DOVER-FOXCROFT – The sobering fact that a person between the ages of 16 and 24 died every seven days in a motor vehicle accident in Maine in 2002 has the attention of state officials, who are considering legislative changes.

Initiatives under consideration, which include raising the age a person can obtain a license, were presented at a videoconference by Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky at four Maine schools Friday, including Foxcroft Academy where three students died recently in a car crash that involved speed.

Residents ages 16-24 make up 12.5 percent of Maine’s drivers, but account for nearly one-third of all motor vehicle accidents that involve fatalities, according to the state official.

“The Maine Legislature is not going home without doing something,” Gwadosky told students at Maranacook Community High School, Erskine Academy, Hall-Dale High School and Foxcroft Academy. Gwadosky’s forum also was broadcast at Mountain Valley, Searsport and Lewiston high schools.

He said the high death toll among 16- to 24-year-olds was an emerging issue that has struck close to many schools, including Old Town and Foxcroft in recent weeks. Gwadosky said the forum was an opportunity to get comment from students on initiatives under consideration.

In addition to raising the age to obtain a license, other initiatives being considered by Gwadosky include imposing a statewide curfew for teenagers from midnight to 5 a.m.; increasing the waiting period between a permit and road test from three to six months; extending the no-passenger rule for new drivers beyond the 90-day period to six months; mandatory suspensions for provisional license violations; and a ban on the use of cellular telephones.

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death of people between the ages of 16 and 24 in Maine, according to the state official. In 2002, 55 Maine teenagers died in motor vehicle accidents and most of these were passengers, compared to 39 fatalities in 2001 and 41 in 2000.

Injuries in motor vehicle accidents also are on the rise. Gwadosky said that every seven days, 60 teenagers are injured in motor vehicle accidents.

Driving appears to be dangerous for young drivers because of their inexperience, risk-taking behavior, their exposure to greater risks from night driving and teen passengers, and because they tend to drive older cars on Maine’s rural roads, Gwadosky said.

Alcohol-related accidents involving teenagers have actually decreased, but have increased among 40- to 50-year-olds, Gwadosky said.

A few students who spoke during the forum, including Seth Gabarro, a senior at Foxcroft Academy, suggested that raising the driving age might be effective in reducing accidents involving teen drivers. He also suggested that the state consider extending the time period of a permit so that teenagers drive longer under the tutelage of their parents.

But another student remarked that a 17- or 18-year-old who has just obtained his license would be as inexperienced as a 16-year-old. “As long as there’re going to be young drivers, there’ll be accidents,” he said.

Peter Caruso, FA’s driver education teacher, said students would take driving a lot more seriously if the program were offered only by schools, rather than commercial organizations. He said the program has become a moneymaking issue.

Gwadosky said most schools eliminated driver education because they were no longer able to subsidize the program.

“What we want to do is find something that works and makes sense,” he said.