Relax. My daughter has been driving since the day she turned 15, and truth be told, she's a better driver than my wife. I have made it a point to tell her exactly what you said - it's not so much about her as it is about the idiots around her, and have made a point to ensure that she gets experience in all of our area roads, including I-95. Be it 15 or 16, you have to start somewhere. The only other solution is to wait until they are 25, if physical brain maturity is where you are going with this.

it would be highly logical to require women to wait until they are 18 before attaining a learner's permit. however, on the contrary, men should continue getting their learner's permit at 15, as men are statistically proven to be in fewer accidents than women.

A difference of 8 people per 100,000 doesn't convince me that raising the minimum driving age to 17 will make that big of a difference.

Why dont you rally against people talking on their cell phone/texting while driving? Studies show that driving while talking on a cell phone is every bit as dangerous as driving drunk.

Why not leave the law alone and parent your child the way you see fit. They can't get a license without a parent so if you don't want them to have one don't get them one. Some parents need their kids to be able to drive themselves or siblings to events and/or activites.

Why not leave the law alone and parent your child the way you see fit. They can't get a license without a parent so if you don't want them to have one don't get them one. Some parents need their kids to be able to drive themselves or siblings to events and/or activites.

Why not leave the law alone and parent your child the way you see fit. They can't get a license without a parent so if you don't want them to have one don't get them one. Some parents need their kids to be able to drive themselves or siblings to events and/or activites.

Had this discussion come about when *I* was first starting to drive (at 16, mind you, not 15), I would have balked at the suggestion. But, now being older and a little wiser, I sincerely hope this law gets passed. Teens these days are more reckless, more careless, and less mature than they were 10 years ago - making for a very different class of teen driver. And yes, with the prevalence of cellphones on the road - not just with talking, but texting too - the mix is deadly. I definitely agree with raising the learner's permit age - but maybe just to 16. Most 17-year-olds are already working, with some helping support their families, and they need to be able to get to work.

Relax Jessica. Teens are no more irresponsible now than they were 10 years ago or 15 years ago when I was a teen. Rob is also right - 8 per 100,000 is not statistically significant reason to not allow 16 year olds to drive. With that said, I think we can do a better job as parents by not allowing our teens to drive if they're not ready. And lay down the law early and often...no texting or dialing while driving. That goes for us 20-30-40-whatever-somethings too!

Making the blanket statement that 15 year olds are not old enough to drive is as ignorant as making the blanket statement that 85 year olds are too old to drive.

read Lois' post in today paper. Come on, get a grip. Let it go. At some point you need to stop hovering and let your kid grow up. This is the first step. If you raised her properly, you should trust her to drive, and follow your rules. This excessive parent hovering is killing our kids and keeping them from being able to take care of themselves. No wonder they move back home after college.
Please don't demand to raise the driving age for my kids because you don't think your kid is ready to drive. Just keep your kid home. Mine is on his way, with my trust and blessing.

I beleive that a lot of accidents could be prevented by not talking on cell phones or texting. I know alot of people who try to get their phones out of their pocket/purse when drivng and they end up swerving..my husband included. I also beleive that teenagers need to go through more hours of class and driving time. I also believe that they need to see the nasty bloody pictures of what happens to people when you drink in and drive as well. I think that before they raise the legal age of driving, they should pass a law about "NO CELLPHONES" I really do think that causes alot of teen accidents. Just think to back to when you were a teenager...your ear was connected to the phone. Just think...your child is driving with a cell phone in one had and one hand on the wheel trying to control a vehicle, that they just learned how to drive. Not a very smart thing to do.

go die jessica. stop worrying about the driving age, im from new jersey and there isnt less accidents with the driving age being 17. and what difference does it make? theyre still beginners at driving whether they are 15 or 21. accidents will still happen. get over it.

go die jessica. stop worrying about the driving age, im from new jersey and there isnt less accidents with the driving age being 17. and what difference does it make? theyre still beginners at driving whether they are 15 or 21. accidents will still happen. get over it.

go die jessica. stop worrying about the driving age, im from new jersey and there isnt less accidents with the driving age being 17. and what difference does it make? theyre still beginners at driving whether they are 15 or 21. accidents will still happen. get over it.

I am a teen myself and im about to turn 16, and sometimes even i wonder why the hell they let us drive, with most of us its really a hazard. A few of my friends that I've ridden with scare the crap out of me and its really not save. Although im not going to reject getting my license when i turn 16, I do think a good amount of us teens are not ready to drive. Just speaking the truth.