From what I see on the roads every day, there are just as many stressed-out, impatient, angry, stupid, wild full-fledged adults out there than teenagers.
While I agree that experience is the most important thing when it comes to driving, I wholeheartedly disagree that new drivers should have limitations on their driving such as not being allowed to drive in a city (how many teens live in those zones, btw?) or, like in Ontario, not being allowed on the highways. I also disagree with the current systems in both Ontario and Quebec (the only ones I’m familiar with) which allow people to “learn on their own” or with a parent - I think they should go back to having mandatory lessons and driving classes. My first city and highway experiences were with a qualified instructor, in a learner’s car (where he could use the brakes if necessary) and I learned how to drive under those circumstances. Positive experience, right off the bat!
I know someone in Ontario for whom it took long enough to get her license allowing her to drive on the 400 highways, that by the time she was allowed to, she was so stressed and panicked about it that she was scared to do so. It was a huge obstacle for her, and when she did take the highways, she was a bad driver as a result. I know a lot of people who are afraid to drive in the city for the same reason - they weren’t allowed to (often by their parents) when they were first learning to drive, and so as adults, they have no experience with it, and therefore make more mistakes and become a bigger hazzard on the road. 10 years of driving in the country won’t help you at all in the city.
Make everyone who wants to learn how to drive take lessons from a qualified instructor, introduce them to as many possible situations as they can get to, and you’ll end up with better drivers. I think a 16 year old can certainly handle that. I did.
It’d be interesting if they could tie driver’s licensing to some sort of maturity test, rather than “simply” passing a written test and a behind the wheel test. I didn’t get my license until nearly 17 mainly because we never got around to getting down to the DMV to take it, and then I passed without even having a road test (just the parking/serpentine thing in the DMV lot). I was, evidently, a lot more ready for it than a lot of 17 year olds - I had some scary rides from classmates, and 2 out of my 3 brothers had significant wrecks before their 18th birthday. Neither of them (and many of my classmates) were obviously not mature enough!!!
Really, it depends on the kid. I don’t see letting either of my kids get their licenses much before their 18th birthdays… I’d like to make 'em wait longer but after 18, I can’t control that. Both of them have issues that make me seriously doubt that they’d be safe behind the wheel at, say, 16.
The important thing here is being familiar with the car you’re driving. My car has ABS so of course I “simply put [my] foot to the ground”.
I think a good age to get a learner’s permit is 16 with parent/guardian accompanyment until 18. I’ve already started talking to my 9 year old about driving decisions. Mostly when I call someone else an idiot on the road I explain to her why what they did was dumb.
We live in an area with a good system of subway trains and buses so there is no need for my kids to get a permit and license at the youngest age allowable. I think I’ll allow a permit on their 16th birthday after a good driver’s education course and a defensive driving course and I think 17 for the actual license with lots of supervised experience. I like Virginia’s passenger and curfew restricitions on driver’s under 18 - only 1 passenger allowed in the car (doesn’t apply to family) and no driving between midnight & 4 am (unless with parent or in an emergency). Plus I like that as a parent I have the legal right to suspend my under 18 child’s license if necessary, by calling the DMV or going online.
They should be able to learn as soon as they’re physically and mentally capable of driving a car as well as can be expected from someone who’s never driven before. I can’t imagine that being any later than 15 for the vast majority of kids, and it’d probably be a few years earlier for many of them.
They should be allowed to drive as soon as they can demonstrate the ability to drive safely. The tests should probably be made harder, but if someone can pass the test, he should get a license, no matter when he was born.
