At what age do you think people should be permitted to have a driver's license?

[Rainshower77]

I think they should learn while they are growing (It's harder to learn as you get older) so that they leave home, they will be a pretty good, confidence driver.

plus, teens have jobs and sometime babies, so they need their license to take responsibilities.

So 15 or 16 is a good age.

I learned to drive when I was 21 years old, and I am still a nervous driver. I plan letting my son get his learners at 15 and if he shows he can make good grades and take responsibility to do his homework, he can get his license at 16.. if he keep making D's and F's and show irresponsibility in schools, I'll keep him in his learners until he is 18 years old.

If he make straight A's, then he can have his own car but if he quit making good grades, I'll have to sell the car and let him borrow mine whenever he need it,... Unless if he is failing after doing good, Then he can't drive independently at all...

 

[PurrMeow]

Great thread you have made, Liebling

I am bit having problem with my oldest niece (which I hve only two niece) anyway she is 15 and half yrs old. I am really really very concern cause of "Trust". I gotta to create "Trust" thread!

 

[Rainshower77]

Full drivers license is permitted at age 14 in South Dakota. I think thats too young. I think 18 is a good age.

The south is a deep country: hunting, farming, rednecks, etc .. and fathers let them drive a short while without a learner or license.. My dad did.

The North is a pretty busy place, so I can imagine there are more accidents than the souths.

 

[Jiro]

Great thread you have made, Liebling

I am bit having problem with my oldest niece (which I hve only two niece) anyway she is 15 and half yrs old. I am really really very concern cause of "Trust". I gotta to create "Trust" thread!

hhmmm... is it that you do not trust her to make a smart decision for herself or are you concerned about external factors (for ie. a stupid drunk crashing your niece's car)?

 

[jillio]

What's the difference between 16 and 21 if they start driving?

As a 16 year old they would do crazy things, if the law was at 21, they would do the same thing. Any opinions with this?

Yes, I have an opinion on that. Cognitive development makes a 21 year old less susceptible to many of the influences that 16 year olds are susceptible to.

 

[Jiro]

Yes, I have an opinion on that. Cognitive development makes a 21 year old less susceptible to many of the influences that 16 year olds are susceptible to.

wish that's true around here. The 21 years old people here act like 16 years old. such infantile society...

 

[PurrMeow]

hhmmm... is it that you do not trust her to make a smart decision for herself or are you concerned about external factors (for ie. a stupid drunk crashing your niece's car)?

Yes but what about her her new friends? Isn't that far concern?

 

[Jiro]

Yes but what about her her new friends? Isn't that far concern?

Nothing. I'm just curious cuz there are pretty much 2 concerns parents have for kids - either they don't trust their kids or they're just afraid of external factors or both. I know there's peer pressure from friends so I guess the best you can do is to make a rule like "you can only ride with 1 friend" and trust her to follow that rule.

 

[VamPyroX]

No he is right about California and law on teens. We have many laws on teen drivers and it works. If they break any law for instance drive with other teen after curfew, they would lose their license. It goes same for adult, if they got 3 tickets in one year, they lose license.

I've gotten a speeding ticket when I was 16, but they put me on probation. I got another one when I was 17, and they let me take defensive driving. I got another one when I was 18, and they gave me another probation. I got an average of 3 to 5 tickets a year for the next few years... then stopped when I was 23. I've only gotten a couple tickets in the last 9 years.

 

[Jiro]

I've gotten a speeding ticket when I was 16, but they put me on probation. I got another one when I was 17, and they let me take defensive driving. I got another one when I was 18, and they gave me another probation. I got an average of 3 to 5 tickets a year for the next few years... then stopped when I was 23. I've only gotten a couple tickets in the last 9 years.

Bad Boy. but.... I shouldn't be a hypocrite. I had lot of tickets too

 

[JClarke]

I got pulled over for speeding some of the time, but since in my 5 years of driving, I haven't got a single speeding ticket... I was let go with a warning, thats all. But nonrelevant to this - I got too much parking fines in a year last year.

 

[Reba]

This is what happened:

Mother, daughter die in I-26 crash

Truck lands on car, rescuers race hardening concrete
By Nadine Parks
The Post and Courier
Tuesday, May 13, 2008

A North Charleston mother and her twin teenage daughters were trapped Monday afternoon when a cement truck landed on top of their car and cement poured inside, hardening while rescue workers tried to dig them out.

"I've never seen anything like this before," said Peter Rogers, public information officer for the Charleston County Volunteer Rescue Squad.

Authorities said the accident on Interstate 26 killed the mother and one of the 15-year-old sisters, who was driving the car. Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten identified them as Christina Akabidavis, 42, and Marcushire Akabidavis, 15.

The mother was in the front passenger seat, said Cpl. Paul Brouthers of the S.C. Highway Patrol. He said the 15-year-old twin, who was in the back seat, was taken by helicopter to Medical University Hospital in critical condition. Authorities did not release her name, but a previous story in The Post and Courier identified her as Maurishire Akabidavis. The same story said the twins attended Porter-Gaud. They turned 15 on Saturday, according to their online Facebook profiles.

Drivers can get their beginner's permit when they turn 15.

The driver of the cement truck, Jeffrey Mobley, 39, of Bowman, was in good condition Monday night at Trident Medical Center, the hospital said.

"He was shook up," Brouthers said.

The crash happened at about 3:10 p.m. in the eastbound lanes in front of the rest area near College Park Road. The family's red Honda made an abrupt lane change in front of the cement truck, Brouthers said. He said the truck driver tried to compensate, but struck the Honda and the truck landed on its side on top of the car.

The teenage driver contributed to the accident, but the truck driver did not, Brouthers said. He said the truck belonged to Carolina Redi-Mix Co. of Summerville.

The Honda was nearly flattened on one side and the occupants were pinned inside.

"All the concrete came out, pouring onto the car and in the car," Rogers said. "It literally filled the car with concrete up to their waist."

The concrete began to dry as nearly 20 rescue workers used their hands and shovels to clear away the mixture, Rogers said. They had to cut the car away from the mother and her children, he said.

"If anybody comes out of it alive, it's a miracle," said Diane Turok, who was stuck in traffic along with hundreds of other afternoon commuters. Eastbound lanes were closed for nearly two hours while authorities worked to clear the scene. Rush-hour travelers avoiding the interstate were stuck in long lines of traffic along College Park Road and U.S. Highway 78.

Though the crash did not affect westbound lanes of the interstate, traffic was snarled as drivers slowed to watch the commotion.

Mother, daughter die in I-26 crash


I saw the aftermath of the accident. It happened a few minutes before I drove near that same section of road.

It's a very sad story.

 

[Reba]

These stories are from today's local paper:

School reflects on loss, survival
By Noah Haglund
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

The ink had barely dried on her learner's permit when a 15-year-old driver made a fatal lane change on Interstate 26 near College Park Road on Monday, killing the teen and her mother, and injuring her twin sister, authorities said.

Cushire and Rishire Akabidavis celebrated their birthdays on Saturday. They went to get their permits at the earliest opportunity, on Monday.

Cushire was driving the family's 2008 Honda Civic from the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Ladson east toward North Charleston when the crash happened around 3:10 p.m., said Cpl. Paul Brouthers of the S.C. Highway Patrol. The teen had been in the far-right lane, an exit for a rest area, when she made an abrupt lane change directly in front of a cement truck, he said.

The truck hit the car, then overturned on top of it between I-26 and the exit ramp. The collision killed Cushire and her mother, 42-year-old Christina Akabidavis, who was sitting in the front seat. Rishire, sitting in the back seat, was injured.

The teenage driver contributed to the accident, but the truck driver did not, Brouthers said.

Relatives have set up an account to help the surviving daughter, Rishire Akabidavis. Donations can be made at any Bank of America branch to the "Maurishire Akabidavis trust fund."

The truck driver, Jeffrey Mobley, 39, of Bowman was treated and released from Trident Medical Center on Monday, the hospital said. The truck belonged to Carolina Redi-Mix Co. in Summerville.

The twins attended Porter-Gaud, a West Ashley private school with ties to the Episcopal Church. They made the honor roll and volunteered as tutors, the school's headmaster said.

"Cushire and her sister (are) phenomenal people," Christian Proctor said, "and their mother, Christina, was always here, very active on campus."

Rishire was recovering Tuesday at Medical University Hospital with a broken leg, Proctor said.

At 8 a.m., Porter-Gaud students started their day with an assembly full of prayer and reflection for the ninth-grader they lost, and the one who survived. About 450 attended.

"We've got two jobs ahead of us," Proctor said. "We've got to mourn the loss of a classmate, but we've also got to be strong so we can help another classmate who's going through a nightmare right now."

The school also held a prayer vigil for about 100 students on Monday night.

The headmaster remembered sitting next to the twins' mother at boys' basketball games and being enchanted by her accent; she was originally from West Africa.

The surviving twin has an aunt who lives in the area, said the Rev. Rob Dewey of the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy. Authorities were told that the twins' father is in the military serving in Iraq, and is returning home.

The family has set up a trust fund to receive donations at Bank of America branches.

Lisa Miller lives next door to the Akabidavis' house in The Lakes subdivision of North Charleston. The twins often rode bicycles through the area and would offer to walk Miller's cocker spaniels.

"Smart, as nice as you could be, polite young ladies," Miller said of the twins. "Every mother's dream daughter, and she had two of them."

School reflects on loss, survival

Girl becomes teen driving statistic
By Brian Hicks
The Post and Courier
Wednesday, May 14, 2008

When she got her permit on Monday, Cushire Akabidavis had license to drive on some of the most dangerous roads in the nation, governed by a state with some of the weakest teen driving laws.

Within minutes she became another young victim of that volatile mix.

Drivers between the ages of 15 and 17 were involved in 64 traffic fatalities and more than 8,400 injuries in 2006, according to a study by the motorist club AAA.

Those accidents cost taxpayers $629 million, roughly the price of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.

"South Carolina is in the top three worst states in the country for driving, and they have some of the worst laws in dealing with teen driving," said Tom Crosby, vice president for communications at AAA Carolinas.

"This is the state that would not even pass a law to prevent teens from texting while driving."

Many states restrict how many people can be in a car with a teen driver, Crosby said. North Carolina doesn't issue permits until a driver is 16 and only allows a licensed driver, supposedly a parent, who is over 21 in the car with a learning driver.
Cost of teen crashes

South Carolina is one of several states that issue permits at 15 and require only that another licensed driver be in the car. Ten years ago, the state went to a graduated driver licensing system that requires motorists to have a beginner's permit for at least six months and do 40 hours of driving practice with a parent, part of that at night.

But many folks say that is not enough.

"I think that 15- and 16-year-olds need more training before we turn them loose and put them behind the wheel," said Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Columbia.

A survival course developed by the National Safety Council designed to prevent automobile crashes

Lourie is the sponsor of legislation that would require anyone getting a learner's permit to pass a defensive driving course approved by the Department of Public Safety. The bill passed the Senate last month and is now awaiting attention in a House committee.

Lourie got the idea from the National Safety Council, which runs a program called "Alive at 25." Several schools in the Midlands require their driving students to take the course before they can get a parking permit.

Brooke Russell, executive director of the South Carolina National Safety Council, said the course helps students learn the behavior of driving, more than the mechanics.

"There aren't many kids who don't know how to use a turn signal or stop at a stop sign, but they don't know how to handle distractions — cell phones, peer pressure," she said.

Russell said one Columbia area school, Dutch Fork High, has had at least two traffic fatalities a year among its student body since it opened. But this year, with the Alive at 25 program in place, the school has not lost any students to traffic accidents.

Russell said some Lowcountry schools have inquired about the program, but none have signed up.

Allison Dean Love, executive director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service, said that two years ago, 6.7 percent of the state's licensed drivers were teenagers, but they accounted for 12.7 percent of accidents. It's no coincidence that insurance rates are higher for drivers under 25.

The problem with teenaged drivers, Love said, is experience, or the lack thereof.

Charleston, SC Latest Local News: Girl becomes teen driving statistic

 

[Jiro]

sad but those 2 little stories should not be the reason to raise the age limit. It means our driver ed needs to be more rigorous. Add in restriction that driver with learner permit should NOT be allowed in highway. What were parents thinking.... allowing a LEARNING student on highway that's full of unpredictable possibilities... My parents didn't allow me to do that until I got a license and I think that's a very wise decision.

Unpredictable Scenarios + Inexperienced Driver = x_x