Is it a good idea to raise the driving age limit to 18?

[Slaggis]

The government have been thinking about whether or not to increase the minimum age of drving from 17 to 18. This is because 33% of all accidents in cars happen to people aged 17-21 apparently.

I think its ridiculous. I've been waiting to beable to drive for a few years now and can't wait (only just over 1 year left). I dont see why they can't just intrduce some more measures to give people more experience and make them better at driving etc instead of banning people untill their 18 completely.

Any of you guys got an opinion this?

[Roostophe]

I don't care, I'm 18 in September and it doesn't look like I'll be learning to drive anytime soon.

[Strider]

Overall no, i don't think they should because i'm 16 so i would be abit pissed off about it. However if its after October the 5th and ive started driving they can do what they want.

[Cube]

At 17, it's perfect for those who want to learn before they go off to uni.

[Eddage]

The government have been thinking about whether or not to increase the minimum age of drving from 17 to 18. This is because 33% of all accidents in cars happen to people aged 17-21 apparently.

I think its ridiculous. I've been waiting to beable to drive for a few years now and can't wait (only just over 1 year left). I dont see why they can't just intrduce some more measures to give people more experience and make them better at driving etc instead of banning people untill their 18 completely.

Any of you guys got an opinion this?

The government have been 'thinking' about doing this for about 10 years, I doubt it's gonna happen any time soon!

Personally I'm 20 and have been driving for 2 1/2 years so I couldn't care less! :heh:

[Jordan]

Its not gunna stop the under age drinkers, thats for sure.

[mcj metroid]

Am no young people can be stupid. Besides it makes it extrememly inconvenent for people with jobs etc. Stupid idea your government would suck if they did it.

[Slaggis]

The government have been 'thinking' about doing this for about 10 years, I doubt it's gonna happen any time soon!

Personally I'm 20 and have been driving for 2 1/2 years so I couldn't care less! :heh:

true, but the daily mail did a big campaign to raise the limit a few months back and in november last year the government announced they would announce plans this year about what they were going to do.

[Colin]

I think they should raise it to 21 personally. So yaaaah, I voted for it to be raised.

[Shino]

Most young people are reckless and irresponsible, although 1 year doesn't make that much of a difference, its an extra year for them to grow up.

[darksnowman]

Yeah, why not. People are too obsessed with getting to 17 and getting a car. Sweat it out another year kids. At the very least you'll live another year without totalling your beloved car and mangling yourself, too.

[Slaggis]

Most young people are reckless and irresponsible, although 1 year doesn't make that much of a difference, its an extra year for them to grow up.

:o Comon', thats not fair. Most younger people are actually perfectly responsible and would take a great deal of care when driving. Its a minority of young people that would go out get drunk, drive and mangle up their car and themselves. Give some of us some credit, please.

[Fields]

This is an urban myth, has been doing the rounds forever. Not going to happen.

[Tilim]

The age limit is 18 here, and it has been for several years. I actually have no idea for how long it's been like this, I just remember it's been this way all the time. :p
Some people may be responsible drivers at 17, and other not.
I dunno.. 18 is normal to me, so I don't see any problem. x)

[Ginger_Chris]

I'll say no, because people who are idiots and drive like idiots at 16, are usually still just as stupid when they are 18, or 21 or 35, if they manage to live that long. It would make no difference to raise the age to 18, apart from making Darwinian selection slightly slower.

Driving tests should be have to be retaken every 10 years, I'm all for idiots killing themselves by dangerous driving, the problem is when they kill innocent people as well.

[mcj metroid]

Not everyone drives like an idiot at 17 though. It's the novelty of having your first car. If they even raised the age to 21 the same thing would happen. it just takes people a few years to get old and boring.

[Slaggis]

Not everyone drives like an idiot at 17 though. It's the novelty of having your first car. If they even raised the age to 21 the same thing would happen. it just takes people a few years to get old and boring.

exactly, your logic rocks.

thats very true, surely no one can argue with that point, it is basically, for some people the novelty of it all and thats why the drive like lunatics

[Konfucius]

In Austria the age limit was actually reduced from 18 to 17 a few years ago.

However if you want to get the license at 17 you have to drive about 500km with a parent who has a license and didn't have an accident during the last 10 years.
The experience you get though is really warranting to get the license.
So technically you start to take lessons when your 16 and once you turn 17 and passed the test your allowed to drive alone.

[4q2]

Yes, I would love to see the age raised, insurance raised, car tax raised....the whole caboodle really....
Anything that reduces the number of cars on the road could only be a good thing both health and environment wise.

[Ant-Shimmin]

I've been drinking on a regular basis for 2 or 3 years now, no law hasn't stopped me now and it won't in the future

[Jamba]

I think they should raise it to 21 personally. So yaaaah, I voted for it to be raised.

I'm with you man. Cars are big and very dangerous. Don't think anyone really remembers that anymore. I think a lot of people here are just complaining cos they don't have any kind of retrospective.

[welsh_gamer]

Driving is a sign of maturity in my opinion. In my area there are many youngsters driving expensive cars just mere months after turning 17, and of course you have the chavs, who speed around the place and do other things that you would associate with chavs and cars. How soon will those 17 year olds be in heavy debt, and how soon will some innocent bystander be hurt by a reckless driver? At that oung age you shouldn't have the responsibility of owning your own car and paying TAX, Insuarane etc.

I didn't start learning till I was 18 and a half, because I knew if I would of passed my driving test at 17 ( a time one is still a kid ) I would not trust myself on the road. Another year of waiting could make a diffrence to some people, making them more mature, as what happened in my case.

[hobbzinio]

I think its a good idea, alot of people are not mature enough or ready to start learning at 17 and rush into it, then crash and fuck everything up. I have a couple of mates who have done this and because of the age, just want to go cruising and showing off.

I know that I was much more ready intellectually and ready in a mature sense at 18..

Just have to see what happens.

Young people are not the problem on our roads, Old people are. Maybe they should be introducing a law for them to re-take their test's when they reach a certain age. That would be much more productive.

[or else you will DIE]

maybe. but they should also increase the drinking age to 21 while they are at it.

[Jamba]

maybe. but they should also increase the drinking age to 21 while they are at it.

Not gonna help, look at Ant!


no law hasn't stopped me now and it won't in the future

[UK]

Yeah, they should. I get sick to death with year 11's driving and nearly knocking us younger 'uns down. DOITDOITDOIT.

[somme]

Doesn't affect me but I said yes. It'll mean less traffic jams. lol

[Twilight]

It has always been 18 here so I don´t really know. Surprisingly small amount of people have ever complained about it though...

I´m hopefully getting my license in a few weeks. :)

[Slaggis]

Yeah, they should. I get sick to death with year 11's driving and nearly knocking us younger 'uns down. DOITDOITDOIT.

year 11's?? someone in year 11 isn't allowed to drive anyway so how does the law have anything to do with people driving illegally?

[The fish]

I think it should stay as it is. They should introduce the psychological tests that where in the news a few days back, and base you're initial insurance price in that, and how well you pass the test. I'm going to start driving as of July, and I don't like the idea of being stuck with huge insurance bills once I pass my test.

Basically, I'm just skanky...:indeed:

[GigaPlay]

People shouldn't really equate age to incompetence. Allowing a 40 year old lunatic to drive over a perfectly stable 17 year old is a bit stupid in all honesty. Raising the driving age would only raise the age range in which most accident occurs.

The only remedy that I can think to this situation is making obtaining a license harder and all that jazz. =/

[Mike1988uk]

I don't think they age should be changed, but what should be added is maybe more training before you can drive and maybe restricting certain things like the type and power of a car you can drive.

I agree that you can't just change the age because everyone is different. I passed my test just after i turned 18 and year and ahalf later i have had no crashes and i consider myself a pretty good driver. I have seen many cars overtake me in a very reckless fasion with there modded cars and i cringe the way i see them drive and they ent always young people at the wheel.

[Emasher]

in canada the driving age is 16

you can get a learners license (some restrictions) at 15 and 1/2

[Hellfire]

The driving age in Portugal always was 18. Makes sense, since it's when we reach "adult" age.

[Jimbob]

It does depend, there are some 17-21 year old drivers who are boy racers and cause accidents but there are other drivers of the same age who drive responsibly, so it does depend really. I wouldn't mind seeing the age increase

[Blue_Ninja0]

Even at the age of 18 there's lot's of irresponsibility, so i say yes to that new law of yours.

It was always 18 here but sometimes i get the feeling that the age to get a license to drive a 2 ton 120 km/h killing machine should be even higher than 18.

[somme]

In Perth you have to do a lot more to actually get your liscence.

They're all still shit drivers. I witnessed 5 crashes first hand last year, which is more than I've ever seen of my 20 years in the UK.

[Jamba]

Slightly on a side issue but i think that regular retakes should be introduced. Many older drivers get into really bad habits and also the driving tests have changed so much over the years. Doing this would keep everyone up to speed and could really make the roads safer.

[Shino]

How about they change the driving to the right side of the road (the good side of it)?

[The fish]

How about they change the driving to the right side of the road (the good side of it)?

All that will do is raise the amount of accidents amongst people who can already drive.

As none of the neighboring countries drive on the right, it's no problem as it is.

[stuwii]

DONT DO IT cars are the only thing young people can buy that feels special to them- there first home is a slum nomatter if u go to uni or not 200,000 for a shithole where i live

[Fresh]

DONT DO IT cars are the only thing young people can buy that feels special to them- there first home is a slum nomatter if u go to uni or not 200,000 for a shithole where i live

Oh god, you're classic.

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

If it reduces the amount of car accidents then why not?

[AshMat]

It's annoying, 33%? that means 67% happens to people over 21 so maybe people OVER 21 should be banned if that's their reasoning.

[McPhee]

DO IT! I'd be in favour of 21, with an exception for those driving company vehicles.

It'd decrease the number of unnecessary vehicles on the road and therefore the number of accidents! Most under 21s don't need a car, if they need it for work then their company should have to 'sponsor' them through the tests and then provide a vehicle for use within work hours.

[Flaight]

As a temporal fix, upping it to 18 might work, but I think they're missing the point. Cars used wrongly are weapons of mass destruction. Drilling that idea into people as a part of education should result in a much more self-regulated safe driving.

Overall in the UK we're so good at making rules to try force people to do things (which often fails). I think the proper approach is to educate for greater self awareness and discipline.

[MoogleViper]

It's annoying, 33%? that means 67% happens to people over 21 so maybe people OVER 21 should be banned if that's their reasoning.

That logic is retarded. 33% of 17-21 is 33% for four years. 67% for over 21 is a lot more than four years. If you did 21-25 it would be a lot less than 33%.

I think That it should be raised to 18. Yeah not everyone is an idiot at 17 and not everyone will have matured by 18. But there is no denying that there are are a lot of idiotic 17 year olds and whilst they won't all grow up some of them will mature by 18. If it save lives then do it.

Also people should be made to retake their test every 10 years. It's not just young people who can't drive. There are a lot of people who get worse at driving.

[stuwii]

i dont lie about the shithole part, meridan estate i live in bricket wood, loads better

[killthenet]

I think it would be fairly pointless to raise the limit to 18. They probably should raise it, but 1 year isn't a significant enough amount. 21 would possibly be best, but I know several 22 year olds who still cruise around in their rubbish cars smoking drugs and speeding a lot. So maybe there should just be a test to ban morons from driving.

[Dog-amoto]

This is an urban myth, has been doing the rounds forever. Not going to happen.

Absolutely right. I passed my test in 1995 and heard this one myself, I'm now a driving instructor and loads of my pupils ask me the same question. It's because people pass their test at 17, and tell their younger friends that they're going to be changing the age limit soon and so on and so on.

Tell you what, if it ever happens (which it won't) I'll be the first to know, and I'll post on here as soon as I hear

[Jamba]

Also people should be made to retake their test every 10 years. It's not just young people who can't drive. There are a lot of people who get worse at driving.

Thankyou :)