[sbaglio]

Group: States should raise driving age - Life - MSNBC.com

What do you think of this idea? Due to various reasons, I only got my license when I was in my early 20s, and I'm no worse for wear. I grew up in a place where driving wasn't such a great rite of passage, but actually a hassle, so maybe that's part of why I (and most of my friends) didn't get our licenses until later on.

I think that 16 is too young, personally. Aren't teens still at Piaget's concrete operations stage then..?

[belleinblue1978]

Originally Posted by sbaglio

Group: States should raise driving age - Life - MSNBC.com

What do you think of this idea? Due to various reasons, I only got my license when I was in my early 20s. I grew up in a place where driving wasn't such a great rite of passage, but actually a hassle, so maybe that's part of why I (and most of my friends) didn't get our licenses until later on.

I think that 16 is too young, personally. Aren't teens still at Piaget's concrete operations stage then..?

Have you ever lived in a rural area where there isn't mass transit? I was driving when I was much younger than sixteen, and too young to have a license even in my state, which is fourteen. I was helping on the farm and most of the kids in my class did as well.

In my state, at least, when kids get licensed you can insure them. Trust me, they would be driving anyway, might as well get them some formal training and get them insured.

[BlessedbySnuggs]

It's really hard to know...I mean I got my license at 14, yep I said 14, and that was WAY TOO YOUNG! They had just passed the law in my home state, the year I turned 14. The law changed back to 16 shortly after that, but not after I totalled my car after two months

It was nice to have a car at a young age as I was in a lot of school activities as well as working at a young age. I think it is very hard for some parents to get their children to and from, especially when they have multiple children.

I don't know if its right or wrong or a good or bad idea, as long as they don't lower the age!

[paigeturner]

We live in a rural area as well. Our kids wouldn't have been able to continue dance classes and work a part time job without having a license. We have no mass transit where we live.

When my youngest daughter was 16 and got her license the laws had changed and for the first 6 months she wasn't allowed to have anyone in her car but a family member. Lawmakers thought this would help with distracted driving accidents. And I think it has but, watching caravans of cars, all with single drivers heading out to a ball game or a dance has me just shaking my head.

[crick]

I think the age is fine, but the process is in need of reform and where they have made stricter policies, they need to actually enforce them.

For example, in my state, you cannot have any passengers under the age of 21 during the first 6 months after you are licensed. Then after a year, you can have ONE passenger under the age of 21. This isn't a bad idea...saves on the party driving and distraction with friends driving. There's also a midnight to 5 a.m. curfew.

I don't see this enforced all the time though and that's an issue.

The reason I'm okay with age 16 for driving is because I feel if they have to wait til they are 18, they receive all the responsibility and learning how to be an adult all at the same time. Going to college, taking a driver's course, voting, military, working, being on your own etc. all at the same time is overwhelming and I personally think teens need to have more responsibility and opportunities for making good decisions before they turn 18 and are turned out into the world.

This isn't to say that there are going to be 16 year olds that should wait until 17 due to maturity or other reasons. Not every teen is ready at age 16, that's for sure!

[paigeturner]

Originally Posted by crick

This isn't to say that there are going to be 16 year olds that should wait until 17 due to maturity or other reasons. Not every teen is ready at age 16, that's for sure!

This is where parenting comes into play. If one of my girls wasn't mature enough or responsible enough to drive we wouldn't have allowed them to do so! I'll tell you, after they did start driving though we had one heck of a parenting tool!

[sbaglio]

I agree that where you live has a lot to do with whether you should be able to drive or not. Many of my friends knew how to drive (as did I as a teen), but didn't feel the need to get their licenses. Mass transit was great where I lived.

My concern arises in that unintentional injury is the #1 killer of older children aged 15-19 years in the U.S. (after homicide and suicide). The vast majority of these deaths are from motor vehicle accidents (source: National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Reports 2005).

I would guess that this involves the teen driving (or being a passenger in a vehicle) rather than them being struck pedestrians. I don't have any info on whether alcohol, speeding, drugs, distractions etc played a role in these accidents.

Then again, the stats do involve 19 year olds, so this is where the argument starts to fall apart...Perhaps if the stats were broken down by year in this 15 to 19 year age group, it would be more helpful.

[Stormster]

My sister and her husband adhere to the thousand mile rule. Neither boy was/is allowed to drive alone until after he's logged 1000 miles with an adult. This is after he is legally allowed to drive alone. I spent many an hour driving to and from random places with my eldest nephew but I think it's a great idea and will probably do the same.

[loveajax]

Fadzi, we are twins. I didn't get my license until right before senior year of COLLEGE (I grew up where mass transit was convenient).

Right after I got my license, I got into two serious accidents. I think inexperience (as opposed to age) might be the bigger factor. my 16 yo niece just totalled her car as well....it's scary!!!!

Stormster, that's a good rule (the 1000 hour rule....though I can imagine I would go all gray driving 1000 hours with a kid!).

[crick]

Fadzi...it IS a huge concern and every year our town loses teens in driving accidents. For our town, speeding and partying were the main culprits. I'm just not sure that raising the age will do anything to prevent this type of situation and that is why I wish there were better processes and enforcement of the policies.

[NJNative]

I think the NJ laws on driving are excellent. A kid can get a permit at any time after they turn 16, and must drive with a licensed driver over 21 for a minimum of 6 months. They must also spend 6 hours of time with a driving instructor, who also takes them to get the written test administered.

Then when they are 17, they get a restricted driver's license for an additional year. They can only have one non-family member in the car, can't talk on a phone even with a hands-free device and can't drive between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m.

Only when they turn 18 do they get a full, unrestricted driver's license. By that time, if you got the permit right at 16, they have already been driving for 2 years.

While we don't live in a rural area, we live in a suburb where public transit to part-time jobs, school events or even friend's homes is impossible. But it sure is nice knowing my 17 yo had to be in no later than midnight

He will be eligible for his adult license next month. (Oh and BTW, if you lose the restricted license, you can't re-apply until you are 21!!!!)

My baby is growing up!

Robin

[oceanica]

Athena is never going to learn to drive, never going to date, never going to be away from me, and never get older than 8 weeks.

[belleinblue1978]

In SD driving hours are 6 am to 8 pm. That is for kids between the ages of 14 and 16. When I got my restricted permit, you didn't have to have an adult with you at first, you do now for 6 months. In South Dakota you also have to take driver's education in order to get your permit at 14. You can take the test at 16 and get your license without driver's ed.

Amazingly, none of my classmates were killed when I was in school, several have died since in drunk driving accidents after we were over twenty one. While I was in school only one student died in an accident, I was in the 8th grade when that happened. However, the day my boyfriend's class graduated, 12 young people from a neighboring town died playing chicken while they were drunk. Those cars got hauled around the state for years to prove what drunk driving does.

My parents didn't allow us to drive any further than the farm until we were 16 and had our full license. My brother landed himself in treatment when they found out he was drinking and driving.

If your kid isn't ready to drive, they aren't ready to drive and parents need to make that choice. Just because they CAN get a license doesn't mean they need one. Also, just because they have a license doesn't mean they NEED a car and NEED to be driving all the time.

[Fran27]

It's 18 legally in France... You can start at 16 but only accompanied by an adult, and you have to do a certain number of miles every month... then 2 years later you can take the test.

I know that between my 22 hours of classes and those 2 years I spent driving with my parents all over, I was not much at ease at all - yet I passed the first time, when both my siblings failed twice. But I can only imagine people taking the test when they've only driven 20 hours - yikes! I guess it doesn't help that my teachers seemed to hate me, and intimidated me so much I kept messing up...

I don't know how hard the test is here though. In France they take you through town, highway etc, and they're pretty strict about you looking through the mirror (a tip was to noticeably move your head when you do). And they ask you to park once or twice. Oh, and no automatic cars there

[loveajax]

Fran, having just come back from Paris, I have to say that I would be afraid to drive there (not on the highway, but man those cars go bombing down those small side streets!).