The Student Room Group

What should the legal driving age be in the UK?

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Original post by nulli tertius
Drivers under 21 should not be able to carry a passenger who is not in a child seat between 6PM and 6AM.


That would inconvenience a lot of people for no good reason.
Original post by RF_PineMarten
That would inconvenience a lot of people for no good reason.


I'd just get my passengers to squeeze into one...
Reply 42
I think the current age is ok. Maybe allow people to get a provisional at 16, but overall, I don't think most 16 year olds need to drive, and they've already got ability to play the lottery as a landmark ability. I think raising it brings issues - people can leave school by 17, so may need to get to college/jobs. Also, if you raise it, you potentially have the issue of more people driving without a license.
I think it should be raised to 18, unless you can prove that you need a car to go to work if you leave school after GCSEs and take a full time job.
Could learn at 17 but not legally be allowed to take your test until 18? Any thoughts?
Whatever the age, you'll still end up with c*nts on the road. I've been driving on my provisional since my 17th birthday (so about a year and half) due to not having time to take my test due to A-levels, but I feel like driving came naturally to me. Yet there's 18+ that drive like they own the road and are completely inconsiderate, so changing the age is not going to make the difference. 17 is just convenient for college students who have to travel a good distance every day.
Reply 46
Original post by Inazuma
Jesus Christ. How autocratic do you want to be, should a bill ever come up like that I'd oppose it to the end, blooming hell.


In answer to the OP, leave at 17 or maybe raise to 18 (merely since 17 is a weird age anyway, and everything else is 18). But doesn't really matter.


The thing is with it being 17 is it allows people like me to learn how to drive before they head off to uni so they aren't forced to do it very quickly in summer.

My Birthday is in April so I would've had to learn how to drive in 4 months which isn't ideal.

I don't think there is much of a difference between 17 and 18 in terms of how responsible you are.
Original post by Fozzy425
The thing is with it being 17 is it allows people like me to learn how to drive before they head off to uni so they aren't forced to do it very quickly in summer.

My Birthday is in April so I would've had to learn how to drive in 4 months which isn't ideal.

I don't think there is much of a difference between 17 and 18 in terms of how responsible you are.


True, true, I'm not even sure why I put what I did as keeping it the same is fine :tongue:
I do wonder why they made it 17 though.
Guess it does work out logically in the end! Was much easier for me too.
Original post by Inazuma

I do wonder why they made it 17 though.


It was a Commons amendment to the Motor Cars Bill 1903. The Lords had proposed no driving licence under 16. The Commons changed this so that motor cycle licences were available at 14 and motor car licences at 17.

Unfortunately the relevant volume of Hansard isn't digitised, so I can't say why.

The assumption was that young drivers would be driving in the course of their employment.
(edited 7 years ago)
I would say let people start LEARNING at 17, but that they can't take their TEST until they are 18. That way, those who really want to drive will probably take MORE lessons (for an entire year) to maximise their chances of passing first time as soon as they turn 18, rather than the current system where those who are desperate to drive are aiming to take the FEWEST amount of lessons possible. That way you would improve the overall standard of new drivers without drastically increasing the age of new drivers.
Leave it how it is. Raising it just makes it inconvenient for too many people. I couldn't work if I didn't have a car as I live in the middle of no where with no bus stops/train stations in walking distance. In cities I can understand that there isn't a massive need to drive because of good public transport but if you don't live in the city you're stuck. If I couldn't work then I couldn't save for uni/afford to go anywhere. Also, more 17 year olds crash because of inexperience. If you raise it to 18 or even 21 you'll still get that age group having more crashes because they're just as inexperienced 17 year olds now.
Original post by lordyP
Leave it how it is. Raising it just makes it inconvenient for too many people. I couldn't work if I didn't have a car as I live in the middle of no where with no bus stops/train stations in walking distance.


Do you have a disability that prevents you from riding a moped?

In cities I can understand that there isn't a massive need to drive because of good public transport but if you don't live in the city you're stuck. If I couldn't work then I couldn't save for uni/afford to go anywhere. Also, more 17 year olds crash because of inexperience. If you raise it to 18 or even 21 you'll still get that age group having more crashes because they're just as inexperienced 17 year olds now.


That isn't supported by the evidence. Older novice drivers have a lower accident rate than younger novice drivers.
Although I don't see any realistic argument as to why changing the age to 18 will help reduce the accident rate amongst young drivers, I do think that there is a problem with the system as it stands now, when 21.7% of UK road deaths in 2011 involved drivers aged 17-24, who make up just 7.2% of drivers.
I think the change should be made to the learning process. For example, they could introduce a minimum period of learning of, say, 10 months from the first lesson, and a minimum number of lesson hours with a qualified instructor (say 30 or 40 hours), like is the law in a lot of other European countries. This could include compulsory lessons in motorway driving, night-time driving and urban/rural driving. They could also have a minimum period on the road in accompanied practice like in Australia, recorded using a log-book, and a compulsory first aid course to get a full licence, like in Germany. That way, new drivers would be less likely to encounter totally unfamiliar situations and better able to deal with them.
Reply 53
I wouldn't mind it being increased to 18, simply because 17 is an 'odd' age, or perhaps allow 17 year olds to get a provisional and start learning but only tale a test/full license at 18. But for me public transport/lifts from parents is adequate so I've personally never had any burning desire to start driving as soon as I turned 17, I'm 18 now and I know quite a few who do. I could start over summer, but then having a car at university is unnecessary so I'd only end up driving it during the holidays.

The more important issue is to tackle the horribly over-inflated insurance prices.
Reply 54
I voted to 16 because overall government so be less interfering and restrictive. Nothing bad or terrible with happen lowering it , the Americans are a natural experiement , and they are fine.
Original post by MattFraks
I believe that 18 is a better driving age, that being said the issue with young people on the roads can't be solved by raising the limit a bit. Other laws must be implemented like for instance mandatory new driver 1-2 year probation including rules like:

-Driving curfews
-Passenger limit
-Passenger age limit
-Engine and performance restrictions
-etc


-Curfews would just make it even more difficult for young adults to find work, they would also not really serve any major purpose and be extremely difficult to enforce

-Passenger age limits just wouldnt work unless you required passengers to carry ID AND remove your human right to not be questioned unless being accused of a crime.

-Passenger limit, this would work I suppose

-Engine & performance restrictions - they are trying this with motorbikes (3DLD), the result is many under 24s are now driving without licenses or outwith there licenses. Also the way the government has implemented it is just retarded and misses out MANY key details (Like how you actually prove your bike is sub 47bhp), also it massively increases the cost of entry for bikes (if you want to start at 17 you now need to do SIX TEST and a theory).

Adding beurocratic process is exactly what driving in the UK does NOT need, and I fear any further modification to the current system will result in MASSIVE pain for motorists new and old (Like the 3DLD motorcycle licences, and the Driver CPC for goods vehicles)
Would it increase to 18 years. That is the age in my opinion where people are neither too young nor too old for driving license.
If you want sixteen year olds on the road with you you have lost your mind.

Original post by SosbanFach
and a minimum number of lesson hours with a qualified instructor (say 30 or 40 hours), like is the law in a lot of other European countries.


This would certainly benefit the qualified instructors, but would hinder a lot of people unnecessarily.

The truth is that kids who have passed their tests are able to handle their cars just fine. They get into accidents because they behave like idiots when they're unsupervised.
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 58
To be honest, I think it's fine where it is. At 17, you're just starting the time that you might actually need a car to get around. Especially with starting college/uni.
I don't think it's broke so I ain't gonna ask for it to be fixed.

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