Should the US raise the driving age?

[90Q45blue]

Well the point was brought up in this thread:

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....44633

What do you guys think?

I personally support raising the driving age to 18 and making it more difficult to get your license. I know it's hard to be unbiased since I already have my license but I believe 16-year-olds for the most part can't handle the privilege and responsibility of driving.

Just my .02

Nick

[Mr1der]

I still feel 2 years won't make that big of a difference, but I do feel making harder to obtain is a must.

well, 16 year olds do seem to look more like 11 year olds nowadays though, perhaps they're acting like them too?

[lessthanjakejohn]

And 18 year-olds are that much more likely to follow the rules?

[TachyonS14]

I think It would suck to have to have your mom drive you to school dances and stuff. But, I really do agree that It would save a lot of lives. During high school, kids did a lot of stupid things with their cars. I say go for It!

[90Q45blue]

I'll be honest and say that I don't think I was ready to drive when I got my license at 16. The only reason I became such a good driver was because I was a runner for a law firm and had to drive all over the downtown and to all parts of the city at 16. If it weren't for that experience, I think I would've squandered the privilege.

Nick

[lessthanjakejohn]

Perhaps if there were stricter penalties for breaking traffic laws for the 16-18 year-old bracket. I would definately support that. Being, that I do the best I can to not break laws because I need to keep my driving priviledges for work, school, and my social life. Losing this priviledge would be the end of the world IMO... During that summer that I was 16, I was able to do so many diffrerent things then in the summers before. I could wake up early and attend conventions, go to concerts. Bascially I could do whatever I wanted and it made me more mature. I spent less time at the house, and more time doing cool stuff. If the driving age was raised to 18 before I was 16, then I would still be the same person IMO that I was when I was 16...

I'm 17 btw.

[Onizuka]

I think practis should start at 14, and a very tough and thurough test at 16, as well as a mandatory techincal driving course that you HAVE to pass.

[SmithSR]

Yes. The age should be raised. As I've previously mentioned, on Sunday I got hit by a teenage girl(turns out she was doing 50 in a 35 zone, through an intersection). The only plus side is her car was totalled. She got what she deserved, and now I get a great deal of body work and suspension replaced free of charge. The bad part is my truck will be in the shop till around Christmas.

Limit children to public transportation and bicycles until they can demonstrate some level of restraint/discipline.

Drifting fad isn't helping promote safe roads, because for every member who posts about keeping it in safe areas, there's five kids out there who try to drift around every corner they encounter. I know what I've seen.

Self-discipline isn't a classroom lesson. How can people who have been there & done that, teach the youth to act responsibly? By example, for one. The problem there is, as you will notice in that thread, as soon as older, more experienced drivers chime in to chastise the youth, we are met with "don't tell me you never did anything wrong!"

Here's a lesson for the youth: you worry about you. Your insurance premiums will eventually force you to be more responsible.

[Mr1der]

it's kind of a double edged sword, I see people older than me that are far more reckless while there are younger safer than me. It depends on the person and not the persons age if you ask me, but hey, it's me after all:)

[lessthanjakejohn]

phil I can see what your saying. I would be all for this if there was more significant public transit in dallas (ie Washington DC metro)

as far as bikes, I can go pretty far on my bike, but getting to downtown is stretching it... I still ride my bike to work though which is about 15 miles away, only driving when its bad weather and my mom is home

[Onizuka]

When I was in highschool I had a obligation to drive to work to help the small family buisness every day after school from the day I got my license, some young people really do need cars.

I think the main fault is lack of adaquet training. Right now our system is the equivilent of just giving them guns and sending them into battle with a how-to manual and little training. A comprehensive in-car training course would work wonders in teaching how to control a car in the rain and snow.

Also, each speeding ticket should revoke the lisence for 1 or 2 months until the age of 18.

[bdawg46]

no offense or anything... but im 16 and got my license a few months ago... my skool is about 15 miles away and i have to drive those 15 miles in traffic there and back, not only is it a lot more reliable to not take the bus, but now i can actaully have a socail life since most of my friends live in the area of my skool, 15 miles away in another city... just a little 2 cents from a 16 year old.... although they should definitly make the training harder and such... u really do need to even know anything to pass, and if u fail u go back a week later.... big whoop....

[Hijacker]

i put some of the blame on the parents in this instance. proper conditioning from the parents can help teach kids to be safer. when i started, my dad took me out and helped show me the ropes of driving, and for the most part, i was a safe driver when i first earned my license.

another thing, is that kids think they're invincible behind the wheel and will eventually get ****y. i know i did, and i paid the price, i lost my first car on black ice.

i admit, that first car was purchased by my parents, but they told me if i screwed it up, that was it. i had to get my next car, and that's why i ended up going from a 1g DSM to a '90 ford tempo. it was humbling and i think all kids need to be humbled to understand the importance of safe driving

[Checkered-Member]

I say NO WAY

The economy will suffer, let me explain.

Less drivers = fewer jobs = fewer taxes being paid = fewer money being spent

Jobs that will suffer: Drive-threw, gas stations, insurance companies, car dealers, garage/repair, after market parts maker’s supplier’s distributors, getting to a job will be harder, so there will be less jobs = less taxes being paid = less money being spent which will impact every business in the country which will then impact every individual. (can you tell I took macro economics?)

And this goes on and on and on

So if all the 16-17.99 year olds stop driving it will cost the U.S. economy, billions

[Hijacker]

no offense or anything... but im 16 and got my license a few months ago... my skool is about 15 miles away and i have to drive those 15 miles in traffic there and back, not only is it a lot more reliable to not take the bus, but now i can actaully have a socail life since most of my friends live in the area of my skool, 15 miles away in another city... just a little 2 cents from a 16 year old.... although they should definitly make the training harder and such... u really do need to even know anything to pass, and if u fail u go back a week later.... big whoop....

and that's a problem with the system. unfortunately, there isn't a uniform system that's used nationwide. each state is left to decide how testing and teaching is undertaken.

the core of the matter isn't the age, but the maturity. i know plenty of people my age (early to mid twenties) who act like 15 year olds, and i know many 15 and 16 year olds who act like they're in their 20's. not to sound like an ***, but you don't sound mature spelling school 'skool'. by all means, you are a mature person since you threw your opinoin into this discussion in a responsible manner, but using skool, makes you sound less credible.

i'm against raising the age. if i had been riding the bus or bumming rides from my mom while i was 16 and 17, i would have killed someone. especially because i started my freshman year of college as a 17 year old, and i was a commuter. kids just need to be taught to be more mature behind the wheel. if you change the legal age, you;re just making the 18 year olds into the 16 year old category that exists now. nothing will change

[Hijacker]

I say NO WAY

The economy will suffer, let me explain.

Less drivers = fewer jobs = fewer taxes being paid = fewer money being spent

Jobs that will suffer: Drive-threw, gas stations, insurance companies, car dealers, garage/repair, after market parts maker’s supplier’s distributors, getting to a job will be harder, so there will be less jobs = less taxes being paid = less money being spent which will impact every business in the country which will then impact every individual. (can you tell I took macro economics?)

And this goes on and on and on

So if all the 16-17.99 year olds stop driving it will cost the U.S. economy, billions

from a micro standpoint, yes industries will suffer, but that doesn't necessarily mean the whole economy will suffer a huge negative impact. the only companies on that list that make a difference economy wise are the dealers and the insurers, the rest make up an insignificant part of the GDP, and even still, the revenue they make goes back to other countries and counts towards a foreign GDP as opposed to ours.

i've worked with 14 and 15 year olds at one of my previous jobs, so i know that not having the ability to drive doesn't affect one's ability to drive. i know plenty of adults that don't drive and still work for a living. the job market won't suffer that much. especially if you look at how many people are unemployed right now. those jobs that aren't filled by your 16 year olds will be filled by someone who's older and looking for some sort of income.

and just because someone can't drive doesn't mean they don't consume car products such as fuel. they just don't do it as often. they still need to be transported, so someone has to drive them, therefor they still consume their share of energy resources. hell, half the time, they use their parent's money to buy the gas anyways, so no extra income is actually taken into the equation.

the major tax that will be hurt aside from corporate taxes (which affects corporations, not small businesses, majorly) will be personal property taxes. and not every state has personal property taxes. i live in a state that taxes your car based on the value of it, and even that tax is slowly being phased out, so the taxation aspect isn't negatively impacted as hard. it's only on the initial consumption level where the taxation affect is hampered.

[rydwhite]

I think a much more intensive driver education system and a much tougher driving test are the answers. I also think that everyone should have to retake the test every 8 years or so.

[99WhiteSE]

I think that the penalties for speeding should be stiffer. I think that from age 16 - 18 you are on a probationary period. If you get one ticket during this time it is 3 months suspended another ticket and you lose your license until age 21. This would hit offenders hard and help curb some of the reckless driving. I also agree with the driving course, the only thing is who is going to pay for the course?

[MainEvent212]

more rigorous training IMO will only encourage kids to think they're even more invincible (is that possible? :pface)

what worries me even more then kids who think they are the next Takumi, are the bad driver kids who think either:

a.) my car is my play thing and it dosent matter if i run into something cuz i can just run away and pretend it didnt happen

b.) OMG, that bird is so pretty, lets look back at it while i'm on my cell phone driving 20 over the speed limit with no seat belt and 12 other people in my Jetta

or

c.) should i go yet? uhh, oh no theres a person 200 ft away i shouldnt turn out into the road yet! oops, i'm already in the road, i'll just hesitate more and cause a car accident!

those kids scare the hell out of me...u kno the type...the kind that can hit 3 cars while trying to parallel park

[darkeagle]

I think the age should be raised. I also think Driver's Ed should be a requirement and it should be improved some. Driver's Ed was taken out of my old school (Upperman High) which caused many students taking the class at another school. I never took it b/c I had my mom teaching me. Parents should get involved teaching their children around 14, letting them back the car up, learning where everything is at in the car, taking them to empty parking lot or field and let them play around to get the feel of it.

I learned how to hold the clutch on hills just by practicing in empty baseball parking lot.

[cls12vg30]

I also think that the level of training is more important than age. However, I do take issue with this:Quote »and that's a problem with the system. unfortunately, there isn't a uniform system that's used nationwide. each state is left to decide how testing and teaching is undertaken.[/quote]

That is not a problem. That's as it should be. Why do people assume that the federal government could do things like this better? They've consistently proven that they can't.A state govt. is more in tune with the desires and interests of the citizens than the massive fed. govt. can hope to be.Also, although all young drivers need to be taught certain things, there may be a different emphasis in different places. A kid learning to drive in Colorado needs to be taken out on the mountain roads and trained on them. A kid learning in Florida needs to be taken out on I-4 and taught to deal with thousands of slow-moving senior citizens in Towncars. A kid learning in Buffalo (where I did), needs to get some winter driving training.The federal government is already meddling in things it shouldn't be domestically, don't be so hasty to hand them even more control.

I think a big part of the reason I didn't get into much trouble with my first car is that I bought it myself, I worked hard at a fast-food joint for a year to get it, it was an old car, not fast, and I knew if I beat on it and broke it or got stupid and messed it up there was no getting another one. And like someone said I suddenly had all this freedom and increased social life and no way was I going to screw it up.

Now I see 16 and 17 y.o kids in Mustang GT's, with the music so loud they can't hear the ambulance on their back bumper and their seat so far back they'd have to pull themselves up with the steering wheel to see the ambulance anyway. (No one is going to shoot you, you're not fooling anybody. Sit the f*** up.)

Parents, do NOT buy little Johnny a V8 Mustang or an Evo for his 16th birthday, no matter how much he whines for one. Get him an '81 Datsun 210. Preferably rusty. That'll keep him out of trouble and keep his ****y attitude to a minimum.

[Queamore]

I think it's also could be a question about the development of the 16 year olds brain. If at that age is the mind developed enough to handle all the input from driving a car and also control over the roller coaster type emotions that a 16 yearold has. I think not to restrict 16 year old from driving but to show the capabilities to handle the information and control the inhabitions for excitement and the adreanaline rush some kids get from driving would help.

Ok that was to serious for me. WERE'S THE COMIC RELIEF!?

Here I am :wavey :beatfreak :jump

[Sil40_Mayhem]

okay, time for my $0.02.

i learned to drive when i was 15 (and my dad taught me the art of manual transmission, hills and all:pface ). i got my license at 16 and 6 days (it sucked that my b-day fell on a sunday so i had to wait till the following weekend to go to the MVA; yes, the MVA. Maryland doesn't have a DMV :oface ). thanks to constant guidance from my old man, i was pretty level-headed behind the wheel and stayed out of trouble (up until i was 18, as a matter of fact)...

the point is, i don't think that the age matters as much as the maturity level of the driver (although it seems that more bone-headed ish happens w/youngsters). i would agree with those who suggest more strenuous education and testing, and stiffer laws for the younger drivers (16-18yrs of age). example:

- 1st offense - loss of driving priviledge for 1 month- 2nd offense - loss of driving priviledge for 6 months- 3rd offense - loss of driving priviledge for 1 year

also, things like a provisional period, such as:

- no more than 3 passengers (even if u have a minivan, suv, etc)- no drving between midnight and 5am (unless accompanied by a licensed driver at least 21 years of age)

things like that won't interfere w/work or a social life, nor will it punish responsible drivers. maybe there are better suggestions, but that's just what i came up with. all in all, it's ultimately up to the driver and the driver's parents to ensure that the right thing is being done. but there are some ways that the powers that be can improve upon licensing practices.

[darkeagle]

I know that not all 16year olds are not on the same level. Some drive better than others. I can't really say I'm all for age b/c it does depend on the person. From where I came from, Putnam County, TN, young kids there that have license don't think at all.

I think there was something passed about restrictions they have now. I know they have couple things they go thru before they get their license but I can't really remember what it all was. I know when my brother gets his license he can't be out past 8:00pm or 10:00pm and he can't be out before 6am. I want to say there is a restricted license before they get a license when they are 18. Something like that, think I might research on that more to make sure I'm saying it right.

I know when I was driving I couldn't have no more than 1 person with me when I was 16 and plus it was my mother's rule was limited people in the car.

[StrangeLove]

I just got my license a month ago, and now I really don't care what happens to the driving age. I know thats the wrong attitude to have, but thats just the way I feel. Maybe I would change my mind if another person my age hit me because he was acting like a dumbarse...

Anyway, I really do think its based on maturity. Take me for example, I never speed, do stupid crap, or anything like that while driving. I also consider myself to be much more mature than the average 16 year old. I'm not saying that I'm a perfect driver, but consider what I could be doing. My idiot friends like to speed down the interstate weaving through traffic, cause accidents then run away, and other junk like that. I see no point is doing stuff like that...

I have a solution... everyone should conform to my way of thinking! :ylsuper haha

[Jeff Williams]

I think the legal driving age should be 50. Once you get over 50, you can't drive.

[EricZ103]

Thats a huge NO. There are lots of sixteen year old that drive safely. I'm 18 now, and can't imagine just now getting my license, that would suck. Anyways my arguement is 2 years are not going to make a differnce. Part of the driving crazy when 16 thing is not because your 16, but because you just got your license and it is new. If they raised the age to 18, it would still be new to the people and they would want to go test their limits, and do stupid ****.

[lessthanjakejohn]

I think the legal driving age should be 50. Once you get over 50, you can't drive.

What the ****...50!!!

i'd be driving my dad around

[Rockenreno]

also, things like a provisional period, such as:

- no more than 3 passengers (even if u have a minivan, suv, etc)- no drving between midnight and 5am (unless accompanied by a licensed driver at least 21 years of age)

California Laws:- no driving after midnight for first year- no passengers under 25 for first 6 months

I went through these and got my liscense when i was about 16.5. I had to drive to school every day because my parents were lazy, but I didn't mind and I never got into an accident. As long as people are trained well I don't see a problem with the 16 year old driving age, it worked for me and most of my friends well, and the friends who got in accidents at 16 are still getting into accidents today. It's not that they were young, they are just stupid... and as we all know in America we don't test for stupid which is just plain dumb. :rolleyes

[I30T]

You can't stereotype and classify every teenager as a bad driver. I think there should be way harder driving tests that include you having to know at least something about how a car works. For instance, how to use the brake pedal.

There are some very bad teenage drivers, but there are just as many bad twentysomething drivers. and thirtysomething drivers. Until you're taught otherwise, you suck at driving. It wouldn't be fair do deny others the privelege based on your opinion of some people that suck. And i know that many do, but as I've long maintained, stereotyping of any sort is always a bad idea.