At what age do you think a driver's license should be issued?

[MonarC]

An auto safety group wants the age for getting a driver's license raised. At what age do you think a driver's license should be issued?
http://ce.byu.edu/cw/cwdriver/student_driver.jpg

[Hollow]

under-18's can't drive worth a f-ck.

[Brieannas21]

I think it's great at 16.

[Lee]

under-18's can't drive worth a f-ck.

Were you not 16 once? And did you not get your license at that age?

[Seth]

I've seen people who are perfectly capable drivers at 16 and folks who couldn't drive to save their behinds at 40. Different people are, you know, different

[Courtnee]

I'm 17 and I'm a good driver. It's really bad to generalize people like that.

[Lee]

I think it should stay 16. Young people show maturity and responsibility at
different ages. You should not generalize like that, Sarah.

[Hollow]

Were you not 16 once?
obviously i was. i didn't get my license until i was 18 though. and of course i don't mean that every driver under 18 is bound to cause a fatal wreck while everyone 18 and over is totally considerate and never breaks any traffic rules, but generally speaking, i'd rather hitchhike than get in a car with a 16 year old driving. their minds are too young and they're always causing accidents and mishaps due to either lack of maturity or just lack of sense. i've almost gotten into a few wrecks caused by young drivers having little sense of timing or just not being responsible. sure, there are plenty of adults like that, as well as some teenagers who are great drivers, but age has a lot to do with maturity and common sense and allowing everyone as young as 16 to drive is just too dangerous.

[Dutabi84]

I've seen people who are perfectly capable drivers at 16 and folks who couldn't drive to save their behinds at 40. Different people are, you know, different

Which is why I think looking at it as just an age thing is pretty silly. Forget changing the age, 16 is just fine. Instead of changing the age limit to driving, try making it harder to acquire a license and to keep a license thereafter. That way, teenagers who deserve to drive can drive, and those who don't can't. Seems like a more logical solution than just changing the age limit.

[Schmoopie]

I think they should change it to 18.

[Shine]

21

[Hollywood Rock Chic]

I've seen people who are perfectly capable drivers at 16 and folks who couldn't drive to save their behinds at 40. Different people are, you know, different
Exactly. Age, has nothing to do, when it comes to people who drive well. I know individuals, who are GREAT drivers and they just received their driver's license and I know a lot of adult, or people whom have been driving a car for years and they still are TERRIBLE!

[catlover79]

Exactly. Age, has nothing to do, when it comes to people who drive well. I know individuals, who are GREAT drivers and they just received their driver's license and I know a lot of adult, or people whom have been driving a car for years and they still are TERRIBLE!
:yeahthat Very well said, Tara.

[InspectorExstead]

16 is fine in my opinion. like others have said, it all depends on the person. i remember when my friends & i all became drivers in high school. i was scared to death to get in the car with some of them, others were very good drivers. and the people i was scared to get in the car with have improved a lot & are very good drivers today. just depends on who you are. i do see a lot of younger drivers racing down the streets, driving crazily, but i see that from adults too. but like Dutabi84 said, they need to make getting a license more difficult, and keeping it as well.

[BarneyFife]

I think it's great at 16.

I agree. I've seen 20, 30, 40 and 50 year old people who can't drive. Most 16 year olds are mature enough to drive.

[EmoJoe]

16...it's 17 here in Jersey -_-

[PZelda]

It's 14 here in North Dakota... dear god. No wonder we have one of the highest rates of car accidents per capita in the US. :crazy: I wish they would RAISE it to 16 here...

[Hollow]

It's 14 here in North Dakota... dear god. No wonder we have one of the highest rates of car accidents per capita in the US. :crazy: I wish they would RAISE it to 16 here...
good lord. O_O i was supposed to have grown up there. suddenly i feel safe in a world where 14-year-olds can't legally drive.

[PZelda]

good lord. O_O i was supposed to have grown up there. suddenly i feel safe in a world where 14-year-olds can't legally drive.
Haha, yeah. But it's a rural state so I can understand why 14yos are allowed to get learner permits here. There are three "metro" (lol) areas here and in the metro areas, it's more common for kids to get their permits/licenses at 16 as opposed to 14. But in the more rural areas of the state, it's pretty much a necessity for kids to get them at 14 when they need to drive long distances to school and that it won't be possible for their parents to drop them off/pick them up.

Incidentally, this was just published in the Grand Forks (ND) Herald yesterday.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=86667

[MrCleveland]

18

If they can handle it in High School (They have to have a temporary packet between 16 and 18) then they can drive.

I'm 25 and I STILL can't handle it, as a matter of fact I STILL can't drive and I don't think I ever will. :(

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

To tell you the truth I think girls are generally better able to handle driving at 16 than boys. It's always guys who think it's hilarious to speed and race and all that crap. I'm not being sexist but it's proven that girls do mature earlier. That being said 16 probably is too young for kids to start driving, but it really does depend on the person.

[PZelda]

To tell you the truth I think girls are generally better able to handle driving at 16 than boys. It's always guys who think it's hilarious to speed and race and all that crap. I'm not being sexist but it's proven that girls do mature earlier. That being said 16 probably is too young for kids to start driving, but it really does depend on the person.
Heh. I beg to differ. ESPECIALLY here in my state. I used to catch a ride from two different girls in my senior year of HS (I was 17). One of 'em was 15 and in 10th grade, the other was 16 and in 11th grade. The gals were cousins and would alternate driving duties. We were all going to the same building for one period and heading back to the same building afterwards for the next period, so it worked out nicely. I'm surprised they didn't kill us, and we were just going ACROSS THE STREET (no ****).

To be honest? I cannot believe how super-lax ND's teen driving laws were when I was a teen. When I was 13, it was still OK for me to be a teen passenger in the car with a teen driver and no adult passengers around.

Sure, females mature more quickly than guys. They are, however, just as capable of reckless driving as males are. They don't have to race other people to be reckless.

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

Heh. I beg to differ. ESPECIALLY here in my state. I used to catch a ride from two different girls in my senior year of HS (I was 17). One of 'em was 15 and in 10th grade, the other was 16 and in 11th grade. The gals were cousins and would alternate driving duties. We were all going to the same building for one period and heading back to the same building afterwards for the next period, so it worked out nicely. I'm surprised they didn't kill us, and we were just going ACROSS THE STREET (no ****).

To be honest? I cannot believe how super-lax ND's teen driving laws were when I was a teen. When I was 13, it was still OK for me to be a teen passenger in the car with a teen driver and no adult passengers around.

Sure, females mature more quickly than guys. They are, however, just as capable of reckless driving as males are. They don't have to race other people to be reckless.
Oh no, don't get me wrong. I totally agree with you there, but I think in general it's guys causing a little bit more trouble. lol believe me, I know of plenty of bad female drivers. :lol:

[robyrob]

i think they need to develop a graduated licensing program; licenses can be acquired at 16 under a trial or probation period of 2 to 5 years and if you get any tickets or accidents in that time your license could get suspended or revoked and the probation period extended for some period of time. There would be more restrictions like daytime driving only or the number of passengers etc.

basically you'd have to earn your license and prove that you are responsible enough to keep it.

[PZelda]

Oh no, don't get me wrong. I totally agree with you there, but I think in general it's guys causing a little bit more trouble. lol believe me, I know of plenty of bad female drivers. :lol:
Yea, I know. :) I realize it's WAY more common for males to be reckless drivers than females. They just do things differently to be stupid. :lol:

Oy vey. I hope somebody figures something out soon... I am so damn thankful I rarely put my life in the hands of a teen driver here. :crazy:

[Furienna]

Here in Sweden, you have to be 18 years old to get your driver's license. (You can get your learner's permit earlier though, so it's possible to get your license at your 18th birthday.) I think 18 is a good age. Driving is a huge responsibility, and you need to mature before you do it. Heck, I'm 24, and I haven't even tried to drive yet, because I'm afraid of the responsibility.

[Stuck In The '70's]

18

[Hollow]

To tell you the truth I think girls are generally better able to handle driving at 16 than boys. It's always guys who think it's hilarious to speed and race and all that crap. I'm not being sexist but it's proven that girls do mature earlier. That being said 16 probably is too young for kids to start driving, but it really does depend on the person.
haha, so true. even if it's more one gender than the other, it's a good reason why teenagers need to get off the damn roads. they always drive as perfectly as possible on their road tests and usually end up passing at some point, which is why it appears that they're mature enough to drive, but what they don't show during the test is their lack of acknowledgement that bad accidents CAN happen to them even if they're being just slightly careless or lacking just a little bit of vital sense (which i think they naturally do). even if not all of them are like that, even if not even most of them are like that, TOO MANY of them are. it's true that boys are the worst. girls can be bad too, of course. i remember several years ago in my city, there was a group of four teenagers driving a car at night, and the girl in the front passenger seat said "think fast!" and turned off the driver's headlights. he panicked and crashed and all but one were killed (unfortunately it wasn't the idiot who caused it, she deserved to see what she'd done).

after i got my license, i was required to watch a video about the dangers of goofing off while driving. it was mostly stories from people who caused crashes and killed people and such. when i was done, the lady working there thanked me for being so cooperative because most of the teenagers just roll their eyes at it and think it's stupid.

ahh, teenagers. they expect to be treated like adults, thinking they're mature enough for privileges such as driving. after being granted such privileges, they misuse them and inadvertently prove that they're still children who clearly aren't ready to take on adult responsibilities. then they hate anyone who revokes these privileges due to their immaturity and cry about how unfair life is. glad i never was one. *sips tea*

[veggie-tari-jenn]

16....I was 16 when I got mine and i wasnt and am not a recless or bad driver...so I dont think you can catorgarize all people that way...that being said there are always gonna be some bad bananas in the bunch no matter what age.