POLL: Push to raise the minimum driving age in FL

[dman]

What do you all think about raising the minimum driving age? Consider that if it gets raised in FL it's likely other states would follow. At 16 you can get your unrestricted license. At 15 you must have a licensed driver with you at all times, at 15 1/2 you can drive alone during daylight hours. OK, it was that way when I was 15, I'm not certain of the current restrictions. The push is to get the unrestricted license raised to 18. I'm against that. I'm 29. Perhaps I'm the minority, so vote. Here's an excerpt of a letter I am sending to the representative, Marco Rubio, being pushed to get the law changed (See Link below):

While it saddens me to hear of the tragedy that Jennifer McKinney and her friends and family have experienced (Link), I don't agree raising the minimum driving age would have prevented this.

The focus should be on punishing the guilty, not the innocent. I believe other options should be considered such as more severe penalties for breaking the law (at any age). If maturity is determined to be the cause of many accidents then consider adding additional restrictions until you turn 18--but to prevent all young men and women between 16 and 18 the opportunity to drive is wrong.

Restrict the hours that children (under 18) can drive. Restrict the types of vehicles--perhaps engines less than 100HP until you reach 18.
Stiffen the penalties for speeding, and other moving violations.
Automatically suspend license for driving recklessly.

Any option would be better than raising the driving age and punishing those who are not guilty. We don't punish all senior citizens because some are too old to drive. Don't punish all 16/17 year olds because some are irresponsible.

The young man, Stephen Bromstrup, blamed for this incident is 15 and was believed to be drinking. My understanding was that he was driving alone and ran a stop sign. Clearly there were other factors besides age. It's not fair to other young drivers who are mature and responsible and would follow the laws of the road to have to wait until their 18th birthday to be able to get their license. It will become a hardship to many young men and women who are earning extra money for college to have to wait another 2 years to have the privilege to drive.

I had a friend lose a brother in a similar type accident. (Another young man ran a stop sign and killed his brother). In his case, the drivers were over 18 (between 18-22). Raising the driving age most likely would not have helped in either case. We should be requesting stiffer penalties for breaking the law, not punishing those who have done no wrong.

 

[EXman]

So what is the legal age to Vote? I thought Voting was the hard part in FL :Q

just kidding

 

[Random Variable]

I'm more for making the driving test itself more difficult.

 

[poopaskoopa]

21yr old, and must provide proof that the driver is the one who pays for the car and the insurance.

 

[Danman]

Originally posted by: Vespasian
I'm more for making the driving test itself more difficult.

Me too. This is bs. I am 17 right now and if they pass this sh!t and take my license away I'm gonna go fvcking nuts. I am a responsible driver who hasn't got pulled over or a ticket yet. :|

 

[Crimson]

Leave it at 16.. that gives you 2 years to learn before you start college and begin drinking heavily.. Learning to drive when you are drunk is not a good idea, you should have experience driving before you drive drunk... (Its a JOKE!)

 

[A5]

Originally posted by: cashman

Originally posted by: Vespasian
I'm more for making the driving test itself more difficult.

Me too. This is bs. I am 17 right now and if they pass this sh!t and take my license away I'm gonna go fvcking nuts. I am a responsible driver who hasn't got pulled over or a ticket yet. :|

Most states will let you keep your old license when they change the laws. It's called being 'grandfathered' in; which is why I'm going to have an unrestricted license in Alabama even though after October 1, any new license issued to any 16 year old will have a few (light) restrictions.

 

[slpaulson]

I believe that now in Wisconsin you don't have an unrestricted license until you're 18.
I got in the year before they started all that.
I think the only restriction is you can't drive during certain hours unless you're going to or from a school event.
I doubt they ever pull anybody over for that though.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: dman6666
What do you all think about raising the minimum driving age?

[/quote]

its a good idea
i support it
the sooner the better

i was a terrible driver when i was 16, i got in my first wreck in the first year i had my license

 

[Cyberian]

I think they need to lower the maximum driving age in FL.

Old Farts doing 30 in the left lane with their left blinker on are a menace!!

 

[Alex]

its 18 in brazil and most of the world really... at 15/16 most ppl are teenage punks who just wanna be cool and dont realise that ppls lives are in danger. driving is not something to be taken lightly. only at 17-18 do ppl have enough maturity to be good drivers.

 

[Conflict]

Originally posted by: franguinho
its 18 in brazil and most of the world really... at 15/16 most ppl are teenage punks who just wanna be cool and dont realise that ppls lives are in danger. driving is not something to be taken lightly. only at 17-18 do ppl have enough maturity to be good drivers.

I'm almost 17, I have driven since the day I got my permit in CA and I have no tickets, I stop all the way for stop signs, the older ones are even worse than I am. I never drink and drive, thats just stupid. So there are execptions..

 

[ElFenix]

they should lower the maximum age to vote...

 

[gplanet]

they should lower the maximum driving age in florida. ever driven around ft. lauderdale? it's high rise after high rise of ppl waiting to die

 

[aphex]

I dont think the age needs to change, but i do think the test itself needs to.

Having gotten my permit at 15, and my licence at 16 here in FL i can honestly say i was not well tested. Luckily my parents made sure i knew what i was doing, but my driving test consisted of me driving around in a circle in a parking lot. I never even made it to a stop sign, and the entire test took less than 3 minutes.

On another note, i think they need to worry more about elderly drivers than young drivers. Ive been cut off 1000x more by old peeps who cant see and just pull over, as compared to young kids.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: dman6666
What do you all think about raising the minimum driving age? Consider that if it gets raised in FL it's likely other states would follow. At 16 you can get your unrestricted license. At 15 you must have a licensed driver with you at all times, at 15 1/2 you can drive alone during daylight hours. OK, it was that way when I was 15, I'm not certain of the current restrictions. The push is to get the unrestricted license raised to 18. I'm against that. I'm 29. Perhaps I'm the minority, so vote. Here's an excerpt of a letter I am sending to the representative, Marco Rubio, being pushed to get the law changed (See Link below):

While it saddens me to hear of the tragedy that Jennifer McKinney and her friends and family have experienced (Link), I don't agree raising the minimum driving age would have prevented this.

The focus should be on punishing the guilty, not the innocent. I believe other options should be considered such as more severe penalties for breaking the law (at any age). If maturity is determined to be the cause of many accidents then consider adding additional restrictions until you turn 18--but to prevent all young men and women between 16 and 18 the opportunity to drive is wrong.

Restrict the hours that children (under 18) can drive. Restrict the types of vehicles--perhaps engines less than 100HP until you reach 18.
Stiffen the penalties for speeding, and other moving violations.
Automatically suspend license for driving recklessly.

Any option would be better than raising the driving age and punishing those who are not guilty. We don't punish all senior citizens because some are too old to drive. Don't punish all 16/17 year olds because some are irresponsible.

The young man, Stephen Bromstrup, blamed for this incident is 15 and was believed to be drinking. My understanding was that he was driving alone and ran a stop sign. Clearly there were other factors besides age. It's not fair to other young drivers who are mature and responsible and would follow the laws of the road to have to wait until their 18th birthday to be able to get their license. It will become a hardship to many young men and women who are earning extra money for college to have to wait another 2 years to have the privilege to drive.

I had a friend lose a brother in a similar type accident. (Another young man ran a stop sign and killed his brother). In his case, the drivers were over 18 (between 18-22). Raising the driving age most likely would not have helped in either case. We should be requesting stiffer penalties for breaking the law, not punishing those who have done no wrong.

Engine restrictions are really dumb because even cars with 100hp motors can still hit speeds of 125mph. I say do it like we do it here in Quebec, you're allowed to get your learner's license at 16 and you have to keep it for 1 year / 8 months depending on if you take driver's ed or not, then you get a restricted license (4 points, no alcohol, can't be co-driver for another learner) for two years. Then and ONLY then you can your full license.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: Vespasian
I'm more for making the driving test itself more difficult.

Yes, I'm for this too. Unfortunately, while a harder driver's test will help get bad drivers off the road, I do not believe it will make the roads more safe. More experienced drivers take more risks. A harder driver's test has to be followed up with meaninful driver's education to be truly effective.

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: EXman
So what is the legal age to Vote? I thought Voting was the hard part in FL :Q

just kidding

Voting is only hard for democrats.

 

[yakko]

Originally posted by: Vespasian
I'm more for making the driving test itself more difficult.

I agree. When I took mine I thought it was a joke.

 

[NuclearFusi0n]

min. age laws are bullsh|t. if a person passes written and behind the wheel tests, give them their license.
i hate minimum age laws. I'm 15, attend a university, and live with my parents for only a few months out of the year, but I CANT DRIVE because of stupid age restrictions. I can't even get a job because nobody wants to hire an employee with restricted hours and other junk. :| I can't even rent my own apartment, even though i've been living away for home for over 6 months. :| it's total bullsh|t

 

[brtspears2]

More populated states can benifit from higher driving min age since this means more mature drivers on the road. Barren states like Montana could care less, since the odds are if you crash, you just killed yourself running into a forest or off a cliff.

But yes, driving test is a bigger joke. I'm all in for the UK style driving test that lasts over 30 minutes.

 

[UltraQuiet]

18. It's not so much about diving skills as it is maturity.

 

[Ultima]

Originally posted by: NuclearFusi0n1
min. age laws are bullsh|t. if a person passes written and behind the wheel tests, give them their license.
i hate minimum age laws. I'm 15, attend a university, and live with my parents for only a few months out of the year, but I CANT DRIVE because of stupid age restrictions. I can't even get a job because nobody wants to hire an employee with restricted hours and other junk. :| I can't even rent my own apartment, even though i've been living away for home for over 6 months. :| it's total bullsh|t

since when do employers ask 16 year olds if they have a driver's license and what its like? I'm 19 and haven't had problems finding work without a car, then again I live in a city. If you live in the country (suburbs count as a city unless they're outer suburbs, like no public transit whatsoever) then that can be a problem. Anyway, I don't think they should have restricted hours, they should, however, have to wait at least 6 months after they get their learner's before they can get a license, should be tested hard so they can get that, and they should have less points (and zero tolerance for alcohol). I think the quebec system works well for that, although the wait of 8/12 months is kinda long. After that though the only restrictions are 4 points, no alcohol, and can't co-drive for another learner. (Oh, learners have to have a co-driver in order to drive).

 

[Nefrodite]

florida can go suck an egg... 21 it is. people under 25 shouldn't have cars with more then 130hp.

 

[BDawg]

If kids had a lobby like the elderly do, they'd be driving first day out of the womb.

Kids are reckless, old people are cluless. It's like playing russian roulette with a magazine loaded handgun.