15-year-olds behind the wheel? Kentucky legislator wants to lower driver permit age.
A prominent Kentucky legislator has filed a bill that would lower the age an aspiring Kentucky driver can get their instructional permit to 15.
Majority Floor Leader Steven Rudy, R-Paducah, wants to make that happen with House Bill 15, a piece of legislation he’s sponsoring that would lower the driver’s permit age from 16 to 15 and the minimum age at which Kentuckians get a full license from 17 to 16-and-a-half.
Permit holders must be accompanied by a licensed driver 21 years or older in the passenger’s seat.
The bill would allow young drivers to get their restricted license, where they’re allowed to hit the road alone with some time and passenger restrictions, at 16.
What’s driving the change?
Rudy says he filed the bill with a desire to bring Kentucky in alignment with the rest of the South and the country.
Kentucky is one of the more restrictive states when it comes to letting teens on the road. It’s one of only eight that makes minors wait until their 16th birthday to get a permit; every state to the South of Kentucky allows them to get an instructional permit at 15.
Rudy said that he’s heard from parents who want this change to potentially lighten some of their load, hauling children from activity to activity. He said he has a daughter in this age range and feels the need for it himself.
There’s also a workforce element.
“As we continue to look at workforce participation, kids can’t get jobs now because they don’t have a driver’s license. Mom and dad both work and sometimes they can’t drive,” Rudy said.
Workforce numbers and the workforce participation have long been a focus of the GOP-led legislature. At 58.2%, Kentucky is tied for fifth-lowest workforce participation rate in the nation.
Young drivers are more likely to be involved in accidents than their older peers. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, drivers aged 16 to 19 were involved in 4.8 fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled, a rate only surpassed by drivers 80 and older.
Insurance companies, at least the ones that Rudy has consulted, aren’t too worried, he said.
“I talked with insurance companies and most them say ‘hey, this is how we do it in every other state, so it’s no big deal,’” Rudy said.
Nothing would change about the written knowledge and vision tests aspiring drivers need to take to get their instructional permits.
Rudy told the Herald-Leader that he’s confident the bill will pass out of the House. It’s currently cosponsored by every other member of GOP legislative leadership and it was discussed during the Republican caucus retreat late last year. He’s also spoken with some members of the senate about it, he said.
“I feel really good about our chances of getting it through the House, hopefully the Senate will be the same. I’m very optimistic that this will be one of the things we get accomplished this General Assembly.”
Spokespeople for Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky Department of Transportation have yet to respond to requests for their position on the bill.
