Driver's licenses

[A18]

Option 3 for me.

There's already a huge incentive not to drive without knowing how. Your insurance payments are going to skyrocket, or you'll get yourself killed.

IMHO, this is just another way for states to tax us.

[Gabu]

What would the alternative be?  Just let anybody drive?

[A18]

How many people do you honestly know who would drive (or let their kid drive) if they didn't know how?

[Gabu]

It's not very hard to think that you know how to drive really well when you actually don't.

[A18]

But the consequences are so great that people will think twice.

I think I would technically keep driver's licenses, but you'd just have to fill out a form to get one. If you're caught driving drunk, then it should be revoked in court.

[Lunar]

Driving is an incredibly unsafe activity.  If it was just dangerous to the driver, then I wouldn't care, but it becomes dangerous to everyone else.  You want to know that your airplane pilot is licensed just like you want to know that the other cars on the road are..which is worth the minor hassle of having to get licensed yourself.

It's not that burdensome to take the DMV test..it takes, what, 10 minutes?  I don't want 13 year olds driving on the freeway at 90 miles per hour, I'm sorry.

I'd raise it to 18, just to match a universal age of adulthood.

But the consequences are so great that people will think twice.

You overestimate people.

[Gabu]

But the consequences are so great that people will think twice.

I think I would technically keep driver's licenses, but you'd just have to fill out a form to get one. If you're caught driving drunk, then it should be revoked in court.

Personally, I have no problem with how it's done in BC.  Here, we have to write an exam, which, in the event that we pass, gives us access to a class 7L "learner's license", which entitles us to drive as long as we have someone with a class 5 (full driver) in the car with us.  After a year, you can take the class 7 road test, which gives us the class 7 "novice license", which entitles us to drive alone as long as our body alcohol count is exacly zero.  After two years of that, you can take the class 5 road test, which finally gives us the full class 5 license.

The main objective behind this is to make absolutely sure that those who are allowed to drive are very competent at doing so.

I'm not sure how it's done elsewhere.

I will admit that some people seem to get worse as they get older and are not required to take any additional road tests even so, but I feel that the license method is a step in the right direction above just letting anybody who can afford a car to drive one.

[Keystone Phil]

Raise it to 18. I see some kids driving at my age and it's not a pleasant sight.

[John Dibble]

Raise it to 18. I see some kids driving at my age and it's not a pleasant sight.

So have I, but I don't think age is the problem in this case - it's experience. Even if you raised the age to 18, they wouldn't be more experience drivers and would probably do just as poorly. I say just put restrictions between 16 and 18 as is done right now.

[danwxman]

But the consequences are so great that people will think twice.

I think I would technically keep driver's licenses, but you'd just have to fill out a form to get one. If you're caught driving drunk, then it should be revoked in court.

No. They won't. A lot of crime is committed be teenagers for the precise reason that they don't think twice about doing something stupid.

This is easily your most insane position yet.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Driving is an incredibly unsafe activity.  If it was just dangerous to the driver, then I wouldn't care, but it becomes dangerous to everyone else.  You want to know that your airplane pilot is licensed just like you want to know that the other cars on the road are..which is worth the minor hassle of having to get licensed yourself.

It's not that burdensome to take the DMV test..it takes, what, 10 minutes?  I don't want 13 year olds driving on the freeway at 90 miles per hour, I'm sorry.

I'd raise it to 18, just to match a universal age of adulthood.

But the consequences are so great that people will think twice.

You overestimate people.

I don't know about you, but I needed to be able to drive 4 years ago. It's not great to have your parents taking you everywhere.

I say age 15 for a learner's permit, 16 for a restricted license and 18 for a full license.

[badnarikin04]

Do away with them. It's not urgently important that we do, but that would be cool.

My friend is my age, 16, and he is a magnificent driver. He's never reckless and is very well composed. I, myself, am not as experienced.

I've also watched a car chase show once when the police were pursuing an 8 year old driving a van. I was totally shocked, because that kid was maneuvering through traffic on the highway beautifully. He could drive well at the speed limit any day.

[Lunar]

I don't think anyone argued that no younger drivers would be safe.  Hell, I think a majority of them would be.  But all it takes is 5% of those 12-14 year old drivers to really do some harm.

[A18]

I don't think anyone argued that no younger drivers would be safe.  Hell, I think a majority of them would be.  But all it takes is 5% of those 12-14 year old drivers to really do some harm.

Parents won't let them drive.

[danwxman]

I don't think anyone argued that no younger drivers would be safe.  Hell, I think a majority of them would be.  But all it takes is 5% of those 12-14 year old drivers to really do some harm.

Parents won't let them drive.

lol

[??????????]

This thread is classic.

[A18]

This thread is classic.

Why?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I don't think anyone argued that no younger drivers would be safe.  Hell, I think a majority of them would be.  But all it takes is 5% of those 12-14 year old drivers to really do some harm.

Parents won't let them drive.

What about all those alcholic parents who don't pay attention at all to what their kids do that you hear about all the time? And then some that are just dumb. Geez. I know of parents who have bought their 13 year old kids cocaine.

If people would only drive when they safely could, there would never be any drunk drivers.

[A18]

That's an extreme minority, and they'll die off pretty quickly

[danwxman]

That's an extreme minority, and they'll die off pretty quickly

lol

[Lunar]

That's an extreme minority, and they'll die off pretty quickly

And take everyone else down with them.

You put too much faith in parents and then again too much faith in their ability to mandate everything.

[Keystone Phil]

I don't think anyone argued that no younger drivers would be safe.  Hell, I think a majority of them would be.  But all it takes is 5% of those 12-14 year old drivers to really do some harm.

Parents won't let them drive.

 Geez. I know of parents who have bought their 13 year old kids cocaine.

Sorry to get off topic but that stuff angers me. I would never call someone like that a "parent." Loser is much more appropriate. That stuff is just sick.

[A18]

Are there really any less accidents now than there were before we had driver's licenses? I doubt it.

[danwxman]

Are there really any less accidents now than there were before we had driver's licenses? I doubt it.

It's pretty much common sense. Did you lose your license or fail your test or something?

[A18]

No. I can't even get it until December. But I think it's stupid that you need certification from a 'professional' Behind the Wheel teacher.