WEYMOUTH, Mass. -- A series of deadly crashes involving teens behind the wheel has led to calls to raise the legal driving age.

NewsCenter 5's Kelley Tuthill reported Tuesday that a Statehouse committee is working on a bill that would raise the age at which teens can get their licenses to 17½.

"We need to figure out how we can reach out to our young people," Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey said. "I am very open to looking at proposals to change the driving age. I am also probably even more interested in looking at opportunities to make driving safer for teens. I think that teens often get distracted. I am very interested in the proposals about limiting cell phone use."

In the meantime, some towns are looking for other ways to address the issue. In Weymouth, officials are using grant money to pay for 25 high school students to attend In Control Advanced Driver Training.

"Let them get the experience of driving in a controlled environment to see what happens when you speed or follow too closely and you do the silly things that inexperienced drivers do," Weymouth Police Department Chief Jim Thomas.

The teen drivers practiced panic stops on a runway. The half-day course costs $299 per person. The idea is to move beyond driver's education.

"You can go to driver's ed and you can be told how to stay safe, but unless you experience it hands-on, you are not going to know what to do, so this kind of program is awesome," high school senior Jake Aaron said.