Article in the Globe & Mail about potential changes in the Graduated Licensing System

ROAD SAFETY
Ontario eyeing tougher rules for new young drivers
Details of proposed changes not released but could include longer wait to get full licence
COLIN PERKEL
The Canadian Press
September 11, 2008
TORONTO -- New young drivers in Ontario could face tougher restrictions such as a longer wait to get a full licence and tighter rules about carrying passengers if new legislation passes this fall, the provincial government said yesterday.
Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said in an interview that he has been pondering changes to the province's 14-year-old graduated licensing system that would target new drivers.
"It's not that we're trying to pick on young people but that's where we see accidents happening over the years," Mr. Bradley said.
"There's a feeling that young people are more easily influenced by outside circumstances than others are."

Statistics indicate new drivers - especially younger ones - are more accident prone. To deal with the issue, Ontario introduced graduated licensing for new drivers in 1994.
The current licence for new drivers keeps them off certain major highways, sets a minimum 20 months before earning full driving privileges, and limits how many people new drivers can carry in their vehicle.
One person pushing for tighter rules for young drivers is Tim Mulcahy, whose 20-year-old son, Tyler, and friends, Kourosh Totonchian, 19, and Cory Mintz, 20, were killed in a crash after drinking at a restaurant in Muskoka, an area north of Toronto popular with cottagers.
The three young men died when the car they were in plunged into the waters of Lake Joseph, near Minett, Ont., in July.
Police said speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
Mr. Mulcahy, who has written Premier Dalton McGuinty urging tougher rules, is pushing the provincial government to revoke the licences of young drivers who are caught either speeding or drinking for between three months and a year.
Speaking before a cabinet meeting yesterday, Mr. McGuinty called the crash a "terrible tragedy" and expressed sympathy with the idea of tougher licensing.
"The dad is taking inspiration from the death of his son to look for a public policy change, which he believes would make the roads safer for all our kids," Mr. McGuinty said.
"He may be onto something."
Mr. McGuinty said he did not have details of the proposed changes that could come this fall and Mr. Bradley was reluctant to provide them pending review by his cabinet colleagues.
"Suffice to say it's designed to make our roads safer," Mr. Bradley said.
He said other individuals and groups have also expressed support for changes to toughen the licensing requirements.
It's important to ensure young people develop sound habits at the start of their driving careers, he added.