The driving age should be raised to 18

[Dr. Love]

A.J. Willingham, 17, believes she is a good driver -- but knows we'd all be better off without her age group on the road

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Every teen-ager remembers the moment. I remember it perfectly: Getting into my little red Acura last year and heading to Taco Bell on that first solo flight, the feelings of anxiety, the strange combination of excitement and fear, my stomach churning like an overheated radiator. It was only a 15-minute trip to pick up a burrito, but I was hooked for life. I'd made it, completed a round trip in my own car, by myself, unscathed. Now, the world -- or at least the open road -- was mine.

I can probably speak for many teen-agers when I say I love to drive. I'm a little more unusual, particularly as a young woman, in that I'm also fascinated with how cars work. I have a part-time job as a mechanic, so I'm familiar with the power of the machinery. This combination of passion and knowledge is what has brought me to realize that 16 is probably too young to take on the responsibilities of driving.

Although I'm now 17 and passed my driving test almost 1 1/2 years ago, I've begun arguing for Maryland, where I live, and other states to raise the driving age to 18.

The rest of the article: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05030/449619.stm

I am entirely in agreement with this article. Although I'm generally a libertarian and against more regulation, I think the minimum driving age should be 18.

The fact is, 16 yr olds are just too mentally immature to be allowed to control thousands of pounds of speeding metal and put people at risk.

I remember when I was 16 I always wanted to go fast. I would always accelerate as fast as the car was able to, not because I was in a hurry or anything, but just for the hell of it. Fortunately my mom or dad was usually in the car with me and would yell at me if I accelerated too hard. But the few times I had the chance to drive alone, I would accelerate like crazy and drive as fast as traffic would allow. By the time I was about 18, I no longer had the urge to do that.

Now, at 22, I accelerate slower than most of the other cars on the road, although this is mainly because I want to conserve gas.

My point is 16 year olds are stupid (no exceptions) and shouldn't be allowed to drive. The minimum age should be 18, and not only that but the driving tests should be made harder. There should be simulated panic situations.

Who agrees with me?!

[Amish_kid]

I'm 20 and still drive like a moron...age don't mean shit it's all about maturity.

[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.

[igor@af]

Or maybe they should just prevent Amish people from getting licenses.

[Amish_kid]

Originally Posted by igor@af

Or maybe they should just prevent Amish people from getting licenses.

I bet my wagon could take your Z from a dig!

[Thourun]

I think the amount of time you have to spend driving wiht your parents should double. 18's a good age though, I didn't get my liscense till I was allmost 17.

[Ace$nyper]

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.

[CivRacer95]

Originally Posted by igor@af

Or maybe they should just prevent Amish people from getting licenses.

Honestly, if you gave a kid his liscense at 18 he still would act like a moron. Really, it wouldn't matter at what age you are issued your liscense. You are still an amatuer then and it will take time to learn to drive properly and courteously. I'd say 16 is a very modest age. Granted there is immaturity there, but hey, not everyone matures at the same rate as someone else. Late...

[CBFryman]

you think 18 y/o's are much more mature than 16 y/o's as a whole? In some cases they are even more stupid "i am an adult now i can do anything i want" mix that atitude with the freash "hell ya i get to drive" aditude and you get just as much or more death and destruction, on top of alot of pissed off soon to be 16 teens. Or how about we consider everyone a minor and not allow them to drive untill 21. oh ya that will go down good. "I am an adult, i can do what i want, along with drinking, oh and drive a vehicle for the first time. no problem here"
Ever heard the term if it aint broke dont fix it?
If anything postponing one's ability to drive legaly will either cause more illegal drivers on the road or greater anxiety and "need for speed" as some may put it, when they do get their licens. if anything i beleive that there should be a retricted licens for 14 y/o's for mid afternoon daytime driving only in good conditions. Experence should be built up over time, not in 1 year in drivers ED.
Parents should allow children to take controll of a vehicle in controlled conditions (open feilds, empty parking lots) as young as 12 or 13. That is what happened to me and now not only am i a more confident driver, i consider myself highly skilled for my age (i can driver circles around my peers for the most part) and i only have the need for speed every once and a while and i can supress it for the proper time and place. because IMHO there is a time and place for everything.

[-The Stig-]

I think the driving tests should be harder.

It's too easy. My test consisted of driving around the block, then backing down a street along the curb. Then going back to the DMV and getting my license.

C'mon. WTF is that.

I mean, I was all nervous for nothing. Just look at all the stupid fucks that are out there driving. It doesn't matter with age. It should be directly related to what your skill level is.

If you can't simply navigate a car with out having a nervous break down. You're stuck to public transportation untill you can learn to deal with it. If the DMV was a bit more selective, we'd have less accidents and there'd be less traffic... and less polution.

Then again, Natural selection has a funny way of dealing with idiots. So, drive faster kids!

Natural Selection; It's only natural.

[dampachi]

My girlfriends driving test consisted of driving a half circle around in the mall parking lot. And then she got her license. Yay. But, she's a pretty damn good driver. That's saying alot..I hardly ever give female drivers much credit.

[TatII]

here in nyc, the minimum age for driving is 18. you can get a DJ license when your 16 but you have a 7 o'clock curfew.

anyways the road test here in nyc consist of driving around a few blocks on a two lane street, making turns, stopping at stop signs, staying on the right, and have to be able to parallel park.

thats basically it, its not hard at all, they prefer to have you be able to parallel park in 3 moves, if you do anymore, they take points off, if you hit the curb with your tires, they take points off. thats the part that gets most people. other then that its straight forward.

[Dr. Love]

LOL ok age isn't always directly proportional to driving capability... I just thought, on average, someone who is 18 would be better able to suppress the urge to go fast than someone who is 16. And really, why do 16 yr olds NEED to drive? They don't. 18 year olds are adults and some of them even have to support themselves so some of them need cars to get to work. So it wouldn't be possible to raise the legal age above 18. But 18 should be reasonable.

[dampachi]

Here in MD you have to do parallel parking, make a 3 point turn, stop at stop signs..make turns without going over a certain line..you gotta back up perfectly straight for so many feet. If you fail to look before making a turn/signal/any of that stuff..you fail the test. Theres alot more stuff but I can't remember.

[CivRacer95]

16 yr olds should have to drive to save their parents from driving them. Thus that's why high school has the parking lots. Can you imagine the traffic at a high school with all of those parents and kids packed into those minivans? It wouldn't be fun. Unless you plan on changing limit of highschoolers. No school until your 18. So from 16-17, you just get to relax and not have to worry about school . Late...