Topeka ? A proposal aimed at getting teenagers more experience driving before they earn a driver’s license seemed headed for an uncertain future Monday.

A House-Senate committee decided Monday that a bill placing more restrictions on new drivers would be considered when the Legislature meets in January.

But committee chairman Rep. Gary Hayzlett, R-Lakin, said a number of the proposals needed to be “tweaked.”

And some committee members didn’t seem interested in forcing more requirements on young drivers because they said it ultimately was the parents’ responsibility to make sure their child knew how to drive safely.

Hayzlett conceded, “Until you can legislate parenting, you won’t have a cure-all.” But he said he expected some of the proposals to gain traction in the Legislature.

A coalition of groups, representing health officials, insurance and child advocates, are seeking tighter restrictions on young drivers.

Those include increasing the age for obtaining a learner’s permit from 14 to 15; raising the age to get a restricted license from 15 to 16; restricting the number of passengers in a young driver’s vehicle; and limiting driving times.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Kansans ages 16 to 20, and, while teens make up 6 percent of licensed drivers, they are involved in 20 percent of total accidents, according to the Kansas Department of Transportation.

But under the proposed bill, if a teen did not take driver’s education, he or she would have to wait until age 18 before applying for a license, legislators said. Hayzlett said he had a problem with that because some teens cannot afford driver’s education and they may need to drive to work.