The driving age should be raised to 18

[fierangero]

Originally Posted by TatII

you know i would be really really mad at you if that wasn't true. damn you sterotypes!!!!!

hahaha stereotypes > all of us

[Underground_Killah]

that was a really good story, it's what i need to do with my little brother before he get's on the road... he's still got 2 years till 16... but i didn't get my license till 18 for choice.. i chose not to get it because i knew i was too stupid and i would get in an accident. My little brother realizes the potential of cars (biiiiig vette fan he is) and also get's scared when i go 10 over the limit... i know he'll be a good driver, but a little tough love in your case worked out very well. I think though he'll start out like i did, in a big box car that tops out at 100 before redlining (88 crown vic)

[street_racer_00]

They should raise the driving age to 18...and lower the drinking age to 12...
Seriously though, everyone needs to have an experience like I did...I was 14 year old and my dad let me drive his new '97 mustang GT for the first time...a pretty fast car for someone like me to handle...well I was just tooling around a block when we got to a dead end...he told me to do a 3 point turn...Well the first part went fine, but I put it in reverse, gave it too much gas, and backed it right through a chain link fence...I was sooo embarrassed and I apologized profusely to my father...but ever since then, I knew that cars had a lot of power and are not toys, and can make you or break you in a fraction of a second.

[AcidReiyne]

I can see both sides of the argument here because I've argued both sides of it. It seems that every year I hear about several kids from my old high school dying in car accidents, yet I have yet to hear of someone from my University dying in a car accident.

For several years my grandmother has thought it a brilliant idea to make sure that I have a subscription to TIME magazine. Sometimes I read it and sometimes I don't, but a few months ago they printed a large study done on brain development and rational thinking. Apparently the portion of the brain that controls rational thinking and decision making is not fully developed until around age 20 (for anyone who wants to look up this article it is available in the archives on the magazine's website). Now, at 17 I would have vehemently argued that my rationalization skills were just fine--but in retrospect they were far from it. It wouldn't surprise me one iota to find out that this fact alone would contribute to larger numbers of accidents among teens.

It's easy to say that anyone who has just learned to drive, no matter what their age, has a higher ratio of car accidents and logically this makes plenty of sense, however, tack onto that the fact that teens do not always make the best decisions on the road and suddenly car accidents become the leading cause of death for teens. Most all of us can attest to this because just about everybody knows of someone or has been friends with someone who was either killed driving as a teenager, or killed while riding as a passenger in the car of a teenager.

Also, some states have already kicked the driving age up to 18. My cousin informed me that Georgia had done it, but this was years ago. I have a friend from England and sixteen year olds in there are free to get their license, but they are forced to place a large, neon yellow reflective "L" for "Learner" on the corner of their windshield so that everyone on the road will be aware that they are new to driving and react accordingly. Personally, I think this is a great idea, not only would it prevent the massive debate over the driving age, but it would also warn the rest of us that there is a new driver on the road.

I know that there are a lot of teens out there who are very responsible drivers and who deserve the privilige of having a license, but for every responsible teen driver there are five who are not.

I find it SO ironic that this topic was posted on a street racing board. People who frequent a steet racing board are steet racers and steet racing as a hobby is dangerous no matter how you try to reason it away. That's why its illegal outside of a track. I'm not trying to upset anyone here, but everyone believes that they are a more capable driver than their peers, whether they are or not.

A long time ago I heard a statistic on the radio that I never forgot and that was that 93% of teen drivers wreck their first car. That's not to say that they completely total it out, but it gets wrecked. Now I'm sure I'll get a lot of "I didn't wreck my first car" in response to that, so good for you, but a lot of people did.

Whoever had the idea for allowing provisional driving privileges to 14 year olds at certain times of day (with a legal guardian!) had a fantastic idea since experience is the key to good driving. We can blame this on our state governments just as much or more as on the teen drivers themselves.

As far as raising the driving age to 18 goes, when Georgia did it kids who could prove that a job or other responsibilites made being able to drive early a necessity were given the opportunity to get their licenses at 16. All teens under 18 had a curfew and could not have over 3 people under 18 in the car. It worked. Driving deaths for new drivers went down. If any age group with new driving privileges were just as dangerous as any other this would not have been the case.

Of course, we can't overlook the fact that the elderly, in my opinion, are FAR MORE DANGEROUS on the road than teenagers, but that is a topic for another day. But so help me God, the next old lady that slams into the side of my car while coming out of a parking lot and NOT LOOKING and then tells the cops that I hit HER is going to cause me to spend some time in prison.

Perhaps we could avoid the debate in its entirety if everyone were required, instead of renewing their license every four or five years, to take a new driving test instead, and those that fail get their license suspended rather than drive to a neighboring city and take the test again the next day. It may not protesct us from teens, but it would protect us from the elderly, the crackheads, and the soccer moms out there who cause us to almost bury our car in ditches due to their ignorance.

Phew. Okay, I'm done.

[Drifty]

i started driving when i was 15 or so with my mom in the car so i behaved rather well when i turned 17 i got my drivers licence at 18 right before skool started i got my car (97 mitsu eclipse gs {memories}) ne ways when i got my 1st car i started to speed then again i was confident enough to drive through any sort traffic and situation but still i was very mature about it(never got a ticket for speeding or any serious offence) so my grad present was an srt-4. if i were to take a side with your argument. you're wrong because it all depends on your own maturity and disipline behind the wheel and to this day i have yet to get a ticket for acting stupid. and alot of the guys here know i act real stupid at times

[Drifty]

then again my mom street races too!

[Polygon]

Well, the fact of the matter is that bad drivers come from every age group. Some people just suck at driving regardless of maturity. Some people just can't handle the stress of driving or they are completely oblivious to the world around them.

I agree, to an extent, that the driving age should be raised to 18 years old. However, I would say that if you're 16 or 17 and can prove that you need a car to get to a job then you should be allowed to drive. I also like the idea of a big yellow L in the window of the car to let people know that they are new to driving.

The other problem that I see with new drivers is the parents. I see parents that buy their kids cars that they have no business driving at that age. They buy them cars that have more power than they should have control of.

Also, AcidReiyne, just because we talk in a the Street Racing forum does not mean that we have a lack of judgment or do the kind of things you see in the Fast and the Furious.

[AcidReiyne]

[quote=Polygon]
Also, AcidReiyne, just because we talk in a the Street Racing forum does not mean that we have a lack of judgment or do the kind of things you see in the Fast and the Furious.[/QUOTE

I apologize if that is how my comment seemed. What I meant to say (but had very little time given that I was supposed to have already left for school) was that it was ironic because the majority of people that street race frequently and the majority of the people on this board--are young. It seems odd to me to ask for opinions against the privileges of the young from the young.

Also, in addition to my earlier post, I'm not saying that 16 year olds should be denied licenses, but that I believe extra precautions should be taken by parents and by the government to help keep them safe while they learn the rules of the road firsthand.

Mad props to Polygon for bringing up the fact that parents everywhere are buying their kids things that make you want to shake them and say "What the HECK were you thinking??". I mean, a lot of these are little deathtraps that crumble apart at the slightest accident. Then the kid dies when a couple thousand more (or less) on the car could have saved that kid's life. It's really sad when you think about it.

[CBFryman]

Well that and insurance companies hsouldnt be insureing a 16 y/o driving some of the cars at my school.
Infinity G35
'97 z28
'97 Firebird
Chevelle SS
'03 vett
'03 Evo VIII
'03Mustang GT
'02Mustang Cobra
'93 FD (turbo, not NA)

thats just among a few of the cars in my opinion these kids i know should not have gotten as a 16th birthday present.
so far none have died and only 3 have totaled their cars. the Vett, the firebird, and the Mustang GT (actually this one crashed soon after being waxed by an '03 Maxima). My truck has an amazing 23.1 lbs/hp which isnt much less than a stock honda civic DX. It has more than enough pick up on it to play and will be modified as my finacial situation improves (im sitting at nealy $500 in my account after purchasing this vehicle and i am soon to pay tax/tag/tittle which will pretty much wipe me out. insurance and gas are the next 2 things i must worry about). Driving is a responsibility, not a privilage. Another thing parents should do besides letting kids get experence in is knowing wether or not their kids are mature enough to drive. and if they are mature enough to drive what they are allowing them to drive. and the fact that thoes kids Infinity G35, z28's, etc...isnt what bothers me, i want one and 75% of the time these kids are idiots...

[emokid15]

im 16 and i havent gone over the speed limit with my mustang 5.0 . im a good drive with that 1 cuase i know if i haul ass and lose control ill cry cuase its my 1st mustang and my dad's 1st 2. so i drive slow. but my uncle let me borrow his car and i drove it around and i only floored it 1 time cuase i was just wating 2 see how fast that tercel hit in a empty street i hit 67 and nothing faster then that. last time i drove 2 home depot with my dad i only got to 55 miles per hour. so i considerd im a good driver. im not gonna hook up my mustang till i get a job and turn at least 17 so i can get more better 2 control it. but my dad crashed the mustang around 4 months ago. so now i have 2 work more lol.

[drftk1d]

Basically, it comes down to experience and judgement. When you have enough of each then you are properly equipped to drive. the only problem is how to gauge this.

That said, it really doesnt matter how old you are because, as said before, you can still suck.

In my opinion, if a parent is in control of their child' s driving habits, they should give them time behind the wheel as early as possible.

[Xbox2202]

Most states have extened periods for learner's permit now. I know that I got screwed over, because the year before I got my learner's they changed the law, and now you have to have your learner's for 6 months, and your partial liscense for a year without any violations before you can get your full liscense. I'll be 18 before I get my full liscense now, but I still drive when I want, and where I want, because those are stupid rules anway. If I can drive during the day, when most accidents happen anyway, I can drive at night too.

[bad360rt]

I have to agree that it's not necessarily the age, but the fact that kids aren't taught how to drive properly. I got my learners permit at 15 and my license at 16 and before I hit the roads, I already knew how to recover from a spin, how to drive defensively, how to stop without locking up the brakes (no abs), and many other skills that are very important to staying out of accidents. When it snowed I would go into a big empty parking lot and practice sliding and recovering. You have to get used to the conditions you're gonna drive in, that way you don't freak out when something happens. There's nothing I hate worse than a nervous driver, you have to be confident in your skills. My son is almost 10, and in a few years, I'll start teaching him how to drive, and how to drive properly, that way when he gets his license, he'll be able to handle the responsibility.

[saab9kturbo]

Originally Posted by dampachi

This thread has nothing to do with street racing. You're not a politician. Your opinion doesn't matter as to whether not certain laws should be changed. Please, take your opinion somewhere else.

Ok, dude, he may not be a Politician, but that has no bearing whatsoever on whether his opinion matters. Have you ever taken a social sciences class? Do you know what lobbyist, grassroots organization or demonstrator is? Of course his opinion matters, that's the whole basis for a democracy.

That said, I've often pondered this topic. I came to the realization that yes, while 16 year olds are rather immature, it may be a necessary evil. You'll never convince the government to change it; hell, corporations would lose money and in today's corporate oriented government that would be horrible (heh). Plus, if kids can rack up driving time when it isn't necessary to commute (not many high school students need their own transportation), they will be better drivers when it becomes necessary to commute. The situation in Europe and Japan is different, mainly because personal automobiles arn't nearly as important as they are here--it is difficult to get around anywhere in the U.S. without a car, barring large cities.

Perhaps you should suggest, instead, that we create a large public-transport system available to more citizens. That would help to solve the problem at its roots. You may think that 16 year olds shouldn't be able to drive, but you certainly didn't even hesitate to consider the huge ramifications such a measure would entail in the United States.

[fierangero]

AFAIK insurance companies wont cover a vette for anyone under 25. im almost positive that the kids at your school with those cars are being insured by their parents. damn spoiled kids.