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Do You Think 16 Is To Young To Have A Driver's License?
Posted by deoangel • 9/08/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: drinking, drivers, Driving, license, teenage, voting
I live in Chicago. There have been several accidents this past week with younger drivers at the wheel that its upsetting.
You have to be 18 to vote. Maybe teenagers should be 18 to drive.
If not, then perhaps they need to start voting at an early age.
User Comments
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Well I think it depends. Me and my cuz's were brought up around tractors,cranes,forklifts,and every kind of motorized invention u can think of. I learned to operate motorized things almost from birth,and so did all of my cuz's -
I know in Chicago you can literally get a copy of the DMV driver's written test from someone off the street. I think that they make it so easy now.
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Really,well that is kind of scary,but its every teenagers right of passage. I had already hit 1 parked car,and been rear ended by the time I got my liscense
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You have to be 18 to vote. Maybe teenagers should be 18 to drive.
Maybe they should, and those two years should be spent learning how to drive more than just "well enough" and not to drive as fast as possible "just because you can".-
I agree. I just think our laws are so inconsistent. They are allowed to operate a vehicle. Cars are not toys. It just crazy. I guess I am venting cause my car got rear ended by a 16 year old yesterday. Her reaction wasn't one of a responsible person.
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Most 16-year-olds I've met/seen aren't as responsible as they should be. They still have an infant mind and have a constant desire to get things done as fast as possible, and that also goes for getting from place A to place B.
Cars are toys, in their eyes. Something they'll want to show off, and they'll throw a fit (as it happened to you) even when it's their fault that their precious car got a little scratch.
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Yea,but I can see the teenagers now. There will be a revolt.
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Twitter will overload, BlackBerrys and iPhones will be thrown about and teenyboppers will say This is, like, so not cool!
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lol
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The vast majority of 16-year olds I grew up with drove perfectly fine and lived to tell the tale - many were pretty responsible and the fact that these kids could drive gave our athletic teams a lot more freedom to practice in wilderness type areas that would otherwise be impractical (buses are expensive) to get to.
As for voting, not old enough to serve in the Army yet. With military service and a high school diploma you have both the incentives and (theoretically, if our school system actually did what it's supposed to; this is, after all, the reason why we have public schools: to educate voters and produce better citizens) tools to engage in civic discourse and be a part of a democracy.
I will say though that a retriction on where they can drive (outside of city centers, airports and other pedestrian intensive areas) could be a good phase-in policy. I really don't care if some stupid kid gets himself killed on a freeway, at that age you're responsible, but maybe you should learn to drive a little better before you operate in a place like downtown Atlanta where the roads are one-way, pedestrians are jaywalking everywhere, street signs can be estoteric and any kind of crash would be more devastating simply because there are people everywhere to hurt. It doesn't take anywhere near as much skill, maturity, et cetera to operate in the suburbs, countryside, industrial areas, freeways, or other lower-use areas, which is the vast majority of where you'd go anyways. Ain't no Walmarts or strip malls in downtown Atlanta.
Of course, if we really want Americans to drive better, take away the speed limits so they actually have to pay attention on the road like in Germany. -
No. I got my licence in New Zealand when I was 15. 35 years later in Australia I became a driving instructor, teaching young people for 7 years. Each person who received their licence demonsrated that they had earned it. Now I work in corporate crash-avoidance consultancy. Research all around the world shows that people don't crash because they can't drive. There are other factors, but basically they crash because of a failure to "switch on." On licence day, they switch on. The average driver crashes about every 12 years. I had 3 in the first 17 years! One of them was not my fault but I still could have avoided it if I had been switched on. I haven't had any since, but there have been many times since, when I failed to switch on. -
I don't think age matters. Here in Korea, taxi drivers are the most dangerous drivers. If you want an excitement in life, you don't need to go to amusement parks, just take a taxi because it feels like your in riding one of the rides at the amusement park. -
In South Africa you must be 18 to buy liquor or tobacco, to vote, to get married, to make legally binding contracts, join the military, and to get a driving license.
Makes sense to me. -
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What does that have to do with driving? -
SPAM SPAM SPAM
Reported
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If it weren't for getting my drivers' license at 16, I never would've experienced driving on the sidewalk or doing donuts in the rain.
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Actually, you would've, at 18. In fact, knowing you, you probably still do that.
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When I was younger, I would have said, "Hell no!" Now that I'm older, I say, "Hell yes!" -
I don't necessarily think there is a problem with age. I think the driving tests are too easy. -
I think people should be graded by the quality of sex they have. The more they can exercise self control, last longer, are considerate to the other, the more mature they are and can handle themselves with a vehicle
Actually this would apply in a lot of places -
In US is stupid, they can't drink at age of 16 but they can drive???
Here you can only drive at the age of 18, smoke at the age of 18, drink at the age of 16, work at the age of 16, so, I think my country is better in that! LOL -
@anthony9910: Actually, the biological reason why you can't drink at 16 is because your liver is not as developed yet. Personally though, I would like to see all ages dropped. (Except voting, for which a high school diploma and selective service registration should be required.)
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They can drive if they are not drunk, not texting on their Blackberry and stop at the 'Stop' sign.
BTW, I read yesterday in a magazine about 'Blackberry Jam' being a phrase used by most. Did you know? read this wordie.org/words/blackberry%20jam -
@jeremyjanson
the liver is developed, well, US is stupid, it was, and will always be, so you can't drink a beer, but you can drive? Which one is worst? Being a little drunk and go to bed, or reckless driving and killing someone?
"(Except voting, for which a high school diploma and selective service registration should be required" My country had a dictator, so everyone should be free to vote, and you seen like one dictator with that atitude... That would take the liberty to free expression, and free vote, that's why you live in a democracy, you should live in my country, where my PM looks like Salazar
So, people who don't go to high schools and finish it couldn't vote... -
I start to drive regularly at 17 in the dangerous streets from my city, people drive like animals many times, dont respect nothing sometimes, its not about age, they drive like crazy people. The age here for drive is 18, I did it without license.-
I learned at 16 xD LOL I still haven't my DL LOL
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Where do you learn to drive in an mechanic or automatic car? I belive mechanic car is difficult, I tried young like 15 and i did it more or less but no so good.
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Mechanic, my father taught me ! There isn't automatic cars in my country! LOOOL
AFter you master the clutch everything gets easy! LOL
I had a friend of mine that had 16 already drive regular, but he was crazy men!!
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That s good, I can not live without my car. I do many things and need to move quickly. Your own car is like a close friend.
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At this moment, I don't have a car and I don't drive one! LOL
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yes sometimes the car is like a toy, you want do crazy things when your are young.
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Yes, but it's danger doing that! I never had done that, not like where the limit is 50km and drives at 120 km ! LOL
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you need a friend with one and drive his car.
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Nah, I don't need a car right now! xD Or a friend that as one xD Although I know many that have LOL
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Well my car is like K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider for me. We have differente perspectives.
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