I am in favor of it. I have know several young teenagers in accidents, family and friends. It is horrible. Not that it wouldn't be later on, but with a bit more maturity...hopefully that would come with a couple more years of age. Though law or not, you can choose to not have your child drive until later or until they are 18yrs. Your thoughts?
I'm not going to vote.. because I have mixed feelings on this one. I do think that the kids should be more mature before they are put behind the wheel. But then I also think, most kids get jobs around 16, and I don't want to end up being like my MIL. With hubby's blended family, they had 3 kids who were all 15 and 16, until they started driving the kids all had to work at the same place, same hours or she had to spend hours a day driving all over town to drop off and pick up kids. We live in the country, on top of a mountain. You have to leave the mountain and go several miles before you hit any form of "workable" civilization, so walking for the kids is out of the question.
No matter what the law is, Ems willnot drive if she isn't mature enough; as long as she is living with us.
I voted NO because I think it depends on the children and parents. I am tired of the them who ever makes the laws all the time, telling us what we can and can't do. It's our children we know whats best for them. When they start paying my bills then I will agree to everything, till then my answer is no.
I don't think that the age needs to be raised but what I personally think would be a good idea is that at 16 the child gets a "conditional" license...that if the child shows responsibility when that child is 18 the child gets a regular driving license. However if the child say causes an accident because he/she was drinking and driving then they take away the license and he/she has to start all over at 18 with a new "conditional" license that must be carried for 2 years until the child can earn a regular license.
I also have to vote no even though I sometimes think the limit should go by maturity, not age. But who determines this? Hopefully the parents. There are many adults who have no business driving either.
I would vote no. For us, the state law allows the teen to get a permit at 15 1/2. The permit expires on their 18th birthday. They are eligible to take the tests to get a license when they are 16, but it's a "graduated" license in a series. Also, they are tied to school grades and behavior. The PSS can send a notice to DMV and a kid's license can be revoked for suspension, failing, etc. We as homeschoolers can do the same..... In our house, they have completed the driver's ed and received their permits. I realized I have to let them drive as much as possible, even when my first thought is "I don't have the patience today". Let them drive in all kinds of conditions and places. We would not allow a license if we didn't feel they were a responsible driver. Since our state requires auto insurance to receive a license, our rule is THEY have to pay for the insurance. (Which isn't cheep!!!) If they have an accident, we will drop them from our policy and they will have to get their own. Call me a mean mom!!! I call it responsibility.
In California all drivers are required to be insured. What I do not think is right, is that new drivers; teens, have to be under the insurance of a 25 year old or older. I would like to see new drivers get there own insurance and ruin there own record if they decide to drive recklessly.
I don't know where I saw it at, but I remember reading in some area where they passed laws like, no under age 18 driver to drive in the dark, no passenger accept family members, ... I think there was another, but I don't remember (how do you like that run on sentence ) Anyway, I think it would never pass in this country to up the age. Our country is too far spread out and too many teens work. If we had easy access EVERYWHERE to public transit, it would be easy to up the age. But I am all in favor of putting restrictions on under the age of 18 drivers.
That is something to think about. If a teen works in this city, they can use public transportation. But if they are like Handsome, they will have to drive at least an hour or more to get to work. This is where public transportaion falls short. There are some decent paying jobs around here but most are down the hill and beyond.
