North Dakota has a larger population of older citizens than most states and, therefore, a larger percentage of the population of senior citizens that drive. Likewise, the state allows drivers to have licenses at a younger age than most states, as young as 14 years of age, because of the rural nature of North Dakota.

Although mass transit has improved in North Dakota in the past decade, it does not come close to taking care of the needs of the state's younger and older citizens. And until it does, the state should hold off on raising the age required for licensed drivers.

However, the Legislature appears to be on the verge of increasing restrictions on teen-aged drivers in the state. The motivation for raising the driving age from 14 to 16 is to counter very real statistics - 16-year-olds have a higher crash rate than drivers of any other age and are three times more likely to die in any crash than the average of all drivers.

There are proposals to raise the age for driving in the state from the North Dakota Insurance Department and from Rep. Ed Gruchalla of Fargo.

The concerns behind proposed laws restricting young drivers are laudable, but there are better solutions than pushing up the age for licensed driving. As we have stated before on this page, a better solution is to have a continuation, even enhancement, of graduated driver's license programs - a three-stage process including supervised learning, intermediate license and full-privilege license.

Presently in North Dakota, at age 14, a person can obtain an instructional permit and can drive when accompanied by an adult who has at least three years' driving experience. After six months and completing a driver's education course, a young person can drive a parent or guardian's vehicle without supervision. And at age 16, they may have an unrestricted license.

Further, 14- and 15-year-olds may drive unaccompanied while doing farm work. The proposal to raise the age from 14-16 years of age for licensing would include an exemption for farm work.

Putting more effort into providing driver's education for young drivers, and requiring additional experience in the permit process, benefits everyone. Gruchalla makes the case for young drivers having experience in all seasons and weather conditions, and we support that.

There's also talk about banning cell phones, texting and late-night driving by young drivers. Being distracted by cell phones and other electronic devices while driving is just as much a problem with adult drivers as it is for the state's youngest drivers, and restricting it by age misses the point. If lawmakers are going to ban people using cell phones in their cars, it needs to be for all drivers and not just one age group.

Government can't protect everyone, all the time, from everything.