16 is too young to drive!

You'd probably say that 45 years old is about the same as 55, but you probably wouldn't say that 5 years old is the same as 15 years old. And that would be correct. While there's a 10 year difference in both cases, critical developmental changes occur between 5 years old and 15 years old that don't occur between 45 and 55. Similarly, there are far greater number of differences between a 12 year old and a 16 year old than there are between a 16 year old and a 20 year old.

Lastly, I don't know that I'd say an 18 year old is "done growing up," nor would I say that a 20 year old is fully done growing up (can't even have a beer!). Shit man, I'm 21 and definitely don't look (or act) like a grown man. It's not so plain and simple, and to postpone driving until full development is finished (24 maybe?) would be nearly ridiculous.

I never said to bar people from driving until they were 18.

Yay yay, everyone loves to argue on message boards and takes parts of other posts and mold them into how they can look the smartest about it, was just trying to make a valid point. People love to play the devil's advocate though... whatever..... I'm done. I guess a lot of people think that even though 16 year olds are not legal adults, they should be allowed the unrestricted control of motor vehicles. I don't think anyone is ever "done growing up." The government works on generalizations and at 18 you're closer to done maturing or growing up or whatever you want to call it than 16.

Hell!
If there's grass on the field..."Playball!"

A few months ago, there was a 16-y.o. girl that just got her license two weeks before who was going down a 45 mph road at about 120-130mph. She killed a person who was sitting in his parked car when she crashed into it at that speed. She lived, and I think she's getting involuntary vehicular manslaughter. Point being: 16 isn't necessarily too young to drive, but maybe it's the quality of instruction that should be looked at. People can really be inattentive idiots sometimes, and I'm really sorry that this idiocy involved such a tragic loss.

i think we should let kids get their learner's a13 and drivers at 14....that way my age group might finally get a insurance break....freakin car insurance rapping me in the ass!!

Hmmm. . .Eighteen used to be too young to vote. Then, the Vietnam Draft came along and the war dragged on and on with many young Americans dead. Now, Americans can vote at age eighteen.

I am sorry for your loss.

There is no inherently safe age at which a person can operate a car. And in public there are no safe situations.

People have to start driving some time. It seems that 16 works for most people.

I personally support these minimum age limits:
-16 Permit (must be with a licensed adult while driving),
-17 Junior License (allowed to drive alone but with a curfew),
-18 License

That offers people a chance to ease into driving.

In NYS, we have to take a written exam on the rules of the road to get a permit. To get a license, we have to take a safety class (with a written test) and then pass a road test within a certain period of time after taking the class. I don't know if there's any better way of checking to see if someone is qualified to get a license.

You can't legislate the pain away

Yeah, give 16 year olds the chance to drive, and if they fuck up, punish them harshly. And if they have responsible parents, it works out even better.

yes

The graduated system that they implemented here seems to be working too. It takes over a full year to be able to get a "real" licence.