Should the driving age be raised to 18?

This was a subject on HLN news today. And you know it gets me to wondering, WHY is it the law that you NEED to have a license to drive? This guy had JUST passed his driving test, when he stepped on the gas and not the brake and crashed into the DMV building! So obviously just because you pass the test doesn't mean you're a good driver or are ready to go out on the road.

Some people want the age raised to 18, which MIGHT be a good idea...but I can't help but think that they need to be more lenient with when you can start learning to drive.

Our parents, or depending on how old we are, grandparents, learned to drive a HELL of a lot younger than we did because the laws weren't so strict back then. My father started to learn to drive when he was 9 years old, and over a 50 year driving span, he has never ONCE had any kind of accident, NEVER got a ticket, NEVER got arrested for reckless driving or something like that.

Now, I tend to think if you are big enough that you can see over the steering wheel and reach the pedals with your feet at the same time, you should be old enough that you can at least start learning how to drive. I'm not suggesting giving them licenses earlier but it's like my mother said, they take driver's ed. at school for 6 weeks and the teachers think after that much time, they're ready to go out on the road? You need enough time that you can learn everything, how to turn smoothly, how to turn off and onto the roads, how back up, back out, you name it, you can't cover that all in just a few weeks.

What's everybody else's thought on this?

How much safer would an 18 year old first time driver be over a 16 year old first time driver? Experience makes a good driver, not age.

Yes. Too many teens get into accidents because they think they know how to drive and they sooooooo do not. There is a difference between knowing how to operate a vehicle and knowing how to drive. MAJOR difference. Now granted, most people with licenses still don't know how the drive.....but I would be all for them raising the age to 18 solely because that's the legal age to being an adult. Get your license when you're an adult. Not when you're a minor. My children won't be getting their licenses at 16. No way. If he/she is mature enough, shows that he/she has some sense responsibility and isn't about the knuckleheadedness.....then maybe we can discuss getting a license at 17. But definitely not before that.

I don't think the driving age should be raised to 18. There are plenty of people who live in no so populated areas that need cars just to get to school or after school jobs. I agree with the person who said experience matters more than age. There are plenty of 40 year olds out there who simply cannot drive.

I received my license at 16. I didn't go driving school either. On my 16th birthday, my father took me out and taught me how to drive his Honda Accord 5 speed on the streets of Manhattan and on the FDR. Two weeks later I had my license. This was back in 1982.

My point is, I got my license at that age, why deprive anyone now?

RobbieFTW wrote:How much safer would an 18 year old first time driver be over a 16 year old first time driver? Experience makes a good driver, not age.

Yeah, but no one is making the distinction between a driver's license and a learner's permit. Experience is important so why not extend the probationary period two years to 18?

Why not just bump it up to 21? Shoot, let's bump everything up to 21. That way, the only thing you can do as a legal, 18-year-old adult, is defend your country.

kinetic wrote:Why not just bump it up to 21? Shoot, let's bump everything up to 21. That way, the only thing you can do as a legal, 18-year-old adult, is defend your country.

What I find odd about the whole age limit thing is that at 18 you can go to the other side of the world and get yourself blown away or blow someone else away, but you still can't purchase a handgun in your own country for another 3 years. Though I understan in Canada their age limit for that is 25 instead, which REALLY makes no sense. Especially, and they're not even related, but Canada, last time I checked, also has a drinking age limit of only 19 which is better than ours of 21 for that too.

In Michigan, the legal driving age is 16....but your license is restricted. It doesn't become totally unrestricted until age 21. I'm fine with that. I see no reason to up the age to 18. Let kids get used to it, so by the time they are 21, they have had that five year experience behind their belt.