Should the driving age be changed to 18?

Question

do you think that the driving age should be changed to 18 if not why do you think that way?

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

do you really want people to start driving when they go to college???

Answer 3

Yes it should.....................

APRIL 2008

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured.

Drivers age 15- to 20-years old accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 (latest data available) the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

(NHTSA, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov ).

Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly.

In fact, the risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens.

Answer 4

No.  There are many good, honest teens who have part time jobs to help save money and prepare for college, not to mention help parents out by paying for their own clothes and entertainment money.  The legal age should stay the same.

Answer 5

its already at 18 in nyc

Answer 6

**** NO!

Answer 7

No I dont. If the teen is irresponsiblr or immature the parents should make the mature and smart decision to let them drive or not. I dont think you should take away the driving privlige from a mature and respnsible teen because of stupid c**p some teens do.

Answer 8

nah. they'll still be unexperienced if they can't get the license until they are 18. i think someone who started at 16 is going to be more experienced than someone who's starting at 18. i'm 16 myself

Answer 9

A lot of people saying that if you waited till you were 18 years old they wouldn't know how to drive. I never drove before and I got my license at 18 and I passed. I'm a good driver just like everyone else. I don't think it should really be changed I just think that 16 year old should have a good reason on why they need their permit or license at that age. Only reason why they get it is to get jobs, they get jobs to get money, but use the money to do things or buy things they don't really need anyway. You shouldn't need a license at that young of a age unless its really necessary.

Answer 10

No. There are many responsible teens who can drive. If you change it until 18, you're just pushing the time for the inexperience up by two to four years.

Also, your inhibiting the group of high school students that would like to work while in their junior and senior years of high school. Plus, there is a small group of people (including myself) who aren't 18 before they leave high school. I didn't skip a grade, it was just something to do with my birthday.

On the flipside, I think they need to ban mobile phone usage for anyone under the age of 18. I'm sick of getting rear ended by some 17 year old girl who was yapping on the phone like there's no tomorrow.

Answer 11

In Tennessee, you can get your learner's permit at 15, IF you are in good standing at school and not truant or dropped out of school.  You can only drive with a parent or adult in the car.  You have to have your learner's permit at least 6 months to get your driver's license at 16.  You have to log a certain amount of driving hours, some of the night driving before getting your license.

At 16, you get a limited license.  With this limited license, you can have only one under age passenger in the car and you have to be off the streets by 11 P.M.

I think there may be another level at 17, but we just didn't bother going with that one for our son.  I'm not sure if it allowed more passengers or a later curfew.

At 18, you are able to get your full license.  

I think this is a VERY sensible plan, as it allows teens to gain driving experience, and have a job, ect. but limits some of the practices that lead to more of the tragedies we see with teen drivers.