Safe & Responsible MINIMUM AGE to drive a vehicle?

[Showolf]

Hey everyone... I had the unfortunate experience of watching a beautiful 17 year old girl's life fade out in front of my very own eyes last week. I work overnight security and was one of the first people to respond as the accident happened right next to my place of work. She was coming down an off ramp speeding and lost control of her Chevy SUV... She smashed into a palm tree completely crushing the whole drivers side of the truck. It was a sight that I will never forget...

This brings me to my question... What age do you believe should be the MINIMUM AGE to safely & responsibly drive a vehicle? I know each state is different, but I would like to see what everyone's answer is. Myself, I think 17 is NOT mature enough with confirmation being what I witnessed first hand...........

My answer is 19 :thumbsup:

 

[Carpenter]

I don't know.. I know some twenty-somethings that probably shouldn't have a license either. It's 16 in my state and I know right now that my son will probably not be driving when he turns that age.

I was driving at 16 but my dad was a LEO that knew every other LEO in a 20 mile radius. I was scared to death if I did something wrong, he would find out almost before I even did it.

 

[jtr1962]

Since you asked I'd say 25 at least, possibly even 30. Prior to that quite a few people just don't have the mindset and maturity to properly drive. Some do, but many don't. I also feel probably a majority of people lack the coordination/senses regardless of age to safely operate a motor vehicle, but that's another thing entirely. Fact is we give out driver's licenses like candy. The tests are way too easy. We regard getting a license almost like a birthright. Driver's licenses should probably be about as difficult to get as pilot's license, meaning a significant percentage of the population simply will lack the capability to get one. It's evident that the current system doesn't work with the number of annual deaths and injuries. If this were any other mode of transport, the NTSB would be all over the place once we had a few hundred deaths. Instead, we somehow consider close to 50,000 a year to be "acceptable", not to mention 2 million injuries. :shakehead Dying in an auto accident is one of the most pointless ways to go.

 

[bitslammer]

There likely isn't a real good answer to this. It used to be that kids much younger could drive when we were a more agricultural society. It's true that vehicles weren't as powerful or fast but I think things worked out fine from the stories told to me from parents/grandparents.

Responsibility is a very individual trait. I know a few kids who are 12-15 that I would trust much more than some people I know in their early 20s to drive. Unfortunately individual levels of maturity and responsibility can't be easily assessed for every potential drive so we're stuck with striking a balance.

 

[Marduke]

I personally agree with the system in place with many European countries, where you have to complete some rather in-depth defensive driving training (1 on 1, not group). Full licenses are not issued until you're 18-21ish, and the instructor and license fees tend to be rather expensive.

The 20 minute road test, and highschool "drivers ed" in the US is a joke in comparison.

BTW, on the opposite side I also think it would be a good idea to have drivers over 60 years old take a road test for license renewal every 4 years.

 

[HoopleHead]

18 i guess. but whatever age it is, you should have at least a C+ average in school to be able to get a license

 

[Showolf]

I was driving side by side with a guy who appeared to be in his 40's coming home this morning... Can you believe he was SHAVING using his mirror while his wife held the wheel doing 70MPH! Needless to say I allowed myself to fall behind and away for safety. I even caught my wife replying to her friends text message while driving me around the other day. I got VERY upset and demanded she pull over or put her phone down. That is not using common sense!

I guess it really depends on the individuals maturity and level of common sense. I wonder if they could develop a maturity detector?

 

[TOOCOOL]

Its not about age its about good training and its sadly lacking in the US.

 

[climberkid]

BTW, on the opposite side I also think it would be a good idea to have drivers over 60 years old take a road test for license renewal every 4 years.

i think this is just as important as a higher age to start driving is. there needs to be some regulation and some way to keep track of older people, because they pose a danger on the rode as well.

 

[Stereodude]

It has nothing to do with age or physical ability. It has to do with maturity, experience, and training. The emphasis is probably more on the latter two.

Pushing the minimum driving age up does little to help experience and training. I you bump the minimum driving age up to say 21, instead of having 16 - 18 year olds getting into accidents due to inexperience you'll have 21-23 year olds getting into accidents due to inexperience.

 

[jtr1962]

Reading through the responses, I think probably a much more difficult procedure to acquire a license, along with periodic retesting, would make way more sense than a minimum age. Anyone willing to see the process through by definition would have a certain amount of maturity. The process would also probably weed out the majority of younger drivers as other demands on their time would prevent them from training enough to pass the test.

 

[jzmtl]

It has nothing to do with age or physical ability. It has to do with maturity, experience, and training. The emphasis is probably more on the latter two.

Pushing the minimum driving age up does little to help experience and training. I you bump the minimum driving age up to say 21, instead of having 16 - 18 year olds getting into accidents due to inexperience you'll have 21-23 year olds getting into accidents due to inexperience.

+1. I'm not a fan of "minimal age". Some people are just retard who shouldn't have a license for his entire life, some others have no problem with it no matter the age.

 

[AlexGT]

I started driving to school when I was 14 years old (Not in the USA) and in 25 years of driving I only had 1 accident which I was not to blame and 2 tickets for inspection sticker.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I'm not a big fan of raising the age to get a liscense. All it does is makes a generation of immature drivers with less experience at the wheel. Getting a driver's liscense is a rite of passage. If you don't allow kids to learn to drive until later, they don't learn that responsibility until later. Then you end up with less responsible and experienced drivers at the wheel. I know that it is very dangerous for new drivers to start off training in places like Los Angeles where every driver assumes that you're an expert and that you have eyes in the back of your head. There are fewer rural areas to practice for safety for newly learning drivers. However, drivers' training classes now have video game like driving simulators that students can use to practice driving with no risk. I think more extensive driver's training at the wheel is a good idea. However, if the state is going to require it, they should pay for the extra training, not the students. Many poor students would make great drivers as they are usually the ones who have already had to hold down jobs and are more responsible. It's the rich kids text messaging while drinking and smoking that have lawyers to get them out of trouble when they get in an accident that I'm worried about. Some other laws may prevent some reckless driving. At least in California, there is a law that goes into effect July 1 requiring hands-free devices to be used if you talk on a cell phone. I think reckless drivers who have caused accidents shouldn't simply get their liscenses suspended and then get them back after awhile. I say that they should have to repeat drivers' ed, drivers' training, retake the written and physical exams, and then have to do community service for Meals for Wheels for 6 months. Reckless drivers need to learn responsibility even if it has to be forced on them.

 

[e2x2e]

I'm not a big fan of raising the age to get a liscense. All it does is makes a generation of immature drivers with less experience at the wheel. Getting a driver's liscense is a rite of passage. If you don't allow kids to learn to drive until later, they don't learn that responsibility until later. Then you end up with less responsible and experienced drivers at the wheel. I know that it is very dangerous for new drivers to start off training in places like Los Angeles where every driver assumes that you're an expert and that you have eyes in the back of your head. There are fewer rural areas to practice for safety for newly learning drivers. However, drivers' training classes now have video game like driving simulators that students can use to practice driving with no risk. I think more extensive driver's training at the wheel is a good idea. However, if the state is going to require it, they should pay for the extra training, not the students. Many poor students would make great drivers as they are usually the ones who have already had to hold down jobs and are more responsible. It's the rich kids text messaging while drinking and smoking that have lawyers to get them out of trouble when they get in an accident that I'm worried about. Some other laws may prevent some reckless driving. At least in California, there is a law that goes into effect July 1 requiring hands-free devices to be used if you talk on a cell phone. I think reckless drivers who have caused accidents shouldn't simply get their liscenses suspended and then get them back after awhile. I say that they should have to repeat drivers' ed, drivers' training, retake the written and physical exams, and then have to do community service for Meals for Wheels for 6 months. Reckless drivers need to learn responsibility even if it has to be forced on them.

Hey I agree. Raising the age doesn't fix the problem, it just makes it happen to older people. Teenagers need to learn responsibility, driving is a good way to learn it. Make the minimum age 30 and we'll have teenagers that are even MORE irresponsible then we have now!

I'm 16, and just started driving. Now I don't want to sound like I'm 'Oh so good at driving, everybody else stinks', but I watch the way people drive and it is scary! They don't concentrate on the task at hand, driving! They don't think ahead of the car. Don't forget that it is better to be late, and alive, than on time, and dead. Don't be reckless. Be responsible!

That being said...I have been flying longer that I have been driving, and I approach driving the same way I do flying. When I get in the driver's seat I have a responsibility to drive in a safe manner. Everybody does, that means not driving when you are under the influence of ANYTHING...anger, alcohol, annoying passenger.

Just do your part and try to influence other to also.

 

[jtr1962]

Teenagers need to learn responsibility, driving is a good way to learn it. Make the minimum age 30 and we'll have teenagers that are even MORE irresponsible then we have now!

Teenagers need to learn responsibility in such a way that they won't kill themselves, or more importantly someone else, if they fail to learn it. Driving isn't a good way for them to learn this. There are about 100 better ways, starting with just getting decent grades, and perhaps doing some chores at home. Studies have proven time and again a 17-year old brain just doesn't process information the same way as someone in the mid-20s or 30 might.

Now you make a good case for why minimum age laws are not a good idea based on your own examples. If getting a driver's license was as difficult as getting a pilot's license then I think age is irrelevant. If a 12-year old can jump successfully through the hoops then they would probably be mature enough to handle the responsibility. The problem is today's driving tests are so stupidly easy nearly anyone can pass them. Add to that the fact that many of these driving tests were designed at a time when roads were emptier, and cars far less powerful. They may have been adequate 50 years ago but they haven't been changed to reflect today's reality. Roads today are far more crowded. Speeds are much higher. In the 1940s or 1950s few cars could even reach 80 mph. Nowadays normal highway speeds are often in excess of that. Years ago cars took more time to reach potentially dangerous speeds. You might have had to row through a few gears and hold the pedal down for half a minute to reach 60 mph. Some of today's stupidly overpowered cars can do that in 5 seconds without breaking a sweat. These are not machines poorly trained teenagers, or poorly-trained adults for that matter, should be in charge of.

I think driving should parallel what's done in aviation. Start with fairly rigorous licensing to be able to drive any vehicle. And then add in additional qualifications for faster, more powerful vehicles, plus periodic retesting/requalification for everybody. A pilot who qualifies to fly a Cessna will still have to train extensively to fly a 747. It should be no different with cars. The sad part is given how the American public feels driving is a birthright that'll never happen. The fact that so many people think it's perfectly OK and safe to text, or yap on the phone, or shave, or read the paper while in charge of 2 tons of metal at 80 mph tells me how lacking proper training is.

 

[Fallingwater]

Since you asked I'd say 25 at least, possibly even 30. Prior to that quite a few people just don't have the mindset and maturity to properly drive. Some do, but many don't.

After 30 I find many people lack the learning capacity to learn to drive properly.

I'd say 20, maybe 21. I got the license at 18, but I've always been a safe driver (so my friends say, anyway )

 

[jtr1962]

After 30 I find many people lack the learning capacity to learn to drive properly.

I find many (most?) people lack the learning capacity to drive properly, period, regardless of age. The spatial ability, cognitive ability, judgement, and often motor coordination just isn't there. This observation is based on cycling since I was in my teens. The majority of drivers I see, probably upwards of 75%, are totally incompetent and unaware of things outside of their insulated metal cocoon.

BTW, my sister and my mother were both in their mid 30s before getting a license. Neither had problems learning and they're no less competent than people driving from their teens. My mom needed to drive for the job she started at the time. My sister had moved out to Long Island and couldn't get to work without a car. Prior to that, they didn't have a license because they didn't need one. I'm sure if I wanted to get a license now (at 45) I could do so without much trouble but I really don't need one.

 

[stitch_paradox]

For me If a person is responsible enough to pay (by their own) for his/her own vehicle and insurance then they should be allowed to drive. I know (and some of them I've actually seen) some accidents involving teens from 17 to 19, and guess whos paying for their vehicles and insurance? Their parents. Spoiled kids tends to get involved more in accidents. Why? Because they lose perspective on the value of life and things, because they don't work hard for what they have. They tend to abuse their privileges ( driving is a privilege, not a right) because everything they need is spoon fed to them.

I witnessed 2 accidents caused by such teens, one involving a very close friend of mine. The sad thing is both of the victims from the two accidents almost lost their lives, and nothing happened to the causers.

By the way there should intensify the severity of punishment for drunk driving regardless of age.

 

[SilentK]

i think that it would be good if you NEEDED a high school daploma before you were able to drive. all the punks who think they can drop out of high school, i think not. i would bet all that is in my pocket right now {$362.48} that SOOOO many people would not be driving that gas prices would go down a good 65 cents. where i am right now 6 out of 10 DO NOT complete high school.