Meeting Of Those Too Young To Drive!!!

[alhara]

i´m here with an exchange program and EVERYWHERE (italy germany, finland south america belgium) it is 18 or lower i DID NOT know that (grummbles angerly)

[dramasnot6]

YAY! you put it together. go mir! this is lovely. ok, first on the forum: If you could drive, what sort of car would you have?

[Stanislaw]

i´m here with an exchange program and EVERYWHERE (italy germany, finland south america belgium) it is 18 or lower i DID NOT know that (grummbles angerly)

man, I feel sorry for you...in Canada, 14 to get a learners, 16 to drive, and 18 to be intoxicated.

[toni]

wellllll . . .

aww, we couldn't leave you out. Come! your location has gained you entry. it obviously understands the viewpoint of the young and carless.

where exactly is that, though? Florida?

Yay, I'm in!
My location ( In a place full of political buffoons and old farts) has gained me entry? Who would've thought?

Nah, I don't live in Florida..I'm Asian- from the Philippines- it really is a place full of old farts, which justifies what happened yesterday during the last court hearing of............buuuut due to the forum rule that bans us from discussing anything political, I cannot disclose further information..

[Omniscient One]

22. Lerner's Permit and can drive.

[Shalot]

I'm imposing upon your thread here, but I thought I would share with you, the story of the day, I got my driver's license:

I was 16. I was not ready. She never did ask me to parallel park and I almost drove right through a stop sign. But I did wait in line for 2 hours at the DMV so I guess that counts for something.

She granted me my license and my dad let me drive the one and only family car home.

Before I got home, however, I was surrounded by cop cars with blue lights and loud sirens. A man darted in and out of traffic trying to get away from those blue lights. In fact, he ran right in front of the car I was nervously driving. I don't really know what happened to that guy, but I almost merged into a mack truck on the interstate on my way home and I wasn't even on the cell phone...

Public transportation is a good thing.

[Nightshade]

well Ive got my provisional liscence ( learners permit) and but have failed my tst twice but am getting ready to take it a 3rd time.
but with the pay as you go £1.50 a mile road tax they want to impose have to ask is it worth it??

[Pensive]

I feel old. I should get the license. Even, without license, there are boys of my age who ride motor bikes and cars. But girls don't. Though, I think if little girls would start driving cars, under abayya, traffic police wouldn't be able to say a word. They can't ask a woman (though inside its a girl but they wouldn't come to know ) to get her abayya off. Can they? It is really a good way to fool our police.

But oh my parents. They would never let me get my hands on the car, well until I am eighteen.

[Madhuri]

I know how to drive I feel so important when I am amongst such a group where only I know about it, that is, driving. *giving a content smile* *air of self importance* he he he I almost feel like saying -- What??? You dont know how to drive??? thats child's play

But, I wish to drive a 16-wheel truck, lorry, and a tractor someday...

[Virgil]

I know this is going to sound like an old fogey post. But as one of the elder persons here I feel obligated to warn young people about the dangers of driving. Check out statistics in the US for teen drivers:

National Teen Driving Statistics
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers.
16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
It is estimated that 16-year-olds are 3 times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers.
3,657 drivers age 15-20 died in car crashes in 2003, making up 14% of all driver involved in fatal crashes, and 18% of all drivers involved in police-reported crashes (NHTSA).
25% of teen drivers killed in 2003 had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or greater. A BAC of .08 is the level which all states define drunk driving.
$40.8 billion was the estimated economic impact of auto accidents involving 15-20 year old drivers in 2002 (NHTSA).
Inexperience behind the wheel is the leading cause of teenage crashes.
In 2001, two thirds of teens killed in auto accidents were not wearing seat belts.
Almost half of the crash deaths involving 16-year-old drivers in 2003 occurred when the beginning drivers were driving with teen passengers (IIHS).
Statistics show that 16 and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger (IIHS).
Graduated drivers license programs appear to be making a difference. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that the overall number of 16-year-old drivers fell from 1,084 in 1993 to 938 in 2003 despite an 18% increase in the 16-year-old population.

http://www.rmiia.org/Auto/Teens/Teen...Statistics.htm

The very first sentence needs repeating: "Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers."

There are obvious reasons: less skill, lack of experience in recognizing upcoming danger, impulsiveness of youth, joking and clowning around (which is another way of saying lack of maturity). I remember my first year of driving, I was around 22 I think, there were a couple of incidents that could have led to a tragic accident because of me. One was a combination of clowning around and impulsiveness, and the other was a lack of experience at a complicated intersection. And I was 22, which is older than most young drivers. By the grace of God they were only near misses and non accidents. But I could have easily have died in either. Last year we had a young lit net member (I can't recall his name off the top of my head) die in a car crash. I think the car flipped over. And recently we've had a lit net member (I don't want to mention names) whose young cousin (17 years old) died in a car crash.

It is my opinion that young people should not start to drive until their early to mid twenties. However that isn't always possible, especially in rural areas. So if you must drive, please be cautious and understand the dangers.

Sorry to be a downer.

[dramasnot6]

you could never sound like an old fogey! thank you for the practical, useful advice. but its just nice to fantasize a little, ya know?

[mir]

yeah. Virg, you're definitely right - i like the laws in some states that say you have to have a certain GPA to be allowed to drive. i figure if you're committed enough to something hard like school to get good grades, you might be more balanced and think things through more fully when you get to drive.

Still. i want a gold electric-powered car with blue sparkles in the paint, racing stripes, and a GPS!! pleeeeease, Santa?

[Shannanigan]

hehe...

well, in Cali at 15 and a half you can get a permit, and after 6 months you can get a licence, so 16 is the minimum licence age...but I moved away at 16 and had not yet really bothered trying driving (no need).

When I moved here (St. Thomas), I thought that there was NO WAY I would EVER drive here...the roads are crazy, there are huge potholes, and people drive like maniacs. I went all through high school with no licence, determined to move back to California after graduation and get a licence there.

Graduation approached, I turned 18, I decided to stay here for college...so I suddenly had to learn to drive. I didn't mind so much when my mother and step-dad gave me a car they had bought off a friend for $400. It was beat up, but it was mine...and it was a stick. Now I had to learn to drive standard, ugh.

I learned. It was cool, but I think driving is overrated among teens...once I started driving I realized how much I hated doing it...

[Taliesin]

Also 18. 18 is quite a liberating age here. In America I think it's 21.

You know, we read that last number as 12.

[Laindessiel]

It is my opinion that young people should not start to drive until their early to mid twenties. However that isn't always possible, especially in rural areas. So if you must drive, please be cautious and understand the dangers.

Sorry to be a downer.

No not a downer, Uncle Virg, more like a concerned person. Sweet... Thanks for the caution-info on driving.

It is considerable, yes, but I don't think that it is fitting that young people should start driving in their early twenties. It is considerable, but in my opinion, it depends on the maturity of the person going behind the wheel. Say, in America, one person is 16, and this teen is excited, ofcourse when he starts driving, he brags, he experiments and so more likely gets into some sort of accident because he ignores and just throws all the safety rules set for him. Not only he lacks experience, he lacks knowledge and skills; in short, he's not yet matured enough. On the other hand, this other 16ner learns to drive, knows all the safety rules, puts on the seatbelt, and abides by them. I can say that not only he has awareness and knowledge on the matter but he is responsible enough to handle this task, too. It's the same case with being in your early twenties. If you're not developed in the mind regarding the matter, then might as well throw the steering wheel away until you're fully prepared for it.

It's all about maturity. That's my opinion. But I can see your point, Uncle Virg.