I remember getting my learner's permit, scheduling the road test, and that was it to get a New Jersey driver's license. It didn't matter how you practiced. There was no requirement of an expensive 6 hour professional driving instructor. You practiced, you took your road test, and you either swam or sank.

Today Jersey's GDL program has piled on more and more layers and hurdles right down to the red decal on the license plate. Now lawmakers want to make it still more difficult to get your full driving privileges. A bill just cleared an Assembly committee that requires 50 hours of practice driving with a parent or guardian and 10 of those hours must be at night. Additionally, there's another bill requiring new drivers and their parents to complete a teen driver orientation class.

Is this necessary? Good parents will already help there children practice. Good parents will know how well or poorly their child is doing and will know if 30 hours was good enough or if they need 70. Good parents want their children to be safe on the road and don't need government replacing them as parents. Bad parents will grudgingly go along with the requirement to sit in the car while their child drives but will bury themselves in their phone texting and pay no attention and offer no guidance. Other bad parents will simply fake the hours on the log and sign it.

At some point we have to realize that the way we become good drivers is to be out there alone, facing close calls, learning from mistakes, and gaining experience. Yes it's scary. However it is becoming a ridiculous and burdensome process to drive in this state.

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