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  1. #1
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    Question Legal Driving Age: SHOULD INCREASE IT

    Hello everyone,

    I just got back from the bank and on my way home during my short 15 minute drive, I was almost hit twice. In both occurances, the occupants of the cars were teenage students (likely getting out of school).

    Now I know not all teenage drivers are bad, etc and there are as many middle age drivers who are bad or worse... but do you guys think 16 is too young for someone to begin driving?

    If you would have asked me this 6 years ago when I got my license, I would have said no, but seeing how some of these youngens drive these days, it makes you think...

    So what does everyone think?
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  2. #2
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    I have a 15 year old Cousin in USA that drives or something, that's ridiculous.

    It's 17 here in England, and while I want to drive as soon as possible, I think that even 18 would be more reasonable, so I agree with you.
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  3. #3
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    Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of 18 also.

    I just find that most of the laws here in Ontario are a little out of whack... consider this.

    You get your license at 16. You're now considered responsible enough to drive yourself, your friends 24/7 with no restrictions.

    You turn 18 and decide that you want to get married. You're now responsible enough to drive, marry and start a family.

    BUT, you cannot legally drink or buy cigarettes until you're 19!

    I just find things a little messed up
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  4. #4
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    Oct 2001
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    yes, now that i'm well above the legal driving age, I think the age should increase to 18 .. in NJ it's 17 right now ..
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  5. #5
    Heck I say make the driving age 14, decrease it. But surely the current process in general for teenagers in US has loopholes and should be more strict.

    Here, to get a permit you just have to be 15, take 30 hours of DAMN BORING book work and then 6 hours of behind the wheels training. That gives you permit to drive with a parent next to you. While in 99% of the case that much training suffices, IMO the risk posed by that 1% is simply too huge.

    I'm for stricter and more effective method that will issue drivers license to those qualified rather than via age(judging driving by age is simply too vague).
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  6. #6
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    Jun 2003
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    look at the problem from the 4 corners of society
    -kids are currently crammed to learn billions of crap in school due to corperate america companies pressure for quotas etc.
    -hopefully teens arent driving the big suvs and hummers cause those are the people that really scare me on the road but i still think they shoudnt have the smallest crap car and break down
    -oil prices anyone?
    -what age is good then? got me clueless cause most people drive the same, just newbies are a little sassy for a week until they figure out they gotta couch up mulla to fill the gas tank
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  7. #7
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    Jan 2002
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    No. The problem isn't young drivers, the problem is inexperienced drivers. causation v. correlation
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  8. #8
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    May 2003
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    Personally, I feel the Graduated Driver License Law here in Missouri, USA is a good first step. But improvements could certainly be made.,,
    You've got to accentuate the positive; Eliminate the negative
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
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    551
    This is an old problem that goes back to when most people in the US made their living on farms. They would need someone to run to the general store and pick up more feed, run a tractor down the road, etc. In fact in some states the age is lower if you work on a farm, you can get a farm license at 14-15. I think the real problem comes when well-to-do parents buy their kid a car right after they get their license, then six months later they wrap it around a telephone pole.

    A car is a lot of responsibility, you aren't just taking your own life in your hands but the life of everyone around you.

    I don't have a solution to this problem, but I do agree with the inexperience argument. So how would people gain driving experience without endangering other drivers?
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  10. #10
    I say we keep the age limit the same. While we are at it lower the drinking age to 18.
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  11. #11
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    If you checked out that link I provided above, I think that is a great start! But what I do not believe it covers is kids in the car with kid drivers...

    My personal observations tell me that the kid drivers lose all sense (assuming they have 'em to start with) when driving unsupervised with a carload of other kids. They get distracted, and bang! Into a telephone pole, or worse, head-on into another car...

    So, I feel kid drivers (Intermidiate by Missouri's terminology) should never be permitted to drive with passengers other than adults. And preferrably only parents, and grand-parents; Not siblings... And never friends!

    In just the last several months here locally, there have been multiple accidents where kid drivers and deaths were involved where there was a boat load of people in the cars... Very sad!
    You've got to accentuate the positive; Eliminate the negative
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  12. #12
    Originally posted by rrdega
    If you checked out that link I provided above, I think that is a great start! But what I do not believe it covers is kids in the car with kid drivers...

    My personal observations tell me that the kid drivers lose all sense (assuming they have 'em to start with) when driving unsupervised with a carload of other kids. They get distracted, and bang! Into a telephone pole, or worse, head-on into another car...

    So, I feel kid drivers (Intermidiate by Missouri's terminology) should never be permitted to drive with passengers other than adults. And preferrably only parents, and grand-parents; Not siblings... And never friends!

    In just the last several months here locally, there have been multiple accidents where kid drivers and deaths were involved where there was a boat load of people in the cars... Very sad!
    I'm really tired of this protectionist attitude people. WE CANNOT CURE STUPIDITY. A lot of kids don't gie in crashes because they are bad drivers, but because they are stupid drivers. If they didn't go down the road at 90 mph then they wouldn't die!!!
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  13. #13
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    stupid driver = bad driver in my books.
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  14. #14
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    Originally posted by dk2
    I'm really tired of this protectionist attitude people. WE CANNOT CURE STUPIDITY. A lot of kids don't gie in crashes because they are bad drivers, but because they are stupid drivers. If they didn't go down the road at 90 mph then they wouldn't die!!!
    So, what would you suggest, a "STUPIDITY" test and those that fail (or would it be pass?) never get a license? Or just not permit them to drive at all until a certain age, and then just give 'em a license to kill?

    It is not stupidity that's killing them... It is inexperience, and ignorance... That latter, unlike stupidity, can be fixed.
    You've got to accentuate the positive; Eliminate the negative
    Latch on to the affirmative; Don't mess with Mister In-Between

    -Bob
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  15. #15
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    keep it as it is,
    wow u may get a young wreckless driver,
    But maybe your 30/ 40? ALof off people your age are the same, Drink driving, Speeding, Etc ETc, I sell insurance, and alot more adults have had Points / claims than the younger ones,
    the older ones are just too stubborn to admit its there fault
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  16. #16
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    I definately stated in my first post that I understand middle age people are the exact same... I guess I was just wondering how others thought about the driving age. I didn't mean to point the finger at todays youth as the cuase of all accidents...
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  17. #17
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    I know
    im just saying That you cant say that the driving Age is too low, 17 is a good age in my country,
    Hell the insurance is way to expensive so alot off kids at 17/18 dont even bother driving till there 20-odd
    Makes them start at an earlier age to get more experienced .
    remember our reaction times are quicker
    WE maybe young, yes we do prat around, our attention span may be not as good, We may think we all cool and good speeding around in a crappy old ford fiesta or something
    But You cant teach an old dog a new trick eh
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  18. #18
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    All good points. I guess I just have a different view on it
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  19. #19
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    its because im almost 17 and wanna drive ASAP
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  20. #20
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    May 2003
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    • Teen Driving Fatality Statistics...

      14% of all deaths due to motor vehicle accidents are teen drivers.

      Most teen driver deaths due to motor vehicle accidents occur on weekends 53% of the time.

      Teen drivers killed in motor vehicle accidents had a youth passenger in automobile 45% of the time. More facts below.

      Of teen drivers fatally injured in automobiles, more than 1/3 were speed related accidents.

      Teen lifestyle of staying up late make teen drivers a high risk to have an automobile accident due to drowsiness.

      More than any age group, teens are likely to be involved in a single vehicle crash.

      On the basis of current population trends, there will be 23% more 16-20- year-old drivers on the road in 2010 than there are today -- 26.1 million.

      This age group makes up 7% of licensed drivers, but suffers 14% of fatalities and 20% of all reported accidents.

      The 16-year-old population alone will increase from 3.5 million to over 4 million by 2010.
    You've got to accentuate the positive; Eliminate the negative
    Latch on to the affirmative; Don't mess with Mister In-Between

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  21. #21
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    Teens are worse drivers... however I almost get hit multiple times a week at no fault of my own by people doing idiotic stuff... and they usually are middle aged people not paying attention... not understanding the fact they are flying a 3000lb vehicle down the road...
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  22. #22
    I think the best thing is to make everything legal at 18. Drinking, driving, and of course, being an adult, etc...

    Driving at 16, adult at 18, drinking at 21 etc. etc. is just not right; and very confusing indeed.
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  23. #23
    rrdega, I bet those statistics were taken from the USA!
    Over here in the UK you very rarely hear of teenage driving deaths. The laws here are that you can get your full license at 17, and it's the same across the whole of the UK. There's no provisional at 16; there's a provisional at 17, but not 16.

    Yes the laws are pretty screwed up really regarding marriage, drinking, driving and smoking, but the laws in the UK aren't too bad, and I'm certainly not bothered if they kept it like this. Obviously lots of people would like to make some changes, but we can't all get what we want, can we?
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  24. #24
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    May 2003
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    Gerogia's teenage driving laws are pretty strict, if I recall you have to have your permit for at almost two years now...and when you get your license you can't drive withone but immediate family for 6 months, you can't drive between 12am and 6am...If you miss 10 days of school in a row, or drop out you can't get your license until you're 18, if you're suspended for a number of things you lose your license.

    They are getting quite strict here
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  25. #25
    Senior Citizens are the worst drivers. Just a few days ago I was in a car where the speed limit was about 45 and the old lady was going 15mph.. PITIFUL! Happened more than twice that week.
    Money is the root of all evil. So if you don't want to go crazy, give it all to me
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