Why is the legal age to drive in USA 16yo?

Question

isnt it dangerous? Does it makes more car accidents involved to teenagers?

Answer 1

i thinks its ok, but they should make the tests harder to pass

Answer 2

Probably because the legal age for employment is also 16.  If you have a permit to work at a younger age for whatever reason, you can easily obtain a work permit to drive as well.

Answer 3

Because some idiots in government thought it would be a great idea to have irresponsible children out on the roads in death machines.

I think it goes back historically to farm children being needed to drive the tractors and trucks to help out on the farm.

Answer 4

so drivers 15-20 are the leading ages?

so we should wait till were 21 then to drive..

suuure

Answer 5

Yes it is dangerous and should be changed..............

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 6

because that's the age the government decided people had to be

Answer 7

it depends on ur state...like in california, i have to wait until im 16...but like in idaho, u have to be 14...so it all depends.

Answer 8

I like to think that age is a number.  What matters is appropriate experience.  If someone behind the wheel is driving and never had the right learning experience they are gonna be poor drivers. No matter what age they are.

Answer 9

all depends permit comes first though.