Do you think the driving age should be 16 or 18? Should driving lessons be required to receive a permit?

Question

I think this is a very interesting question.

I think in todays busy world it is more practical to have 16 year olds capable of driving. But I am only 14 and can not testify to the maturity difference between a 16 year old and a 18 year old, so this is purely theoretical thinking.

I do think driving lessons should be readily available and required.

I am posting this in this section as it seems more likely to get the views of both parents and teenagers here.

Answer 1

Well, I'm 15, and I have my permit, and here in Louisiana, you do have to take and pass driver's ed to get your permit. And yes, I believe having a license at 16 is much more practical than 18. Especially since there are so many after-school activities and sports practices that you really don't know for sure when they will end. It will be much easier to just drive home when I'm done instead of calling my parents and waiting 10 minutes for a ride!

EDIT:

We can start taking driver's ed here at 14.5, and we have to have a permit for at least 6 months before you can get a license, no matter how old you are. When you turn 16, you get what's called an "intermediate license," which means you can drive alone or with other people in the car, but if you drive between 10p.m. and 5a.m. you have to have a licensed driver over 21, or a licensed sibling over 18 (which are the same rules that apply to a permit all day) in the car with you. (I think it's 10p.m. It might be 9, I don't remember.)

Answer 2

I like the way Maryland does their driving laws...

1. You have to be 15 yrs & 9 months to get your learners

2. You have to pass a written test on basic laws in order to get your learners

3. Once you have your learner's you have to take drivers ed (30 hours in classroom & 6 hours in car).

4. You need 40 day time hours & 20 night time hours (& a minimum of 6 months) of supervised driving with an adult over 21 who has had their license at least 3 years.

To get your provisional license (it comes with rules)

1. You have to have completed drivers ed & your 60 in-car hours

2. You have to be at least 16 yrs & 3 months

3. You have to take an in car driving test

To get your full license

1. You have to be 17 yrs & 9 months

2. You cannot have had any traffic violations while on your provisionals

Answer 3

ummm do you even know what you have to do to get a permit? its the written part of the test, why go out driving when you havent even passed the wrtten part...

Answer 4

you should have to be 18 to drive and by the time you turn 70 we should take them away

Answer 5

i think the australian system is good - we spend a term when we are 15 doing a road rules course, learn theory in year 11 get L's at 16.5, (which means we can only drive when an adult with a current unrestricted drivers licence is in the car with us), but only if we continue having driving lessons, then once we are 17 (i think) we can take a practical AND theory test, if w pass both we get red P's, (which means we can drive alone, but not at night, not over a certain speed, and we lose our licence completely if caught driving with ANYTHING above 0.00 - meaning NO alcohol or drugs), and we can only drive with one person in the car. after about 18 months (i think) we get green P's, which mean that we lose our licence if caught with a blood alcohol level OVER 0.02, as well as having much harsher penalties if we break any road rules. then after about 1 year (i think!) on green P's, we finally get a regular license.

but since we're at least 18 by then, we generally have more sense.

so yeah, we start learning theory at 15, practical driving ONLY with supervision at 16.5, then get a full unrestricted license when we are at least 18-19, and have passed both the Red and Green P test (practical and theory)

Answer 6

here in Australia, a 16 year old will get their learners, which means they need to drive with a fully licensed person at all times. They cannot get their p's until 18. The first year they have their p's they have red P's which means that they are only allowed one other person in the car at all times. After a year they move onto green P's which allows them to have a full car of people if they want. I like the rules here. Perfect!

Answer 7

I would maybe say 18, but that's a bit hypocritical of me since I started driving before I was 18. The reason for being so conservative is drivers under the age of 21 are WAY more likely to be killed in car crashes than anyone else. It's not even close.

Scientific studies shows the human brain at the age of 16-20 or so is about as clever as an adult brain (and in some ways more so, like mathemeticians need to be young to be great) EXCEPT for decision-making. This part isn't fully developed until later. And the statistics bear this out: death after death on the roads, it's a very sad fact.

I don't think the law is likely to change any time soon - you're quite right about the practicality - so I'd say you and your friends please be careful! I'm not trying to be a party-pooper - but just remember whenever you get in a car it's the equivalent of carrying an AK-47 - you have the capability to kill yourself and others.

Great question! Clearly you're more mature than I ever was, just by the fact that you asked it!

Answer 8

I was about 4 months away from 18 when I got my drivers license. I think 16 is fine but I think you should have to take driving lessons. (I did and it helped alot) I also think you should have to have your permit for a year!  

Answer 9

Well in NC you have to take a drivers education course before you can get your permit (If you are under 18). You can get your permit at 15 and license at 16.

Most teens at my school are horrible drivers so I think it should depend on the person. The driving instructor the teen has should be able to decide whether or not they get it at 16 or 18.

Answer 10

16 its not my fault that stupid ***** avasteer can't ******* drive

Answer 11

I know in the US the rules vary from state to state, but here is what happens in North Carolina...

At the age of 14-1/2 a teen is eligible to go through driver's education which as 2 parts.  The first part is the classroom, where they are taught the "rules of the road," and then the second part (which takes awhile because there are a lot of students and not enough teachers) is the driving part, where they must drive for at least 6 hours on the road, including the interstate.  After that, and if the teen is 15, they are given a certificate that they have to get the principal/assistant principal to sign declaring that their grades are good enough to earn a permit.

Then they go the DMV and take a written test and a vision test (road signs).  Then they are given their permit, meaning they can drive with a licensed adult in the passenger seat.  They must not get a ticket or an infraction for a year, and then they are eligible for a limited provisional license.  To get this they must also pass a road test administered by the DMV.  A limited provisional license limits the driver to drive only between 5 am and 9 pm alone.  After 6 months if they don't get in any accidents or any infractions, then they just get upgraded to a full provisional license, which means that they can drive anytime they want alone.  At 20 that license expires and they have to get their driver's license.

I think that system works very well.  A gradual buildup to a full license is really a good idea, because then you're not throwing a 16/18 year old out into the road with a car.  By the time they get their full provisional license (same thing as a regular license) they will have enough experience that they can drive anytime they want.

I think the same gradual effect should go in for the elderly.  I live in a very popular tourist attraction for the elderly and I'm just going to say...it doesn't matter if a 70 year old can live on their own...their reaction times and sight and visions are wearing down and that endangers other drivers.  So many accidents happen around here that involve elderly drivers.  One elderly woman drove into a building because she forgot which pedal was the gas and which pedal was the brake.  Also as it gets dark their night vision is pot.  My own grandmother about killed me and her when she was driving at night because she said that even with her brights on, she couldn't see the lines on the road and she started to drive on the wrong side.  I think once a person hits 70/75 they should be downgraded to a limited provisional, giving them the ability to drive 5 am to 9 pm.  And then they can continue like that until death or until a doctor says they can't drive.

Answer 12

I think it ought to be younger, perhaps 14 for a learner's permit, full license at 16, and certainly no older!

Either way, testing should be required at any age. Written and practical, with periodic re-testing. There is no such thing as "old" enough. It's a matter of being mature enough, and competent enough. If someone 40 drives drunk, speeds, blasts music, and drives his deuce-and-a-half SUV with a cell-phone in his ear, he really ought not be driving, while a 12-year-old who knows better and acts on that knowledge really should. It's a matter of knowing what you're doing, and then doing it in a not-stupid way.

Answer 13

It should be sixteen, the age when people get jobs and begin to work. I can testify to the maturity level being almost identical at 16 to an 18-year-old. People just hear the term "adult" and think that this automatically makes mature. Driving deaths are from inexperienced drives, but because people get their license at 16 others assume it is from young drivers. Whether you raise the driving age to 18 or to 21 there will be accidents. Stop blaming youth for everything.

It is purely age based. A 95-year-old woman who can barely get up in the morning can legally drive and slam into a motercyclist because she couldnt see.. but a 16-year-old... cannot legally drive at all. Does this make sense?

I like the graduated drivers license laws. But what bothers me, and it really burns, that is if you are over eighteen you do not fall into those laws and get an automatic license after passing. It's time to stop blaming youth for everything and start treating everyone correctly.

Answer 14

I would have to say 16.  In my state (Illinois), teens are required to take a driver's ed class (30 hours classroom, 6 hours behind the wheel with an instructor) to get their permit (before 17 yrs. and 9 mos. of age) and are required to hold that permit for 9 months before getting their license.  One reason I think that the age should be 16 and not 18 is that you can't get your license at 16 unless you have had your permit, which also means that you have taken the class.  It is up to parents (who have to pay for the class and sign the forms) to decide whether their 15-year old is mature enough to get a license at 16.  If the parents say no, there is no legal way for the teen to get their license until either they turn 18 or their parents change their mind.  

Answer 15

In the UK we can get a permit at 17 and start learning to drive once we have it.  We have to complete a certain number of lessons by a qualified instructor (10 I think) then we have to sit a theory test before we can sit our actual test.

Answer 16

i drive my dad's truck and i am 14. i will get my permit at 16-16 and a half, and have to drive with my parents for a year. Then for 6 months i can drive with a drivers licensing, and then by 17 and a half i ca drive by myself.