New Driving age????

[CasingBill]

I've already got my license so I think they should up it to 25!!........

[SlartyBartFast]

My point is this. There are going to be inexperienced drivers with underdeveloped portions of there brain in large numbers, whether the age is 16 or 18. At least at 16 there parents (in theory) have some control.

Do you honestly believe that? How much control do parents have when their 16 yr old kid is off somewhere unknown in their car?

How much control could Mathieu's (the kid killed in that video) parents have been able to have over the stupid decisions that he and his friends took that horrible day in 2000?

[maxama10]

Hey guys, now let me tell you my point of view...

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF CHANGING THE LAW TILL YOU ARE 18!!!

just wait till i get mine in a few months

But seriously guys, we are the crappiest drivers on the planet!! teens suck! and dont you bother telling me you are good, cuz im still 16 myself, but I have had practice enough to the point of being cautious and considered a good driver, and after a few close calls , I was so called "scared straight"... besides that, let me tell you a few stories I have heard from the people themselves who turned 17 and got their license ( NJ kid myself FreakBaller)

1) Parents bought a kid new Honda tiburon, within 3 weeks he had recieve 3 tickets in ONE DAY!!!! speeding, reckless driving, and i dont recall the last...
2) Two weeks after recieving her license, this girl in my spanish class got into an accident in front of the school, right as she was pulling in (was hit by another 18 year old)
3) Just this morning on the way to school, a new driver of a few weeks causes a 5 car pile up on hooper ave, after slamming on the brakes from not paying attention, hitting the car in front of him, and causing cars behind him to avoid him, sending 2 people to the hospital
4) Yesterday, a kid plows into a girl in our parking lot, also from lack of attention or just plain stupidity...

I can go on and on with all the stories of kids getting pulled over for speeding, too many kids in their car, 300 dollar tickets etc...but i wont, I hope you are all intelligent enough to get the point. These teens are the reason insurance rates sky rocket, and driving ages undergo changes; to better the lives of everyone else...Parents with loads of money buying teens brand new cars which they abuse and push to the limit have negative consequences on all of us on the roads. You know how much insurance will be for me, close to 2500 a year, just because I am a young, new driver...I dont know about you, but im paying for my car, gas, and insurance , but thats becuase i worked my rear off to earn it and boy does it feel good to buy what I want knowing I can. But I face the consequences of these idiots and their mistakes..So for me, the change is welcomed....

Have you thought of the kind od driving in NJ though....drive like madmen i lived there a few years ago but we moved. lived right outside of trenton.... pretty scary haha

[maxama10]

Im 16 and Im going to take my test May 2nd. I don't think all young drivers are bad but I understand why they would want to change to law, buy why don't they just make the driving test harder? This way you can have the better of the younger drivers. Oh well it doesn't matter to me, Im in before the new law

I most agree with you though. Make driving tests harder. and also make drivers ed mandatory.

We dont even have it in our highschool. im not sure if GA has it at all infact.

[maxama10]

I doubt it will go nation wide. New Hampshire doesn't even have a seatbelt law, "Live Free or Die" is their motto. Moms and dads would be calling their representatives in droves because a teenaged driver is more convenient than the parent being the family chaffeur.

alright freedom im moving there! lol no but really too many laws now days its almost becoming like communism.

[maxama10]

Do you honestly believe that? How much control do parents have when their 16 yr old kid is off somewhere unknown in their car?

How much control could Mathieu's (the kid killed in that video) parents have been able to have over the stupid decisions that he and his friends took that horrible day in 2000?

and ughh like said earlier i think....if you dont want your kid to drive or dont think your kid is ready to drive. Dont let him on the road. and perhaps maturity doesnt lie in age but in knowledge?but hey what do i know im only a kid right? were expected to be stupid and we're babied and so thats how we act at least thats how it seems to be in my school.... im sick and tired of the kids at my school most of them are stupid and imature but raising the age isnt going to help me any...so perhaps like i said drivers ed... and also harder tests will help.
sorry if my thoughts were jumbled....typed fast gotta go to bed ya know...?

[Lohman446]

Do you honestly believe that? How much control do parents have when their 16 yr old kid is off somewhere unknown in their car?

How much control could Mathieu's (the kid killed in that video) parents have been able to have over the stupid decisions that he and his friends took that horrible day in 2000?

Parents have a legal and moral obligation to have control of there children (under 18 for this argument) using something that has the potential to easily kill. If they do not have this control then they need to seek assistance.

If I allow my child to use a gun and he kills someone with it, I am clearly in the wrong.

Why are cars different?

[Maksimus54]

As an 18yr old who got his licence at 16, I must agree. Kids do stupid stuff and don't have the right kind of development to realize what dangers they are in. My brother is 16 and I realize how unprepared he is for the road. Our driving requirements are soo low that anybody can get a licence. Besides, if a person is unable to vote or pay road taxes, should they be allowed to drive on our streets. Should they be allowed to endanger my life? Honestly I think 18 is too young for some people, and that we need a much more thorough form of drivers education.

[onedude36]

I really like the ideas of harder tests and required drivers ed.

Someone said that parents should restrain their child and not let them drive until they are ready. The flip side is that I think I am almost ready and will most definately be ready by the time I can drive. My parents probably wont let me drive till I'm 17 or 18; even though I'm extremely responsible(though not very respectful when I'm angry).

Just a little bit about my life
(Yes I know you don't care)

[Blennidae]

Parents have a legal and moral obligation to have control of there children (under 18 for this argument) using something that has the potential to easily kill. If they do not have this control then they need to seek assistance.

Is it possible that the proposed law is a parents way of seeking assistance? Do you think the person who came up with the idea might be a parent, or was pressured by parents to do something to help in this area? Parents know they can't be around their child 24/7.

[Lohman446]

Is it possible that the proposed law is a parents way of seeking assistance? Do you think the person who came up with the idea might be a parent, or was pressured by parents to do something to help in this area? Parents know they can't be around their child 24/7.

A good consideration. The basis of this law, to me, is flawed. The brain development they are discussing continues on through the early to mid twenties in most people. If we are going to base this on scientific analysis of brain development then lets do that. If we are going to use science as an excuse... lets find the real reasons.

[thereal_JT]

here in iowa you can get a license at 16 but it has tons of restrictions...cant drive between midight and 6am, they can take your license for 1 ticket. i think this works fairly well here, i was the first year to start it and i got pulled over and they gave me a "trial" and just gave me a slap on the wrist.

kids are not all the problem on the road, its the older people too. i was listening to one of my favorite radio shows and they were talking about being too old to drive and one of the guys said "when they go to collect social security they should have to turn in their drivers license.

a couple weeks ago i was sitting at a stoplight in my little hyundai elantra, it was a bright red car and a bright sunny day. well a great big dodge ram 3500 didn't see me or the red light and slams me about 40mph, long story short he wasnt a kid either, he was 40+.

i guess what i am trying to say is that there is no need for any changes, there are going to be good and bad drivers everywhere and in ALL age ranges, i do believe the laws should be stricter in getting a license: driving test every year or every other...just stuff like that.

JT

[Lohman446]

i guess what i am trying to say is that there is no need for any changes, there are going to be good and bad drivers everywhere and in ALL age ranges, i do believe the laws should be stricter in getting a license: driving test every year or every other...just stuff like that.JT

Nothing against you, or anyone in particular, I have my share of driving oopses and violations. Statistics show that young driver's have more accidents than others - and an alarming number of these accidents involve factors which make them more serious - speed and sleep deprivation being high on the list.

Research indicates that the frontal portion of the brain that helps regulate "risk" taking activites, basically the warning portion of your brain, continues to develop in the early to mid twenties (this is why I don't see a big advantage to changing to 18).

I agree with you that graduated licenses have helped and are a good step. Experience is a big part of driving regardless of other, biological factors. We, as a whole, need to control how this experience is gained - for an inexperienced driver to be on the highway, wiht the distractions of four of his friends, in a car of questionable mechanical merit (think about many teenagers cars), and driving at high speeds, late at night, is dangerous, Statistics prove this and that is why you have the restrictions you do on graduated licenses.

Many states do not have good systems for graduated licenses, I agree this is the best solution. We just need to look at how to make it most effective. My position is that simply pushing back driving to 18 will have very little change. The science they use to justify it in that article is questionable at best - if brain development is going to be the main factor we use (and I do not think it should be) then it is very easy justifying it being 25. I also have insurance company risk analysis to indicate this being a point to. However, I think we are not using good research of what would happen. Simply moving the driving age to 18, will, in my mind, only delay the problems 16 year old drivers have until they are 18. I would rather have those problems at 16, when in theory, the parents should have some oversight. As stated above they have a legal and moral obligation to have some control over there 16 year old, however unfair the teenager thinks it is.

[Timmee]

High school kids shouldn't have to go to a classmates funeral, just so parents don't have to worry about bringing their kids to the places they need to go. I've had to deal with this, as well as my younger sister. In my sisters case, 2 of her high school classmates were killed when the car they were traveling in slammed into a large tree at 90+ mph. They were on a narrow road that has a posted 25mph speed limit, and they were not wearing their seatbelts.

My parents didn't allow my older sister to go ANYWHERE without one of them in the car, for the first 6 months that she had her license (she got hers at 16). After that, she was only allowed to use the car without other passengers in it. For me, it was the same thing, although I wasn't allowed to get my license until I was almost 18 (it was a question of maturity). For my younger sister, you guessed it: same thing. True, my sisters and I have had accidents despite my parents precautions, but I believe that those accidents were minor because we didn't take driving casually (my parents actions helped make sure of that). Too many parents nowadays don't take that kind of time when it comes to their kids driving.

My suggestion? Let kids go to and pass 2 years of drivers ed, pass a tougher driving test, and get a license when they turn 18. If the government can't trust someone to operate a deli slicer until they're 18, what makes them think someone can safely operate a vehicle when they're 16?

[Thordic]

High school kids shouldn't have to go to a classmates funeral, just so parents don't have to worry about bringing their kids to the places they need to go.

100% agree. I had to go to a classmates funeral in HS, and another classmate was paralyzed from the waist down from the same accident.

I love that NJ has raised the driving age, hopefully we'll see a result. Right now we have the highest driving age in the country. The rest of you need to catch up :)

There is no need to kids in high school to be driving. I didn't get my license in high school, and I didn't miss it. I wasn't living a horribly deprived life simply because I didn't drive. It isn't the end of the world if you can't get your license till you are 18, and you just may be saving a life (and that life could very well be your own).

I think permit at 17, license at 18 is the way to go. You can't restrict licenses past 18 though, because at 18 you are an adult. You are entering the work force (or going to college, but still), and aside from drinking you take on all the responsibilities of an adult. I think cutting 16 year olds out of the picture, and putting permit restrictions on 17 year olds, will help the problem immensely. 18 year old may not be perfect drivers, but they do a better job than 16 year olds.