Driving age should be raised to 18.

/PERSONAL NOTE/ Thanks for that topic, I am European so I personally know what I am going to talk about, but I hope to also provide substantial statements. Thrilled to accept this challenge. I am going to sort this as follows: A section for a reaction to your statements and arguments, B section for my own and a C section because there is often something I'd like to add that is neither really a reaction nor a new point. A 1 - Many might resent the government but this, but this does not make it wrong to raise the legal age for driving. * The pure inconvenience of that law and the question whether it's necessary are not related. The disposal of industrial waste is necessary yet incredibly expensive and inconvenient for companies. A 2 - A child's freedom is not defined by its right to drive and go wherever it wants to * Yes, driving gives you the impression of freedom. But like giving consent to legally binding contracts (which includes voting or the acquisition of alcohol) it is something that governments restrict to prevent children from harming themselves and others. From the moment a person is lawfully regard as a absolutely self-responsible human being (21 in the USA and 18 in most of Europe) this would be an actual cut of their freedom. Until then the same reason of protection, that set the age limit on 16, can be applied to justify 18. A 3 - Parents will have to drive children everywhere * First, 18 is a limit that can be found in many other countries where families easily manage two extra years without a driving license for their Teenager. Second, Referring to A1, the pure inconvenience of this does not provide significant content to legitimate a young person to handle a heavy machine because it does not take in account whether this person is actually physically and mentally able to do so. A 4 - Driving is not an important skill for an college application * College is about education. Drivers licenses meanwhile provide only a very basic feedback about being able to memorize a limited set of rules and to handle a machine under supervision. Abolishing this as a additional "skill for college" seems therefore something that should be welcomed. Driving is certainly a useful ability on the job market and considering the costs of education the USA there might be some who would face difficulties getting a job without a license. Economically spoken are these jobs not gone, because they can be filled by at least 18-year-old's. The average university/college student is deep in it's Twenties and continues to "age"so the significance of this point is fading anyway (1). B 1 - Modern cars are faster than they used to be *The Ford Fiat 1100 from 1953 was with its top speed of 76mph/116kmh a pretty decent car, while the Koenigsegg Agera Hundra from 2013 and it's top 249 mph/400kmh are not even that impressive (3). Giving a young person that power is increasingly dangerous with the increasing power of the car. The security standards have developed since the mid-20s-century and secure the driver now better than they used to. But it's not only about the driver as well as about bystanders and likely traffic scenarios in which not only one but many cars are involved of which the drivers were unable to stop their vehicle in time because of the average high speed. As cars are therefore a more powerful object than they used to, we have to rethink if young people still have the required responsibility or if they now need more time to be able to deal with this. B 2 - Other concepts encourage Teenagers to handle increasingly fast motorized vehicles over time *Giving the Contra-Side a small introduction into European Transportation Law (which is not consistent but similar within the EU-countries). Teenagers at the age of 16 and younger can actually drive motorized vehicles like scooters and mopeds. In terms of cars "training licenses" that require permanent supervision of an adult of certain age and experience are given between the age of 15 to 17, but the unrestricted permission to drive on your own is bound to being 18 and having passed the test. A very nice example is the Swedish System that uses the European structure of A to DE class licenses (3) with the B-class for cars. This concept builds up your rights to handle heavier machines and focuses stronger on teaching the skills. As you will see in B3 it's very important to train Teenagers strictly before they are on the streets alone or maybe with peers. B 3 - Irresponsibility directly endangers many lives simultaneously *The Department of Transportation supported in 2012 in a report about The Effect of Passengers on Teen Drivers (2) that also outlined that about 70% of all teenage drivers are willing to violate the passenger restrictions of their state. Distractions and the temptation to drive irresponsible rises with the type and amount of people in the car. Including B1's statement that cars are now more powerful than they used to this means that accidents including young drivers are more likely than those of adults and that they affect (relatively) more people if the drivers are younger. B 4 - More restrictions are neither enough nor a good idea *There are two main approaches to learning to drive: the European one, that I explained in B2 and referenced on the bottom, that bases on a longer, more expensive and strictly outlined training for young drivers, after which you are fully allowed to use your car like any other and older driver apart from minor limitations in alcohol consume; on the other hand a restrictions-based system that is used in many English speaking countries like the US, New Zealend, etc. where the law limits details like the number and sort passengers or the time when you are allowed to drive. Memorizing these restrictions for a certain time not only takes time but changes the focus from actual driving behavior to law that will soon stop to be relevant. This can be highly confusing and encourages also the violation of "a few rules" then and there. In already 7% (2) of the study clips where the subjects tempted to violate the nighttime when they drove on their own. This even increased up to 21% when they had company of peers. C - nothing yet but the sources follow. If the Contra-Side wishes a certain point to be referenced better, I am of course willing to do so. (1) Average Student Age on the Rise (Online-Blog-Article) http://blog.edvisors.com... (2) Goodwin, A.H., Foss, R. D., & Natalie P. O"Brien, N. P. (2012, April). The Effect of Passengers on Teen Driver Behavior. (Report No. DOT HS 811 540). Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (3) http://en.wikipedia.org... // I apologize for using a Wikipedia article but I did not feel like this fact needs major scientific support