NZ young people are increasingly proving that they are too immature, too irresponsible to get behind the steering wheel of a car. Instead of cleaning up after young drivers who have crashed, or advertising against student drunk drivers, the Gov. t could put more money into public transport so youth wouldn’t have to drive to work. 15 are far too young, and it definitely should be raised. Remember – a driving license is a privilege not a right, as some of you think it is…
Not only should the driving age be lifted to 18, there should be more draconian restrictions in place during the licensing period. Road safety should be compulsory in schools from an early age. Bicyclists should be licensed, as party of attaining a full ‘drivers’ license – having completed the bicycle module, the applicant must then spend a compulsory period on the treadle; the next step will be a basic motor scooter/motorcycle course, followed by another compulsory period riding either a scooter or restricted output motorbike.
Having completed these modules, an applicant may then apply for permission to be considered for a ‘full’ driver’s license – the process of attaining such should NOT be easy; too many of us consider piloting two tonnes of death down our highways at lethal speeds to be a ‘right’, when it is, in fact, a responsibility. And, time and again, we continue to prove that we are not responsible beings. 15 year old minds are not able to link cause with effect and therefore are not mature enough to hold a drivers licence. The age for driver’s licences should be raised to 18.
In conjunction with this, the money spent on safe driving advertising campaigns (which are proven to be ineffective) should be spent instead on public transport systems. The young kids are too irresponsible to be driving at anything less than 18. The school leaving age should be 18 too. I think the driving age should be raised to 18 because… young people strive to take opportunities that take advantage of something… everyone knows is big. They think that they can tackle the road by the horns, knowing that their 15 years old, confidence is more powerful than common sense in such early development.
Basically, the number ’15’ makes young teenagers react like they have the experience… when they don’t. Privacy and Freedom sometimes lets kids go all cocky because they want to impress a cute girl or a group of wannabe gangsters. Here is a question. How do you keep your kids at home? And here is the answer. Let the air out of their tires. Or let them wait until age 18 before being able to drive. I agree. Let’s face it. Anything under 18 is still a child. Even a lot of 18 yr. olds are still kids really. However (especially in Auckland) they need a good public transport system as an option.
Also another option is to restrict the ownership (and driveability) of vehicles to people under the age of say 25 to a certain horsepower. Jap imports are so cheap. I’ve seen teenage (looking anyway) people driving Subaru’s that have at least a couple of hundred kilowatts-that my friends is a recipe for disaster. Earn your right to drive a performance car. A full license should only be able to be obtained at the age of 17-18. You should really be in school until this age and there is no need to being able to get to work. If you do have a part time job, jump on a bike or if too lazy for that, get a scooter.
Also I have never understood the point of learner, restricted and full licenses. No one follows these rules anyway, how many learners don’t we see on the roads without any supervision? The attitude towards cars and driving in NZ is all wrong and the penalties are far too soft. I totally agree with the above comment that the young kids are too irresponsible to be driving at anything less than 18. The school leaving age should be 18 too. I’ve been a teenager and I certainly thought I was old enough to concur the world, but looking back I know now how immature I was.
Although it is required to have better and cheaper public transport in place. If this is obtained we may see fewer cars on the roads altogether which would benefit in so many other ways as well. It has been shown that a lot of youth are not aware of their actions and drink driving, by increasing this age, the number of car crashes should decrease. Anyone under 18 is not responsible enough to be in control of something that can kill people. I think that adulthood should be defined as 18 at which point everything that is currently prohibited based on age can become available.