In Michigan, teenagers with a level 2 license cannot drive from 10 pm to 5 am. The law is to prevent dangerous scenarios that could happen while driving at night, but you must drive straight home from wherever you are. The law came into effect by the Michigan Secretary of State and Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) system, created in 1997.
“I think that law is smart because people who drive at night are bad at driving,” junior Miley Reaves said, “but I also think it should be moved to a later time, and the restriction for driving straight home after work or a school activity should be changed so you can do other things that are important.”
You can drive after 10 pm with a few exceptions, such as driving home from school activities and work, but you must drive straight home.
“I think it depends on the occasion and the kid, I feel the law is reasonable as it allows students to drive from work and school,” teacher Stacy Konnie said. “I support it because it keeps students safe, and I don’t think it should be changed.”
If you get caught driving past 10 pm it is a civil infraction, your license may be suspended, and you could face jail time.
“I don’t like that I can’t drive past 10 pm as I often still have other things to do, that vary from driving friends’ home, getting gas, and just driving around,” junior Zach Rude said, “because it’s not like I’d be under the influence whilst driving past 10 pm, and I would have to learn how to drive at night anyway.”
Driving at night is completely different than driving during the day because your blind spots become more difficult to see out of and when it’s dark out, you’re more provoked to drive faster because almost nobody drives at night.
“I believe the curfew is a little early, I think the curfew should be changed to midnight, because some students have other responsibilities to take care of that might not include work or school,” teacher Dawn Anderson said, “I like the law because it keeps drivers safe, but I also believe it’s restrictive.”
The 10pm limit is not liked by most teenagers, but is liked by teachers, for its safety reasons and to prevent teenagers from being reckless and doing stupid things.
