The minimum driving age should be lowered to 14.
By
Alistair Young
on August 03, 2007
I'm not really as invested in this as in the other two, but the limited licenses which some places issued allowing children to drive to and from school, and for that matter, to drive farm equipment to help out their parents don't seem to have caused carnage on the roads, where implemented.
And, really, moving driving ahead to let adolescents get some experience of it before the Age Period Of Dumb-Ass Ideas is in full flower probably wouldn't hurt.
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- Alistair Young's comment on The minimum ages should be 16 for voting, 18 for drinking and 21 for driving.
Discussion (13)
In my opinion, it shouldn't be up to the government to decide when we can drive. That authority isn't mentioned in the Constitution (including Bill of Rights) or Declaration of Independence, which is all that matters.
That's true, but there is probably a public safety issue there, of the kind that directly damages other people. Although I have occasionally thought that it might be possible to leave it up to the willingness of insurers to insure.
I would say you should be able to get a permit once you're tall enough to operate the pedals and see over the steering wheel. And then a license when you can demonstrate that you are a competent driver.
I got my farm permit at 14.
http://www.ksrevenue.org/dmvteen.htm
Honestly, I don't think there should be a minimum driving age.
There should, however, be a stupid dumbass test.
@Alkanshel: ideally, I'd agree with you and Chron on this one; in practice, I can see why society insists on using age as a stand-in for a bunch of minimum-competence things for efficiency's sake, and so...
Well, yes. People can't come up with new ways of calculating age as easily, whereas idiots will get around ANY idiot-proof system in a matter of years.
+1 w/ Alkanshel.
Duncan, You cannot involve the constitution into this. The constitution was created in the late 1700's. We are in the 21st century. The constitution doesn't state anything about cars and driving age because it wasn't officially modernized by the world yet. The constitution never said man could walk on the moon, and we did. The constitution doesn't determine everything.
No, but it goddamn should determine everything the federal government does. There is a built-in mechanism for bringing it up to date, and we should use that, rather than ignore the document except when it is convenient.
What do you mean, the Constitution came with an update feature?
You have to pay an extra $399.99 to use that in the Enterprise edition.
Children going through puberty are still learning how to control the movements of their own growing body. It's no time for them to be in control of a tonne or more of powerful fast-moving machinery.
i personally think that it should be 18. more cars sold= more gas which= global warming, and ozone depletion