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Here's the Detroit News Answer to Whacko Lawmakers in Washington State
Denying Driver's Licenses to Truants Would Increase Crime and Poverty
Using traffic laws to press social goals sets a bad precedent for Michigan
One of the worst ideas for fixing the drop-out problem is to deny driver's licenses to those under 18 who leave school without graduating.
It's also an inappropriate use of state authority to achieve social goals.
The proposal, voiced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm in the State of the State address, would give the state a parental role, deciding who gets the keys to the car and who doesn't. Such a law would create an administrative nightmare, with the need to provide exceptions for dropouts who must have a driver's license to hold down a job.
And it promises to create a large and dangerous pool of illegal drivers.
As Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land notes, it is traditionally the responsibility of parents -- not the state -- to regulate a teens' driving privileges for skipping class. If a teenager is a legal dropout, denying a license would only make it even more difficult to find and hold a job, especially in Metro Detroit and rural Michigan, where mass transit is lacking.
Teenagers can drop out of school legally at age 16, the same age as most qualify for a driver's license. It makes little sense to punish a 16-year-old for truancy if the law doesn't require him or her to be in class in the first place.
Driving is a privilege and not a right. But it's a privilege tied to a neutral assessment of motoring skills and knowledge. There's no litmus test of social status or attainment, nor should there be.
Expanding traffic laws to solve social ills, including public education failures, seems dubious at best. Once adopted, such an approach could be theoretically (and wrongly) expanded to achieve other socially desirable goals, such as getting a college degree or maintaining good health. If the state can deny a license to teen drop-outs, why not deny one to teen smokers? There's no end to the conditions that the well-intentioned might place on getting a license. It is better to head off the concept early.
Truancy is a problem. But the fix should not include threatening students with the suspension of driving privileges, thus making it even harder for them to lead productive lives
— editors
Denying Driver's Licenses to Truants Would Increase Crime and Poverty
Detroit News
Feb. 12, 2003
http://www.detnews.com/2003/editorial/0302/12/a10-82683.htm
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