Fatal delay; Tougher teenage driving law needed now.

• Position: EDITORIAL - Editorial

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION The Massachusetts Legislature should send its latest effort to toughen rules for teenage drivers to Gov. Mitt Romney, and he should sign it into law at once. If the bill is held up for further discussion, the process will have to be restarted when the next legislative session convenes in January. The bill's more stringent training requirements and penalties are needed right now. Further changes can be addressed later. While the bill does not raise the minimum age for a driver's license by one year, to 171/2, it properly retains crucial elements of the original bill filed last year, including major increases in the instruction time and experience behind the wheel youngsters must have to get a license. An important aspect of the legislation is greater parental involvement in driver training. Too often parents, oblivious to...