The Kizzy makes top list for Teens (Again)

[KuroNekko]

If you think 16 and 15 is bad. Than don't go to South Dakota.... 14

http://dps.sd.gov/licensing/driver_lice ... #whocanget

Then again, South Dakota is as rural as any American state can get.

[nytq]

Most 14 year olds I know can't even speak clearly. Can you imagine being in the passenger seat with one driving. Not enough narcotics to calm my nerves.

[SamirD]

Yeah, but what is there in South Dakota to hit?

I keed! I keed!

[nytq]

Gee it's not like other people don't live there. And not everyone lives out in the sticks.

[SamirD]

Gee it's not like other people don't live there. And not everyone lives out in the sticks.

Some of the place people would think would not be the best place to live can turn out to be awesome. Fargo, ND is even a pretty nice city from what I've heard, so SD has got to have some nice points to it too.

And I'm glad nice places like this aren't popular--let the people live in their glass houses in much more horrid places.

[paininthenuts]

That's a fine but impractical idea. Taking in to account the vast 'ruralness' of this country and lack of mass transit in those areas...not practical by any stretch. Proper upbringing and being taught life skills, right & wrong, values, responsibility and accountability amongst many other things in life by two parents (god forbid), would go a long way. It's up to the parents to lay down the rules and enforce them. Not an easy task, but it does work. By the time our daughter is 25, she will have already been working as a pathologist's assistant for 2-1/2 years. Kind of impossible for her to be doing what she's doing at the age of 20-21 to prepare for that w/o a car and a license. Her woefully under-powered 2001 2.4l Alero puts her in more danger in the Northeast because of the roads, traffic and all of the drivers with more powerful cars surrounding her. She can't get out of their way fast enough.

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Yeh, that's all well and good in theory, so does that mean the parents would have to sit a parenting test before their child could drive a car.

[paininthenuts]

With all due respect, whilst the UK is pretty damn stupid giving kids licenses at the age of 17, the States are more stupid by giving a juvenile a license at 16. In the UK in 2012 there were a total of 230 deaths on the road caused by drink drivers, however there were over 1500 caused through sober drivers under 23. If I were in charge I wouldn't give licenses to anyone under the age of 21, and then restrict the cars they can drive to 100 BHP until they are 25.

Ronzuki pretty much hit it on the head with why the US allows people to get licenses at 16. Keep in mind people are actually driving on learner's permits at 15. The US is just quite vast and many areas don't have adequate and efficient public transportation. If you live in a rural area, there really isn't much in terms of alternatives to driving yourself around. I can personally attest to that as I learned to drive on a mountain in California. There were no taxis, buses, trains, or anything of the like up there. If you really needed a ride without asking someone you knew, you needed to make a reservation with a small shuttle service days in advance. Basically, it was either you drive yourself or you were greatly inconvenienced to get any place your feet couldn't take you.

Also, it's not really the power of the car that's the issue. It's the maturity, skill, and sense of the driver. Distractions like texting or joking around with friends present much more of a danger than horsepower for most teen drivers. Hence, many accidents involving teens occur with low-power cars like the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus, and the like.
While something like a Kizashi may be too much in the UK, it's really on the slow side in the US. The kind of "too fast" car to give a teenager in America isn't a 4 cylinder sedan like a Kizashi but a Mustang GT (a V8 powered RWD muscle car pushing over 350 HP). In essence, giving a teen a relatively slow car with impressive crash test results is a good idea. Hence, the Kizashi is often recommended for teen drivers as a car on the used market.

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At the age of 16 a kid shouldn't be driving across the country on his own, he should be doing his home work, or playing with his action man (GI Joe) !!

[SamirD]

That's a fine but impractical idea. Taking in to account the vast 'ruralness' of this country and lack of mass transit in those areas...not practical by any stretch. Proper upbringing and being taught life skills, right & wrong, values, responsibility and accountability amongst many other things in life by two parents (god forbid), would go a long way. It's up to the parents to lay down the rules and enforce them. Not an easy task, but it does work. By the time our daughter is 25, she will have already been working as a pathologist's assistant for 2-1/2 years. Kind of impossible for her to be doing what she's doing at the age of 20-21 to prepare for that w/o a car and a license. Her woefully under-powered 2001 2.4l Alero puts her in more danger in the Northeast because of the roads, traffic and all of the drivers with more powerful cars surrounding her. She can't get out of their way fast enough.

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...the parents would have to sit a parenting test before their child could drive a car.

Doesn't sounds like a bad idea to me, lol!

[Woodie]

That test should be an update (renewal?) on the test they originally took before being allowed to have the child in the first place.

[SamirD]

That test should be an update (renewal?) on the test they originally took before being allowed to have the child in the first place.

Yes please! There's too many kids without parents these days.