Posted on 01/30/2005 12:36:26 PM PST by Willie Green
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.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
Yeah, that's the ticket; MORE regulation! We're not nearly "governed" enough as it is.
It should be raised to 18, I have been saying that for years. 16 year olds are minds full of mush and should still be being raised by their parents.
it's not a bad idea. some states, I've heard, have laws prohibiting the number of teenage passengers a teenage driver can have, which I think is a great idea. Get alot of teens in a car, and you have a major recipe for distraction. When I was in high school, we had several fender benders in the parking lot because girls were more focused on chatting with their 3 friends in the backseat than they were on the car in front of them. Thank God nothing more serious happened on the road - I don't know how it didn't, considering some of the air-heads we had driving. BTW, this isn't a swipe against female drivers - I went to an all-girls school so my experience with teen drivers involves mostly females.
Yeah, that's the ticket; MORE regulation! We're not nearly "governed" enough as it is.
So let's deregulate the whole process, let anyone drive as long as they can reach the pedals.
Amen! No way in the world 16-year-olds should be able to drive without a parent in the car. They are idiots - I know, I was one once!
On the other hand, where my children go to high school, parking is so limited you cannot use the parking lot unless FOUR students ride together. I seriously question the wisdom of 4 or more teenagers in the car together, as do you.
Not sure but I think in New York City you have to 18 to drive. Anyone there know for sure?
It depends on the maturity level of the sixteen year old and parents need to recognize that some shouldn't be driving. We have a "mature" son who was able to drive a hand-me-down with the understanding that any increases in insurance rates for accidents, tickets, etc. would be his to pay. Maybe he's just lucky (or cheap) but he just turned 19 and there have been no problems.
From what I can see, a lot of the parents minds are full of mush also.
It also depends on the maturity level of the parents. I agree with you 100%. If a child is taught to drive in a mature manner and have been taught responsibility there should be no problem. We have two daughters and have never had any problems at all.
Most 18 year olds are no different.
From what I can see, a lot of the parents minds are full of mush also.
That is absolutely correct, that is why 16 year olds need a couple more years to mature before driving, and even then, some are questionable.
Words of wisdom from another 17-year-old deep thinker.
And no riding bicycles until the age of 18 either.
It seems young is bad so lets raise it to 21 while we are at it. Also lets ban any driver over 60. That ought to do the trick.
How about this: a tougher driving test, including actually being able to negotiate a slalom, and some simulated panic situations.
Get the people of all ages off the roads who shouldn't be there.
Every year, increase the numbers by one.
You're right. What we need to do is just get rid of ALL driving-related regulation: driver's license age limits, speed limits, traffic regulation, vehicle inspection, etc. Then, we can start on other over-regulated areas, like those pesky and often-ignored homicide laws. Forget about whether a regulation makes sense or is beneficial to society; if it's a regulation, it MUST be bad.
Right?
What was the old Carlin routine? Anyone going faster than him was a maniac, and anyone going slower than him was an idiot. The roads are full of maniacs and idiots!
Not exactly, but you know as well as I that for many people, the first knee jerk reaction to any problem, real or perceived, is MORE REGULATION. Never a thought given to finding other regulations to repeal to keep the overall burden within reasonable limits, or to repealing the regulation itself once it has proven ineffective. People are not nearly skeptical enough about new rules and regs in general.
That's BS, we all got our licences when we were 16 in Pa. The kids today are no different than we were.
i started driving when i was 9 on the farm.
i got my first license, a permit to go to and from school only, at age 15, because the area had no rural school buses at that time.
I think anyone that thinks gas tax money should be spent on light rail should have their drivers license revoked.
That't a darned fine idea, especially if it can be applied retroactively to laws already on the books that were enacted without such a sunset clause. If that cannot be done, it would to an extent be closing the barn door after the equine has made his egress.
As I recall, those were "pumpkin licenses"...
They're no good between midnight and 5 AM
(I forget what other restrictions there may have been)
Anyway, "adult licenses" weren't issued until age 18.
My dad taught me when I was 8. We lived in a small rural community, but not on a farm. Somehow I managed not to run into anything that didn't need running into.
In NYC, you can get your permit at 16, and if you take drivers ed, a licence at 17, without drivers ed, its 18.
So what's your evidence that upping the driving age is a knee-jerk reaction, rather than a prudent move to increase safety? Were you upset when the drinking age was raised? When the legal limits of intoxication were lowered? Of course I agree that ineffective and overly burdensome regulation, or regulation to protect people from their own bad choices (e.g., mandatory seat belts), is to be avoided. I just don't see that this fits into those categories.
"That is absolutely correct, that is why 16 year olds need a couple more years to mature before driving, and even then, some are questionable."
I'm sorry, that is what I meant to imply. You were absolutely correct.
That may have been when you had your learners permit, but not after you passed the test.
When I first moved to my state, we had no numerical speed limits on most highways. Since the idiot courts imposed one on us a few years ago, traffic deaths have increased.
I agree that many vehicle-related laws are stupid and ineffective in promoting safety or good driving. I count emissions inspection and mandatory insurance laws among these. However, many traffics regs are criminal in nature, and would thus be immune from your sunset provisions. How do you deal with that?
In my state, you get a learner's permit at 14, and can drive alone at 15. Yikes!
i followed the rules set for me by my father. his big thing was not riding clutches. with two sons he didn't want to be replacing clutches prematurely.
my brother was a year younger and had a thing for speed, but he never had accidents.
years later, my father would be getting up at 4:30 a.m. to milk cows, and my brother would be arriving home to help, with a state patrolman on his bumper! he never got tickets, only warning words. i guess they liked him. it was a different era.
16 yr olds here can drive. They are limited to the amount of passengers per car for awhile and no after nine driving. If they have no problems then after 6 months the restrictions are lifted.
My 16 yr old and most all those who are in this area have jobs that they use that car for. It's unrealistic for them to have to wait until 18 to become independent.
My son got his license 13 months ago and we've never had an incident, either in our cars or his own truck which has now. He has matured incredibly with the responsibility of driving. In fact, right now he is at the local airfield taking flying lessons. Good grief, the FAA grants pilot licenses to 17-year-olds and they can solo at 16! Also, since our district doesn't have schoolbuses I think I'd die if I had to go back to driving him around.
I've noticed a lot of parents delaying the permits, even not letting them get licensed until 18 when the insurance lower. I'm sure they know what is best for their own children, but here in California where one needs to drive almost everywhere, the sooner they get experienced the better.
Well I got mine back in '68, so a lot may have changed since then as well.
My memory may be fuzzy on the details, but I KNOW you couldn't drive after midnight until you got your full adult license. And I THINK that was age 18 (and maybe 17 if you passed drivers' education).
Whatever the details, it was MORE than a learner's permit, but LESS than a full license.
Maybe YOU were an idiot at 16, but I wasn't. I was in college at 16 and had been driving unofficially since I was 10. Blind age discrimination is not the answer. I'd like to see academic performance and driving skills factor into when a teenager can drive.
If you believe in discrimination based solely on age, then what's stopping us from prohibitting the elderly from driving beyond a certain age?
Hell, I was driving at about 10. I worked on a farm, drove the tractors, riding lawn mower and the truck from field to field. Not more than 1/8 mile from the house, but I learned. Got my license at 16, first accident was at 22 and only mariginally my fault. I was in one of those 10 car pileups, was following too closely. I don't do that any more, ever, for any reason, and no accidents now for some 15+ years.
I think that moving the age to 18 won't change anything. It'll simply move the highest cost demographic up a couple of years. The bottom line is simply that even if you made the age 30, those 30 or 31 would have the highest rate of accidents.
Has no bearing on me, but 18 is ok. I think that no more than driver and one passenger till 18 is the best idea though.
When my kids were in that age group (Oh, how glad I am that they're all grown up!) we had firm, written in concrete rules:
1. Get a ticket, bye bye license
2. Have an accident that is your fault, bye bye license
3. Caught doing anything stupid in the car, bye bye license
In addition, none had their own cars til they were in college (and we didn't buy them one). They also weren't allowed to just cruise around, and they didn't drive themselves to school, except on rare and special occasions.
I know they didn't like it, most of their friends got a new car on their 16th birthday. But all 3 (yes, BOYS!) got through HS without losing their driving priviledges and they all still love me! And, in fact, now they think we were pretty smart!
sundero
In CA one cannot drive without an adult in the car between midnight and 5 am unless you are over 18 or have had your license for one year.
Well if it was, it wasn't enforced. I never heard of it.
Hey I've got an idea! Leave it to each State to decide.
But seriously, use the hot stove theory. Remember the poor kid who drank himself to death in celebration of his 21st birthday - at college? Lower the drinking age to two years below the driving age. Then kids can get over the immature thrill of legally drinking -- while they are still under their parents' supervision. By the time they drive, they would have had a few bad "experiences" with alcohol and will have an idea of the horrors of what could happen while trying to drive under the influence.
I'd prefer thay keep it at 14 1/2 for day licenses like it is now (in Idaho). Most of the idiots driving around here are 18 to 22.
Most 18 year olds drive better than 16 years olds, but the reason is two years of driving and facing what drivers face.
Young drivers have about a 10% chance of an accident of some kind every year till they reach age 25, but this does not by itself mean they should be kept off the roads. You have to learn sometime.
Living out here in S. Florida, while I see kids do some pretty foolhardy things in their cars (maybe you should have to pass a special test to have the priviledge of talking on the cellphone while you drive!!) I think the very scariest drivers are all of these elderly folk. Now, I have nothing against elderly people, even yankees, but there are a large number whose driving days should be over! They don't know where they are, they don't know where they're going, and they don't know anyone else is on the road with them!
sundero
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