Poll: In the States you can have a drivers license at 16. That is much too young.

[Jacco]

I just got back from the DMV because I had to renew my plates and as normal it was packed to the brim with people. What was abnormal, was that about 70% of them were teenagers there with their parents. As I looked around at them, not one of them looked older than about 15 or 16.

Then I thought of something that happened to me the other day in which I was driving merrily along, minding my own business (as best you can when you are driving) and this little Sedan was ahead of me in the lane to the left. We were coming to a red light and I started to put on my breaks when it suddenly lurched to the side and swerved into my lane. Had I not already had my foot on the break pedal and applying them, I would have mulched the back of that little car and more than likely neither of us would have walked away from it. The car missed me by literally about 2 feet and then swerved back into its own lane and straightened out before coming to a stop. As I pulled up next to it, I couldn't help but look to see who was driving.

It was a 16 or 17 year old girl and, I shit you not, she had her phone to one ear, a tube of mascara or something in the other and was looking in the rearview mirror as she was applying it. One knee was resting on the bottom of the steering wheel and the other leg looked like it was operating the pedals. I was so shocked and stunned that all I could do was stare at her until the car behind me beeped his horn because the light was green. Then off she was again, driving with her knee.

The kicker is that this isn't just a one time thing. I see teenagers do stupid things behind the wheel all the damn time, whether its showing off for their friends or just being an idiot. They don't seem to realize that more often than not, if they cause an accident, it will be the other person who pays a bigger price. I did my fair share of stupid things behind the wheel when I was in high school and looking back now (I'm 21) I will be the first to tell you none of us were ready for that responsibility.

If you're too lazy to read all of that, basically I decided that 16 is too young to drive because I almost died the other day thanks to a stupid 16 year old girl.

If you live in the States, what is your opinion? If you live outside the States, what is your opinion? How does it work where you live?

 

[InquisitorGeneral]

Wow. The poll results are completely polar(at time of post). 1-3-3-1. That's interesting.

 

[Mookie_Magnus]

I am 20 years old, American, and still don't have my driver's lisence.

 

[Dags90]

The ages are different in each state. In Wyoming it can be as low as 14 with special circumstances, but here in New Jersey you can't drive unsupervised until you're 17.

I was a fine driver when I was 17, and I've seen adults pull the same stupid shit you saw. My mom tried activating a phone while driving, which involved talking on one phone while punching in keys on another. I told her to either pull over to activate the phone, do it later, or let me get the Hell out.

 

[Jedoro]

Nope. The stupid ones will get hurt or killed, and hopefully not take anyone with them.

 

[Stilkon]

I'm a 17-year-old with my drivers license. And, frankly, I don't do stupid shit like that when driving a car. I feel like it would be a better idea for people to be judged whether or not they're fit to drive by their maturity, though unfortunately there's no way to quantify that.

You're correct in that this girl should not have been multitasking; however, just because a driver is irresponsible doesn't mean that they're young. I've been driving down the highway, looked in the car on my left, and saw a twenty-something-year-old woman texting. Irresponsibility is the issue, not the age.

 

[Chameliondude]

It would be too young in england with roundabouts and country lanes and shiz, but american driving can be boiled down to go forward, stop, turn, go forward, repeat...

Turns out planning roads after the invention of cars makes it far easier (if not a little dull)

 

[UNHchabo]

I live in the US, and I think 16 is a fine age to get your license. However, I do want to see harsher enforcement for reckless driving.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

My father is a cop and when he wants to roll a cigarette he sometimes drives with his knee as well.

Still, I see what you mean here.
The percentage of irresponsible douches drops a lot at around 18, when reality checks start rolling in. I do not think it's wise to let the average 16 year old drive around.
Pretty sure deaths and injuries per age category agree with me here...

 

[Actual]

Wait, your poll is confusing. Am I voting 'yes 16 is too young to drive' or 'yes 16 year olds should be allowed to drive'?

I do believe 16 is too young, here in the UK it's 17 and that's still too young.

Voting, drinking and sex should all be allowed long before driving, because it's very hard to kill people with those. Killing people with a car takes a slip of concentration.

However learning to drive is not easy and is best attempted young. I think the law should be changed so 17/16 years old can drive but only as provisional drivers, so they have a fully qualified person in the passenger seat to make sure they don't stop concentrating. Perhaps allow a full drivers licence once they've clocked a certain number of hours behind the wheel. This would be almost impossible to enforce, but in an ideal world would be nice.

 

[artanis_neravar]

I was completely ready for the responsibility at that age

 

[Stryc9]

And your point is? I see stupid ADULTS doing stupid things behind the wheel all the time too. I've so more adults doing completely stupid shit while driving than teenagers.

I've seen people, I shit you not READING FUCKING BOOKS while driving down the freeway at 75-90 MPH. They had a fucking paperback book propped up against the steering wheel while they were driving and their eyes were glued to the book, not the road ahead of them. Or even reading a fucking newspaper and driving. On top of this were the ones on their phones, doing work on their laptops, eating, and in the morning applying makeup or getting dressed in their cars.

Stupidity while driving doesn't just contain itself to teenagers who just got their license, I'm sorry but you're just being pissy because you almost got hit the other day, then you were inconvenienced by having to deal with them at the DMV.

 

[artanis_neravar]

Wait, your poll is confusing. Am I voting 'yes 16 is too young to drive' or 'yes 16 year olds should be allowed to drive'?

I do believe 16 is too young, here in the UK it's 17 and that's still too young.

Voting, drinking and sex should all be allowed long before driving, because it's very hard to kill people with those. Killing people with a car takes a slip of concentration.

However learning to drive is not easy and is best attempted young. I think the law should be changed so 17/16 years old can drive but only as provisional drivers, so they have a fully qualified person in the passenger seat to make sure they don't stop concentrating. Perhaps allow a full drivers licence once they've clocked a certain number of hours behind the wheel. This would be almost impossible to enforce, but in an ideal world would be nice.

That's how it is here (In Maine) except you get your permit(what you just described) at 15

 

[Navvan]

Nope, and while we're at it make stricter policies on reckless driving, renewals yearly, and a test mandatory upon each renewal. Also increase the availability and scope of public transport.

 

[TheRenaissanceMan]

Lets get things straight here, at 16 (at least in my state) you are eligible to get your driving permit. You have to be accompanied by somebody who has had a valid license for 5 years. Not until you are at least 17 and a half do you get your full, no strings attached, drivers license.

Now, what you saw sadly is a common occurrence. I live in what is statistically, the worst state in the country for driving, and I see what you described quite frequently.

I just think it depends on the person, I know teenagers that are much more responsible drivers than their parents. I think its really a person by person thing, rather than a broad "16 year olds should drive"

Personally I just think that the test you take to get your permit should be more difficult, and include a driving portion.

 

[Jacco]

Wait, your poll is confusing. Am I voting 'yes 16 is too young to drive' or 'yes 16 year olds should be allowed to drive'?

"Yes, 16 is too young to drive."