So why is the House voting to undo the law prohibiting teen occupational driving?

Washington, D.C....A threat to working teens and public safety may soon become law, warns the National Consumers League. The bill, HR 2327, with the deceiving title, "Drive for Teen Employment Act," weakens the prohibition on occupational driving for 16- and 17-year-olds, allowing the most dangerous drivers increased time driving on the job.

Vehicle accident data shows that 16- and 17-year-olds have the worst driving record of any age group. Despite this fact, House leaders are planning to add this bill to the Corrections Day Agenda, as early as next week. Corrections day is a fast-track measure to modify or repeal federal regulations and laws.

"We thank advocates who spoke out against this dangerous bill, " says Linda Golodner, NCL president. "We are convinced that the telephone calls and e-mails to House members helped delay movement on this bill last summer. We must keep up the pressure." H.R. 2327 amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow 16- and 17-year-old minors to drive up to one third of their workday and up to 20 percent of their workweek. The bill has been amended to only allow expanded driving for 17-year-olds. The current law prohibits occupational driving for minors under age 18, except on an "occasional and incidental" basis.

The bill is being lobbied by the National Automobile Dealers Association. The NADA effort evolved out of displeasure at U.S. Department of Labor enforcement efforts that have resulted in dealers being found in violation of child labor laws. The dealers received fines that have spurred an effort to change the law, instead of complying with the law. "Making life easier for automobile dealers who want to take advantage of cheap, inexperienced labor should not be the guiding principle," says Linda Golodner, NCL president and Child Labor Coalition (CLC) co-chair. "The guiding principle should be protecting working minors from occupational injury and death."

Teenagers should not be driving on the job. The right job, kept in the proper perspective can be extremely beneficial for a young worker. There are many things teens can do safely in the workplace. Driving is not one of them. Studies indicate that safe driving habits develop ONLY with experience and increased maturity. Young drivers should not be getting this experience on the job, where their driving may involve time constraints and stress. Teenagers who drive on the job are teens under pressure -- pressure to make a delivery or meet the boss's expectations.

The House's interest in this bill comes at a time when there is movement in states toward graduated licensing systems, which are designed to phase in young beginning drivers to full driving privileges as they mature and develop their driving skills, ensuring that initial experience is accumulated under lower-risk conditions. The rationale for special policies for young drivers is that their crash risk is particularly high. Teenage drivers have the highest crash rate of all: 20 reported crashes per million miles driven, compared with a rate of 5 per million miles for all other ages combined. The rate for 16-year-olds is by far the highest (43), followed by 17-year-olds (30). This bill is in direct conflict with efforts to protect young, new drivers and the general public who travel the nation's roads.

"Those who advocate allowing teens to drive on the job never address the safety issue because they cannot," says Golodner. "Statistics have not changed since the first teen got behind the wheel. Teenagers are at risk every time they get behind the wheel; they are not safe drivers." Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for 15 to 20 year olds. AAA recently reported that more than 60,000 young people have died in motor vehicle crashes in the last decade. Why would the Congress, why would our government leaders even consider increasing the number of hours that minors may drive on the job?

For facts and statistics about teen driving, click here.

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Founded in 1899, NCL is the nation's pioneer consumer group that works to bring consumer power to bear on marketplace and workplace issues. NCL worked for child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (passed in 1938) and more recently, has helped organize the Child Labor Coalition (CLC) which is committed to ending child labor exploitation in the U.S. and abroad.