Independence Changing the driving age to 18 is OUTRAGEOUS!!! In what world do these decision makers live in? Hello?! Parents, teachers, even governmental officials are all advocates of student independence. They constantly preach the importance of individualism, good decision making and the power that we (students) have if we take responsibility for our dreams, goals, and aspirations. How then, in the same breath, does imposing a law forbidding us to drive until the age of 18, go hand in hand with this "independence" that there ever so talking about?? IT DOESN"T. What it does do, is build a crippling chain reaction where, once again, us inspiring dream makers under the age of 18 still have to rely on mommy and daddy to validate our decisions because although I'd love to volunteer at the cancer patient hospital, mommy says its to far for her to drive and she's tired, resulting in another Tuesday night of me sitting in my room, watching Family Guy. Passing this law not only cripples but also limits our independence and freedom! Hello?! Students are going to college by then and chances are they need to drive there themselves. I guess they were thinking that it would make the roads safer. Yeah I think that it would but not being able to drive would make it a lot more stressful on them to get to point A to point B. They still have to rely on there parents or take a taxi or bus? What if the college your going to or the area where your work is doesn't supply buses? I guess you will just be taking a taxi or getting out your best walking shoes. I don't think congress thinks sometimes. They just try to think about safety but there not being realistic at all.
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honestly they were thinking about doing that in NJ too. I don’t understand why they think that RAISING any age will make anything better. it solves NO problems. it creates a more immature population, and it just makes the current generation angry and the next treat it like a forbidden fruit. like the drinking age. . .
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~Crystal
Also, raising the driving age to 18 would be more dangerous with so many 18 year-olds living away from mommy and daddy. From whom would they learn? Their roommate? Or do they then have to pay for a driving instructor? It would shrink the good practice that current drivers under the age of 18 experienced because they had the protection of their parents. There would probably be more accidents.
if someone commutes to college and didnt go to driving school, are they going to ask their parents to drop them off and pick them up?
it's not a good idea. it's better to get your permit, have it for a year under your parent's supervision and then get your license.
I think the motivation behind raising the age to 18 is that a lot of teen drivers are not very responsible when they drive. I've seen enough accidents from stupidity in my school's parking lot to last me a lifetime. I myself don't drive and don't plan on getting my license until after college just because i know I'm not mature enough or responsible enough to handle it. But a lot of teens get it into their heads that an accident will never happen to them, and they get reckless. It's a matter of making the roads safer.
And that's comin' at ya' from yer local redneck hippie.
Personally, I think they should extend the permit period. Give a teen a permit to drive with an experienced adult for two years (as opposed to six months), and they can have their license at 18.
Obviously you are going to disagree with me, because you are (presumably) a teen and would like to drive.
It's no secret, however, that inexperienced drivers cause more accidents than experienced drivers. And it's not hard to figure out why. And it's not hard to think of a solution (better training!)
We would still have accidents, but teen deaths from automobile collisions would be reduced.
Also, "taking responsibility for our dreams, goals, and aspirations" being equal to driving a car is a bit of a stretch...
I know you'll disagree now, but perhaps when you are older and you would have your license in either case, you might think differently. Perhaps not...
i understand where your coming from, but the fact that teens are unexperiance is not what causes accidents. most of the time it'll be older people who think that they can do whatever they want in the saftey of their car and everyone else can get the hell out of their way. As well as younger people who hit a ditch and spinn out, or a patch of ice. thigs like that could happen to anyone.
now, i'm not saying there there arent kids out ther who are stupid. trust me there are...but i think telling kids they cant get tehre real licsense for two years is horrible. the most likelything that will happen is that they'd have to lower the age where you get your permit. so people would start driving at 15 , have 2 years of experiance then they could take there test to drive without their parents. Having been dependent on there parents for 2 years how much better will they function now? when they're on their own?
I'm with Losingctrl.
When I drive by accidents on the freeway, the people are either drunk or young.
When I think of raising the driving age, I think of Europe. And why don't we follow the way Europe does it? They're drinking age is younger and their driving age is older. And they don't have nearly as many problems with alcohol abuse or car accidents as we do.
Sure, when I was fifteen and sixteen, I would have said heck no. But looking back on it, it really wouldn't have been that bad to wait an extra two years. Whaa... I have to take the bus to the movies. Oh well.
On the other hand, I was never really "comfortable" behind the wheel until I was driving on my own. I learned a lot from my parents, yes, but until I didn't become a good driver until I could drive by myself.
I still vote 18. And permit at 17.
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You are the Voice of the Childwen of the Revowution! [Toulouse, Moulin Rouge]
Honestly, as immature as some people are nowadays, I think 16 is a good age to start learning how to drive. Just a year or 2 and people'll be off to college. It's a good idea to get some experience in driving before you go off, and it's very helpful if you live at home during the college years.
The reason they want to raise the driving age is because 16 and 17 year olds get in a lot or crashes. This is true, but it is due to inexperience, not age. Raising the driving age to 18 could have an adverse effect on safety because these so-called adults have just received a large amount of freedom and don't need any new freedom placed upon them. Also, many 18 year-olds have already moved out. Learning to drive should be supervised by responsible adults that already know how to drive, not self-taught by teens.
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.