well, what do you think and why?

i see two sides, but do believe that it should be 18-19 (the age you are done with high school).

one side:
young drivers = immature, need to develop more, usually in high school and the "cool" stage (haha, only 5 years ago i was there...now im on the other side of it)

another side:
16 year olds = inexperienced and therefore results in more accidents. so by moving the age to 22 yo, they will still be inexperienced!


i see myself as a good driver. i know that sometimes the throttle is safer than the brake. i look for escape routes while on the road if i or someone else were to blow a tire, loose control, etc. i have smooth control over the vehicle, no jerky movements. i am fully aware of what is happening around me (as much as i can be) and do my best NOT to use the cell phone on the road.

i was given the opportunity at a young age (~8) to drive at the family cabin. i believe this is the reason i am where i am today, i have the valueable experience of controlling a vehicle. many others do not have this opportunity.

but in the end, does a higher driving age solve our problems? i dont think so. maybe they are bad drivers because we let them.

back to square one (which is what i was thinking about all day today, on the road): get enforcement out there to ENFORCE! one, we need more cops on the road. two, we need to make the penalties hold their value and serious enough where one would not risk breaking the law. in todays world, guns = bad. but a 7000lb SUV @ 80mph in a 55mph zone = normal or justified because they are in a hurry.




Pat

ps- sorry for the long post, i needed it out of my system.

 

I think we're getting too risk averse in our society. We keep making the age higher for things and all it does, like you said, is defer the point when youngsters (I guess I can say that now) can start doing whatever it is the age has gone up on.

I say start kids driving at 15 or so. In ME, where I grew up, you could get a license at 15... but only if you took driver's ed. Without it, you had to wait until 17. Of course, that's a rural state. In NYC (at least back then) the age was 18 for some parts. Perhaps driver's ed should be something more than the joke it is. My instructor fell asleep one day while I was driving. Crested a hill and there was a car in my lane, so I hit the shoulder - completely in control - and he woke up grabbing for the wheel on his side. I explained what had happened and what I did and he said, "oh, good job" and dozed off again. Fortunately, I too had been driving tractors and vehicles for quite some time.

Same holds true for drinking. Raising the drinking age only puts off the time when you can go get blotto-ed and be stupid. 18 or 21 - makes no difference. Just means you're older when you're stupid about it. Personally, I think if you're old enough to die for your country, you're old enough to drink. But you're also old enough to be held accountable for your actions.

 

I've been driving on the highways since I was 12 or 13. I believe that really helped me become the driver I am today. Yes I still do stupid things occasionally but who doesn't. I also know how to control a slide, a spin, and how to avoid an accident just to name a fool. I'm only 19. My sister who has only been driving since she was 15 1/2 (15 is legal age for driving permit down here) is a horrible driver (no girl driving jokes). She speeds every where, swerves in and out of traffic, and is just a bad a driver. But, I do belive that starting kids off any youner than 15 is asking for trouble. IMO, at the age of 15 you start maturing and becoming an adult. Before that, you are just a kid. A kid who doesn't have the reaction times nor the ability to think things through while driving.

The drinking age should be lowered to 18 and I'm very firm on that. Every other country in the world is 18 AFAIK. Why does the US have to be different? If I'm old enough to die for my country, I should be old enough to drink. I am a legal adult, I can vote, I get tried as an adult in court, and I can drive. But I can't drink? Once again, I've been drinking since I was about 16. I've learned to control myself and when enough is enough (though some of those experiences were quite painful ). By upping the age all your doing is prolonging the inevitable.

 

I think , that everyone should have a paintball gun in their vehicle , and if they see someone do something really dangerous , or that obviously cannot drive very well, hit em with a paint ball , 5 splats , and your done.

 

Seriously though , i started driving farm equipment on the road when i was 14 , and got my licence when i was 16 , i am now almost 19 , and have never been pulled over , and never come close to causing an accident.

I came close to being in a rear ender , and i am VERY glad i was not , with some use of the brakes , and steering , i avoided the car infront of me. I was following a car across a bridge , in the early spring , some kids had decided it would be a good idea to stand at the ramp to the bridge , out of sight , and throw snowballs at passing vehicles , well , they beemed the dodge neon infront of me, the driver didn't know what it was, so he got on the binders.

A few thousand pounds of dodge neon slows down WAY faster than a 7000 lb CTD, i managed to get out and around the guy , and pulled off to go have a word with the kids , as did the other driver , the kids bailed and ran home , so we followed and had some words with the parents.

Before i left , i found out that the other guy had his 3 yr old son in the back seat, We all know it would not have been pretty if CTD had met neon that day.


and BB , FWIW , unless it has changed ,the legal age to start driving in alberta is 14 , you have your beginners permit for 2 years.

and the drinking age in europe is 16

 

hahaha, my friends would have a different colored car each week. it would depend on what color paint ball i bought.

in certain provinces in Canada, drinking age is 19. but they dont have one in Antarctica!!!

 

I've had a permit/license since the day I turned 14 but had driven farm equipment for years before that. I've had one speeding ticket at 18 and never been the driver in a car accident.... was a passenger in a rear ender. That's not to say I haven't been known to speed or do stupid things behind the wheel. A few weeks ago I attended a Transportation Conference(I'm a civil engineer) and went to a presentation on research about rural traffic accidents.... overwhelmingly, the leading cause of rural traffic accidents is speed.

As far as a driving age, age doesn't beget maturity and maturity does not come with age. The only way to get comfortable and confident behind the wheel is by driving. I think 16 is a fine age for a full, unrestricted license but in some states it's necessary to allow younger drivers to drive on a restricted basis.

I'm long past worrying about the drinking age being 21... all turning 21 did was make everything I'd been doing legal and meant I didn't have to pay someone to buy me beer. I wouldn't object to lowering the drinking age but I'd rather see Sunday sales in Kansas first....

 

man i didn't even come close to maturing until i was over 30. in fact i got stopped for doing 120 mph in my mustang cobra when i was 30. i know.... it was stupid. no need for any lectures. i learned my lesson. but i did plenty of stupid things from high school until that night. i'm 35 now and have settled down a LOT. a wife and daughter will do that to you.





yep. my point exactly.


britt

 

lets see

THis is just my opinion 18 you can watch an r rated flick, get into clubs, and join the army and not drink.. So the years between 18-21 are the lost years? you cannot do much until after 21, but the independence that ppl get at 18, i agree they think they own the world.. i did, i was there four years ago.. and needless to say, i also know that im 22, and got some growin up to do.. I have gotten stopped, speeding, and that was about it. I wouldnt say im a bad driver, i can and do make mistakes, but i usually dont push the truck very hard n e more, fuel is too high, and its not up my alley to do so.. Its not that easy to drive an extended cab long box... Least in my opinion..

Lets look at the other side of the coin here.. IF THE AGE for drivers should be raised... THEN LOWER IT FOR SENIORS.. Holy moses! i have seen old ladies run stoplights, and ive been rearended by one at a light too, drivin a big **** caddy and bein bout 4 foot tall, she couldnt even see over the hood! she was lookin thru the gap in the steering wheel!!!! OK i am fine with the 16 year old law for drivin, but if they are gonna do it, restrict it to no one under 30 in the car with them at all times, and dont allow drivin after lets say 11 at nite...

As far as senior citizens go, I get scared with my grama at the wheel and her friend too... They either drive too slow, or dont observe at all... I would suggest whats good for the goose is good for the gander.. so at age of PUSHING IT ID SAY 70-75.. hey restrict them too, or dont allow them to drive at all..... Its hard to do but it can be done..


Drinkin age.. OK i question this one.. If they drop the drinking age, then im fine with it, but i have a feelin insurance rates will skyrocket... I would suggest that they reward good, alcohol free.. drivers with clean records with insurance cuts not at 25, but lets say 23? Its wishful thinkin, but hey another thing bout drinkin.. it might work as reverse psychology, ITS ALWAYS MORE FUN WHEN ITS ILLEGAL.. i atest i drank more when i was in my stupid as in duh!!! years, than what i do now at barely legal 22....... Drop the age, reduce the psych factor, yet it will and could reach more tragedies, most kids at 18 dunno how to drink, go to a club when u know u see one with a fake id and he either thinks he is gods gift to women, or picks a fight with the largest guy in the room..... Brad paiselys song ALCOHOL.. sums it all up... same thing with a neuron infested youth brain.. it alters their judgement.. But then again, at my age.. who am i to judge.. just speakin from experience and opinion....

Sorry for the rant....

Tx:

 

i started driving when i was 9 was on a motorbike when i was 5. i would say it depends on the person, and you just cannot make rules for society that way. i see 14 year olds driving 4 cyl racecars at our track better then some of the adults, i say 16 is fine, and it should be up to the parents to evaluate the childs maturity for whether they should be on the road unsupervised or not. my daughter is taking drivers ed. right now, but that dont mean she's gettin the car if i dont think she is ready.

 

I had my driver's license at age 14 - the legal age in Arkansas at that time. I think I am a pretty good driver but I have some friends that are horrible drivers and we all started driving at the same time. I have always loved cars and learned all I could about them. I know some people that only know you start the car and drive from point A to point B. They never look at guages except to check the speedometer and gas guage occasionally and they don't pay much attention to what is going on around them. I think attitude has a lot to do with a driver's capabilities and some folks just have an indifferent attitude when driving.

With the proper training a teenager can start driving at 16 and be a good responsible driver. However if I lived in a large city with heavy traffic I would restrict my teenager's driving until I felt really sure of their abilities. Our girls got their licenses at 16 and we did not allow anyone (except family) to ride with them until the restrictions were removed from their license and we felt comfortable about their abilities.

 

I see a problem with raising it:
We all know some teens that are hardworking, right (may not be many, but they ARE out there). This is my main concern with raising the age limit, how are these kids getting to work? I would rather not have to drive my son (when the time comes) to and from work. She drove me to the Motor Vehicle Admin. on my BIRTHDAY, I got my License, drove her to work and she let me take her car to school. WHAT A FREEDOM!!! I can remember the feeling!!
I can remember being 15, working at a local resturant. It was tough for my mom to pick me up at midnight, when she had a day job of her own to worry about. I think MOST "Kids" re NOT ready to drive, espically with three other screaming teenagers in the car, radio blasting, smoking weed and speeding. (not that I know from expeirence or anything).
My Son is 10 now and he can drive just about anything you can think of. Lets see,
Our Boat, tractors (Including full size class 3), my truck, his moms car,motorcycles, fourwheelers, etc.
The kid is good. Why should the responsible kids have to wait just because alot of the other kids their age are idiots? I would feel bad for him if at 16 he was told he had to wait ANY longer, wouldn't be fair to somone who is eager to get out and be productive and make some money.

 

I was about 13 when I first learned to drive truck. My granddad taught me in his 1970 Chevy 1/2 ton (3 speed on the column) out in the middle of his pasture. I had been "helping" drive his old Farmall tractor long before then. After I mastered the clutch, he then taught me how to pull and back a horse trailer in that same pasture.

Bottom line...no matter what age you start driving, you're still going to be inexperienced when you start driving. Personally, I think the Texas laws are pretty good as they are. You can start driving when you're 16, but I believe you have to have an adult in the front passenger seat with you until you turn 18. I think that works well because kids get two years of driving experience before they fly solo.

 

Hoss,
For Texas. Kids can get a learners permit at 15 AFTER they complete drivers education. Then they can get a license at 16. The license is based on parental permission and they cannot have more than one other person under the age of 18 in the car for the first 6 months (excluding family members). They also cannot drive between midnight and 6 am for the first 6 months unless it is for work. A parent can revoke a driver’s license until the child reaches 18 years old. If they wait until they are 18, all they have to do is take the test (both written and driving). I know this cause I have a 17 year old son driving and a 15 year old daughter learning. Teaching the son who rides 4 wheelers and drives tractors was easy. Teaching my TV watching daughter is SCARRY! I am also a mean Dad and made them both learn in a standard.

 

I agree with what has been said so far. Its not so much the age as it is attitude, teaching, experience, and concern. But I still think the high school age is still in the "Napoleon Dynamite" stage as a majority, and thats what scares me on the road.

One of my biggest pet-peeves on the road is seeing a minivan whipping around traffic with child seats in the back. Much of our teaching comes from example, will that parent be mad at their child when they come home at 16 with a speeding ticket? they shouldnt but probably will.

Many of the kids I see around St. Paul, MN area just dont care...well, they dont come across as if they care. I usually blame them at the moment but realize they probably have never been taught any different way. So, when it comes to driving age, maybe I shouldnt blame the kids for their bad driving but rather look at the parents (this applies to many things besides driving).

Another good topic about driving (that was brought up in an earlier post) that I think about a lot is how old should we let people drive? Maybe we should have a driver's test every 5 years, or atleast every 5 years past a certain age.