Is 16 too young for a drivers license?

[Reverend_Smitty]

http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20050302072509990030&ncid=NWS00010000000001
it's an interesting article that raises the issue that the 16 year old brain may not be mature enough to handle the stresses of driving.

"New findings from brain researchers at the National Institutes of Health explain for the first time why efforts to protect the youngest drivers usually fail. The weak link: what's called "the executive branch" of the teen brain -- the part that weighs risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behavior."

"The research seems to help explain why 16-year-old drivers crash at far higher rates than older teens. The studies have convinced a growing number of safety experts that 16-year-olds are too young to drive safely without supervision."

What do you guys think about this? I'm from New Jersey so I had to wait until I was 17 to get my license...now you only get a provisional license at 17 and your full license at 18. I believe we are the only state with that policy. It sucked waiting that extra year but I do feel that there is a big difference in maturity in Sophomores and Seniors in HS.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Heck, you can get a pilot's license at 17.

[shawcomm]

2. I think 16 is too young to be driving unsupervised.

[jonnyblitz]

3. I drove around at 16 and I probably shouldn't have.

now that I look back on it.

[AlCzervik]

4. My dad wouldn't let me get mine till i was 17 1/2

in hindsight for my case that was proably a smart move.

[SmokingJacket]

5. I think it's too young.

A couple of teenagers were killed here recently because they swerved to avoid a cat -- the kind of mistake adults rarely make, because they have better control over their impulses.

I love cats... but if one appeared in the road in front of me and I didn't have time to stop, bye bye kitty.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. I would swerve to avoid a cat.

And I'm way old. But I've been driving for, oh, a millenium or so, and therefore I might be better at swerving safely than a young kid who doesn't have experience controlling a car.

[dflprincess]

6. I got my permit at 15 and license at 16

At the time (about 35 years ago) I didn't think it was too young. However, yesterday my brother's twins turned 15 and are chomping at the bit to take driver's ed so they can get their permits. The thought of it makes me woozy. (I've felt this way as the other nieces and nephews have reached driving age). They seem too young.

Seriously, it probably depends on the child and, let's be honest, there are adults who aren't responsible enough to have a license.

The advantage, at least in Minnesota, of kids getting their license before they turn 18 is that they have to have some formal driver's ed before they can do it. They have to complete classroom training before they can get the permit and they have to have the permit for at least 6 months and complete behind the wheel training before they can take the test for their license. As inadequate as driver's ed can be, there is some evidence that it does some good and there is concern here about the number of kids who are just waiting to get their license when they're 18 and getting no formal training. The law has been changed so that between 18 and 21 you have to wait 6 months between getting your permit and getting your license, but there is no requirement for classes.

[Deja Q]

8. NO WAY.

I often see the young and the very old be the cause of accidents.

Two 18-year olds played chicken with me on the freeway a few years' back. I didn't budge and if I had a cell phone that day I'd have called the cops and get their sorry asses in jail where they'd be sure, unlike me, to get a boyfriend.

[cally]

9. Maybe but then we, as a society, think it's OK to try them

as adults and send them to prison for the rest of their lives. If we really want to discuss the teen brain then we have to discuss consequences of crime. We also have to discuss college admissions since we pretty much assume that teens march step through HS with a stellar record if they want to be accepted to a top notch school.

I think we are insane. As far as driving, some teens are perfectly sane and others shouldn't drive until they are 25. Still, driving is necessary in our culture. Most teens need to work and help with siblings. Let them drive.

Edited to add: My 17 1/2 year old got her license the day she turned 16. She's a good driver now but she was pretty scary the first year. My youngest will get her permit in a few months. I think she will be a good driver.

[liontamer]

10. i don't think so

as with many things, there's a lot of individual variance. I was a responsible driver at 16. The main issue young drivers have is that they lack experience. Sure some kids are too irresponsible to drive at 16, but I don't think they're in the majority. Heck I knew people who started driving when they were 14 and they're great drivers.

[LiberalEsto]

11. Way too young

Maryland allows learner permits at 15 years & 9 months; licenses at 16 & 1 month. No way do these kids have the judgement to handle cars in today's traffic. Maybe it was okay in the 1940s when there were fewer cars on the road, but not now.

I went to high school in New Jersey in the late 1960s. You got a permit at 16 1/2 and a license at 17, but first you were taught driver ed rules for one marking period by your gym teachers. Then you got a week of behind-the-wheel with a big, tough coach who didn't take any guff from anyone. Only after this, and passing your written and road tests, were you allowed to drive on your own.

In Maryland my kids took their driving classes at unregulated driving schools where the instructors barely spoke English. They had 2 hours of behind the wheel with the instructors. Luckily the state requires 40 hours of behind the wheel training with a parent or guardian, so my husband spent a lot of time teaching them everything he could.

I don't think anyone is mature enough to get a license before 17, and there should be state-regulated driving schools, graduated licensing, and a longer period of behind-the-wheel instruction.

[Reverend_Smitty]

12. I agree...

NJ is a great model for driver's ed. I got my license in 2000 and it was the same system. An entire marking period Sophomore year spent on driver's ed, 2 weeks in a "driving simulator" (which was a joke). 2 weeks in behind the wheel with a gym teacher with a certification. Then of course the written and road test.

[LiberalEsto]

13. Wow! They still have driver ed in schools in NJ?

That's wonderful.
Maryland schools dumped driver ed about 15 years ago to save money. I think the results -- many teen car fatalities -- speak for themselves.

[northzax]

19. I think drtiver's ed is BS

frankly. The single best way to learn is from your parents, Drivers Ed can be a nice back up, a good way to reinforce things, but I am a big fan of mandated time, with a parent, driving. If your parents are good drivers, you'll likely be a good driver. I vote for 100 hours behind the wheel, signed off on by a parent or guardian. For those who claim it's a burden, well, it's a hundred days of driving to school and home, and to the store, and to grandma's house. A huge percentage of adults spend 1 hour/day in their cars. From the time I got my learner's permit (15 in oregon) I drove with someone, a parent, a trusted adult friend, in every condition, for 18 months beofre I finally got around to getting my license (full disclosue, I didn't really need my license, I didn't have a car and all my friends did) By the time I finally got around to it, I have probalby driven 2000 miles, in five different vehicles (from a hatchback to a f-250) on the flat, in the hills and mountains, in rain, snow and fog, on highways and back roads in cities and towns. I drove automatics, manuals, and even a three on the tree. I spent time in rush hour traffic and on the open road. By the end, it was routine. And my parents knew I was operating to their standards.

worth noting that none of that stopped me from doing some crazy stuff, but I was never really all that stupid. And somehow got lucky, the biggest traffic citation I have ever recieved was for jaywalking (just beating out a ticket for doing 72 in a 65) it's been fourteen years.

[mark414]

14. of course not

there are 40 year olds out there who shouldn't be driving.

there are people of every age and background who shouldn't be driving.

no use in punishing everyone for some idiots, cause you're gonna find idiots everywhere

[CO Liberal]

15. It's Proven here in Colorado All The Time

Each year, 16-year-old drivers are involved in fatal accidents, many involving crossing railroad tracks at crossings without signal lights. There are a lot of those in rural areas of Colorado, and some new drivers think they can beat the train.

I grew up in NJ, where the driving age was 17. I had a few weeks of behind-the-wheel training in the Fall of 1969, and got my license in January of 1970, around the time I started taking classroom Drivers Ed. So the classroom training served to reinforce what I had to learn to pass the written test.

Many schools no longer offer behind-the-wheel, because of insurance liability problems. That's a shame, because it was very useful.

That being said, I believe that 16 is too young for an unrestricted driver's license. And some states allow driving at even earlier ages, which is ridiculous.

And before some people around here (who shall remain nameless, but they know who they are) use this post as evidence that I "hate kids", I'm simply stating facts. If you can't handle facts, then maybe that shows that your brain hasn't adequately matured yet.

[One_Life_To_Give]

16. Depends where one grows up

By 14 some kids have spent time driving tractors, trucks and heavy equipment. By the time they are 16 they have driven more miles unsupervised than most 18yr olds.

Also the relative benefit of being able to drive yourself, varies greatly by location. There is not much need if you live in Boston's Back Bay, as opposed to Conway Mass.

[noonwitch]

17. It depends on the kid

And a lot on how much experience he gets while supervised prior to getting his license.

I drove at 16 and never had any problems, but my parents had strict rules about driving. I had to pay my own insurance and I understood that it went up if I got a ticket. I wasn't allowed to drive in snow until I had done so several times with a parent in the car.

I earned my parents trust on the driving thing. I never got in trouble while a teen, I obeyed their rules and got good grades. It needs to be remembered that although a kid is eligible to drive at 16, he or she can't get a license without parental approval. Parents need to use discretion when making the decision and need to know their kids very well.

[xmas74]

18. I lived in a small town

and practically had to get my license-the day after my 16th birthday (first day the license bureau was open). I drove to work, drove myself and my brother to school, etc.
OTOH-I dispatch for a living. I get calls every day about vehicle accidents that happened and some of them are deadly. Many of them are teens who want to show off and "be cool" in front of their friends.
I dont' know. I can understand both sides of the issue. Maybe all states need to go to a provisional license, where the teen can only have one other passenger in the vehicle with them (since, in my experience, most of the teen accidents happened when there were a group of teens in the car).