should the minimum driving age be increased from 17?

There are ofcourse exceptions, but the majority of 17 year old boys are still immature. I know I was at that age, and both me and lots of my mates had crashes because we weren't ready to be driving

yes that may work. I got a lift last night from a lad on my footy team, just passed yesterday and had only turned 17 in november. It was his first time driving in the dark, he had no confidence

Increasing the driving age is a terrible idea for several reasons.

At the moment, you can learn to drive (and probably pass your test) at a time when you don't really have any major educational or financial committments. I and everyone I know passed before starting university, and I had plenty of spare time for lessons. Increase the driving age and people would have to balance learning to drive with things like university and work, which would be much more difficult than balancing it with just sixth form or college.

If people leave school straight into work, not being able to drive could be a major disadvantage for them when looking for work. Especially in rural areas with poor public transport. It could also make university, among other things, more difficult. So making people wait longer would cause problems with general personal independence related things - remember it takes time to learn, it's not something you can do overnight.

A big part of the problem with young drivers is experience rather than maturity. People become good drivers through experience. Increase the driving age and you'll just delay that experience a few years, and the inexperienced 17-18 year old drivers would just be replaced with inexperienced 19-21 year olds. Is that really an improvement?

Another part of it is the "OMG wow I can finally drive by myself" excitement. To get around that you'd have to raise the age to something like 25, which anyone with an IQ above room temperature can see is simply not practical.

Increasing the driving age is a terrible idea for several reasons.

At the moment, you can learn to drive (and probably pass your test) at a time when you don't really have any major educational or finby ancial committments. I and everyone I know passed before starting university, and I had plenty of spare time for lessons. Increase the driving age and people would have to balance learning to drive with things like university and work, which would be much more difficult than balancing it with just sixth form or college.

If people leave school straight into work, not being able to drive could be a major disadvantage for them when looking for work. Especially in rural areas with poor public transport. It could also make university, among other things, more difficult. So making people wait longer would cause problems with general personal independence related things - remember it takes time to learn, it's not something you can do overnight.

A big part of the problem with young drivers is experience rather than maturity. People become good drivers through experience. Increase the driving age and you'll just delay that experience a few years, and the inexperienced 17-18 year old drivers would just be replaced with inexperienced 19-21 year olds. Is that really an improvement?

Another part of it is the "OMG wow I can finally drive by myself" excitement. To get around that you'd have to raise the age to something like 25, which anyone with an IQ above room temperature can see is simply not practical.

omg thats ridiculous probably done the intensive course has he done his pass plus?

he said he did 10 2 hour lessons, passed 1st time yesterday but with max number of minors. pretty scary being in the car with him on way home from training last night. he nearly wet his pants when he got above 30 on the dual carriageway abd stalled about 10 times

It is ridiculous that at 17 you are allowed to drive a car but aren't old enough to drink in a pub. I think 17 is too young to be driving, especially for boys who are still immature at that age. Most 17 year old drivers crash soon after passing

maybe an alterative would be to ban passengers other than family for the first year, during the wow I can drive phase

But I can almost guarantee that most under 18s have and do drink (inc in pubs..); nor is it illegal at home anyway.
Boys stay immature for the rest of their lives, so that wouldn't be fair

Source? As that's simply untrue - "23% 18-24 year olds crash within two years of passing their driving test" - that is not most.

Bad drivers should be penalised, not those who don't crash. Not ridiculous in the slightest.

those are averages. The highest % by far are 17-18 year old boys, with a car full of mates

Lol haha tell him he will need to wear pampers when he has to get to 70mph.

Personally, I think that the fact that at 16 you are legally allowed to have a child, but not drive or have a drink at a pub is insane. IF you can be responsible for a life then surely you should be trusted with your own, that's not to say that people would be mature enough at a younger age however I think everything should just be boosted to 18 as a principle and that way the lines between adult and teen are clearer and more respected. ( That sounded kind of snobby, hope you get the point)

But I can almost guarantee that most under 18s have and do drink (inc in pubs..); nor is it illegal at home anyway.
Boys stay immature for the rest of their lives, so that wouldn't be fair

Source? As that's simply untrue - "23% 18-24 year olds crash within two years of passing their driving test" - that is not most.

Bad drivers should be penalised, not those who don't crash. Not ridiculous in the slightest.

1 in 4 is still way too high

Still rendering your OP scaremongering.

So since it's <24yo; do you suggest we need raise it to 25?
Not to mention, there's no evidence that it would not simply push the cause of accidents to a higher age range of new drivers regardless.

No it should be lowered imo. A lot of people ie my dad drove a car before age of 17. He started driving at 13 I think, which means he now has around 40+ years of driving experience. I'm not saying lower it to 13 but 16 would be a good age. Also I would've loved to have taken my driving lessons earlier. Driving earlier has its benefits.

ofcourse 25 would be too old. But if raising it by even a year helps we should try it