Minimum Driving Age Should Be Raised
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On September 27, I wrote about how I feel a 16-year-old may be too young to receive a driver’s license. My article was triggered by an incident the day before where 16-year-old John Holland, Jr. killed a 49-year-old motorbike rider in Tampa. That came of the tail of various other fatal car accidents in the area involving either young licensed drivers or under aged, unlicensed drivers.
All actions have consequences and this week Holland was charge with vehicular homicide. He turned himself in at the Juvenile Assessment Center Wednesday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Speeding was apparently a huge issue in this case. Add that to the fact that his parents were allowing him to drive a 2005 Nissan 350 Z sports car. He is 16. Children that young do not have the self control to not get into a car like that and enjoy the thrill of going fast. Period.
Parents have the responsibility to determine if their child should be licensed as soon as they turn 16, when they can drive, what they can drive and so on. Children need to see the huge responsibility driving a car in public has and make a decision to act more like adults. My opinion is still that the minimum driving age should be raised to 18 or 21.
At 16 kids get jobs.. They need a car to get places. At 18 the adults finish high school. If they don’t have a car they will probably fail college. At 21 the adults are in college and will be working part time… how in the hell are they supposed to do that? And a lot more homicides occur from ages 30-40. So your argument makes no sense. Why don’t we crack down on all the older people who drive without glasses and are legally blind???
I agree that older folks need to have more regular eye tests, especially here in FL where the elderly population is so high. If you cannot see, you should not drive.
I still feel the driving age should be raised. I did not have a car in college. I lived on campus and used public transportation, even in the small town where my college was located. In fact, for my part-time job, I chose a job where I could walk.
Public transportation is a great resource.