of teens in the United States. Now some think that raising the driving age might be a good way to solve this problem. Is 16, which is the age in some places, too young to drive? Joining us now to talk about this is Gaithersburg, Maryland Chief of Police, Mary Ann Viverette and President of the National Youth Rights Association, Alex Koroknay-Palicz. Good to have both of you with us. Alex, let me start with you. Do you think that 16 is too young to drive?
Alex Koroknay-Palicz: (Ozzy) No, absolutely not. I think that more importantly than what age people start driving is the processes in place to teach people how to drive properly and the testing that people go through. And, I think that if we have a rigorous test then 16 is just fine or even younger.
Host: But don't you think that, I mean obviously it's a concern for any parent when you look at those statistics and you say "Who does it really hurt if we just wait another year?" I know twelve months seems like a lifetime when you're 16 years old, but if it's gonna keep kids safer, why not go along with it?
Alex: Well, I think there's more important issues here than just safety. I think we have to look at civil rights and I think a lot of the issue here is actually age discrimination. If we just wanted to decide this based on public safety and just based on car accidents, then male drivers have accident rates, especially intheir 20s, far above that of women. So, in a public safety viewpoint, we should stop men from driving cars and just allow women to drive cars.
Host: Hmm, there's a good idea (laugh). Mary Ann, what do you think about this. Y'know, when you look at it from a purely age-based perspective, is Alex right? Is there a different way, a different measure that we should be using to decide who's qualified to be out there and who's safe out there?
Mary Ann Viverette: Well, I'm a proponent of the graduated licensing. I don't think it's just the 16, it's the fact that the 16 year olds are inexperienced. So, if you add in graduated licensing where they have more time to practice with a learner's permit and then have more time with the supervision of a parent or guardian that can supervise their driving, then they'll be much better prepared to be on our roads as a driver.
Host: Doesn't it seem like most of the bad things happen when there's too many kids in the car or when they're driving at night and, I know that they have some new restrictions in New Jersey that sort of do that graduated process. So Alex, what's wrong with-- is anything wrong with that, in your opinion?
Alex: Well I think for-- again, it comes back to age discrimination. We don't have a problem, necessarily, with graduation driver's licenses, but in pretty much all states, I think there are some exceptions, that only applies to new drivers that are teenagers. If you get your license for the first time when you're 25, you don't have to go through driver's training, you don't have to go through graduated driver's licenses; you take a very easy road test and written test, and you pretty much get your license handed to you. So if we wanted to be consistent and we wanted to be fair, whatever restrictions we place on new drivers should apply to all new drivers, regardless of their age.
Host: Alright, well maybe age, in and of itself, not the best test, interesting question. Mary Ann Viverette, thank you. Alex, thank you. Good to have you with us.
Alex: Thank you.
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06-06-2005 19:28
1:45 central. I'll have my TV on.
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