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-   -   Minimum driving age: Is 18 too long a wait? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/5159-minimum-driving-age-18-too-long-wait-8.html)

Well, I turned 18 last September and got my learner's license, the very next day after my birthday. Being a car fanatic since childhood, I always use to crib the govt. for making this rule, But IMO it's not the age, it's just that you drive the car for the sake or you've real interest in it.

I use to be very interested in the cars, I learned driving just by seeing my dad driving the car, then on one day ( I was 16 then ) I asked him, to let me reverse the car from the parking, He agreed. I did it, after stalling it for 1 time, after this, Whenever he used to take the car, I used to reverse it out of the parking.

But, He never allowed me to drive the car except for reversing out of the parking, My dad said, when you'll turn 18, then only I'll let you drive.

On 1st September, I turned 18, Got my learners license on 2nd, Then i started asking my dad, to make me learn driving on streets. He took me 2-3 times, in the early morning and told me that, you can drive now and asked me to wait till I get my permanent license, I got permanent license in october.

Then, finally after a lot of begging, He told me to show my driving to him and then only, He'll let me drive.

It was only in february, 4th feb to be precise, He allowed me to take the car on the road, It was the one of the happiest day of my life clap:.

For, initial 2 days, I used to be, a bit nervous, But became confident in a week. In march, I took the car for the first time on the highway, I attended my 1st Team-BHP meet and took the car on NH1. After lot of pleading in front of dad, He allowed to me to take the car.

Now, from feb. till date, I am driving my car everyday, Took her to nanital once.

My total driving experience till date, will be around 5500 kms, Till date, I've never banged my car into anyone ( Touchwood ), never drove her rashly, I do redline her, but I don't drive rash, I am fast driver but not rash.

So, it depends on the person, irrespective of the age, whether he/she must have interest in driving, one should not drive just for the sake of it :)

Sorry, guys for the long post.

Cheers,
Sameer

Thats what my point exactly was. May be you stated it in a better way!clap:

I drove because I was interested in driving. I too redline sometimes but that is only when I have no one in sight on a straight road ahead. I love to drive in triple digit speeds but only if it is an expressway and the condition of the car allows me to do so.

Kudos to your dad that he gave you the car only after he made sure that you would be able to handle the power on tap and would not be a danger to yourself and the society.
Even I was handed over the keys after this point was made particularly sure!
Wish all the parents take some time out and just see how their child drives before blindly handing over the keys to them!

I have voted for 21.

However, I would have voted for 18 had the option been with strict laws/ a stricter and more rigid examination process. If the laws are like foreign countries, comprising of rigorous theory as well as practical tests with a minuscule passing percentage, it would not only reduce the number of new drivers on our streets but only the better drivers would be permitted to drive and looking at the current scenario I think it is quite a valid solution.

Main thing here would be not if you are 18 or 21, but what proof you bring to prove you are 18 or 21. Almost everybody cheats on their age for obtaining DL or in sports or just to put their kids in school earlier. Recently at a national level school sports event, I saw a girl produce her Birth Certificate to the committee which stated that she was 16 and then immediately pull it back and give another one that stated she was 14 so that she can participate at a lower age level. We teach our children to cheat and also provide them with the necessary tools.

I entered this thread to write my experience, but if I had done so, then it would be equivalent of copying your post. :) Few differences are that I turned eighteen a month before you did and I got my licence issued within thirty two days of turning eighteen. But I think my dad was waiting for the licence. Now I get the chaffeur's role :D I dont mind though, LOL. Within these nine odd months, touchwood no dings and scratches like other some new drivers. I dont like driving fast. According to me, the occupants in the car must not know when you accelarate and brake. Thats how smooth I keep the car. And I have personally driven for more than 8000kms in various cars and various places.

Regarding the age factor, I feel its rather the maturity of the mind that had a major role to play. If I were given a licence maybe a year before I actually got it, I would have driven in the same way. If one is not mature enough, they can be unfit for a licence even if they are twenty. But I dont mean that drivibg fast is immature, but driving within practical, technical and sane limits is mature driving according to me. I really am not sure if age is the only determinant towards maturity. Rather I feel that the RTO must make a better analysis of the drivers skills rather than just determining the age and giving a so called driving test.

We find many cases of underage drivers who end up totalling cars. But I bet, even if they were of age, such people would be equally crazy, this time armed with a driving licence.

Wow! That is indeed a bad one! Fierce competitiveness at any cost?
Lack of moral fibre, greed and the desire to win regardless of the tenets of fairplay etc.
Really bad indeed.

[quote=speedsatya;73330
now,when you are reducing the minimum age for a license to 16 years,then there also have to be stricter laws.every offence should be accounted for with points.and when u exceed the maximum number of points decided upon,the license should be cancelled.

this will definitely give us safer drivers[/QUOTE]

I think very valid point. If stringent rules are applied we can reduce the age to 16. Also it is very important to have proper driving test like Europe and Middle east where a driver is thoroughly tested in written and practical exam. In India you can get a license by a mere visit to office or sometimes without that also.

While we are discussing whether 18 is too long a wait, there are few kids (in all sense) who get to drive powerful machines through public roads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm2xgHeULSc

You might have seen this video, of two very small kids driving around an F430 through the roads of a township in Kerala. The father (or whoever shot the video) even feels proud to upload such videos.

And there are youngsters who drop their jaws seeing the video and sadly they are singing praises for the infant driver as well.

My Frustration: - With the pathetic scene of traffic discipline in India, I would prefer the age to be 30 years. :deadhorse

This is what the system desperately needs. The ability to react to an obstruction on the route, staying alert while driving and general knowledge of the Do's and don'ts on a Road should be a prerequisite for the candidate to graduate to a proper license from a learner.

There is a lot of impatience with drivers on our roads , the same is true with respect to the rules of the road(yield to oncoming traffic, at roundabouts to traffic coming in from the right, use of indicators at turns, etc ) need to improve for the rash driving on the roads to decrease.
I'd say learner at 18, but permanent at 21. If the rules on the road were being followed like in developed countries, suggestions like learners getting license to drive vehicles of a limited cubic capacity.

keep revvin!!!

Except for the car, I have no regrets if they ended up in a severe crash. If not that way, no one will learn. In such conditions, is when even the most stubborn people get their lessons learnt.

Nice topic. IMO, It is the distance covered behind the wheel and the various situations that you encounter over those distances which changes your perspective towards driving and makes you drive the car rather than let the car drive you.

Cars have evolved at a much faster rate than human evolution. Most cars available in India till 2000 had a moderate acceleration that could still be controlled by a beginner in case he pressed the throttle a little more than he intended. With the current range of cars available in India, such a mistake might land you off the road before you know it. Its time to change the 'one size fits all' category of LMV and instead categorize it further with different ages for each. Just putting a higher age limit might not help as the driver would still be a beginner at a higher age and could prove to be equally dangerous as some of the current 18 year olds who make us think the minimum age should be 21.

The small car license can still be given at 18. License to drive bigger and more powerful cars should be given only after the driver attains a specific number of years in experience with a lower category, which would indirectly raise the minimum age as well as ensure beginners (irrespective of their age) don't get to drive vehicles that are too powerful to be controlled by them in every situation.

Knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Kids today know a lot more, but are they smarter than kids, say a decade ago? I doubt it.

Kids have access to much more information today than kids from a decade ago, but has their ability to process information changed by the same magnitude?

Driving is more than just knowing how to handle the A-B-C pedals, steering and gears (though I'd admit a lot of our 'adult' drivers fall in the same bracket:D). More and more families are able to afford cars these days, but quality of driving on our roads has declined rapidly. We need to overhaul our entire approach to driving, not just license eligibility criteria. Age misrepresentation is rampant in India, so people who want licenses at 15-16 are still getting them, and a lot don't even bother getting one.

I personally learnt to drive once I turned 18 in a proper driving school from an instructor with 30+ years of experience. My father refused to teach me in the family car, because he believed it was best if I learnt in a controlled environment under professional supervision before I hit the road. I was jealous of friends in school whose fathers were 'easy-going' w.r.t. under-age driving, but today I'm a much better driver simply because I learnt the right way at an appropriate age.

I'm not against revising the eligible age for licensing, but we need to ensure we're doing more than merely giving the kids a card endorsing their right to drive. It would be to everyone's detriment if we unleash under-prepared and ill-equipped drivers on our already chaotic roads, age notwithstanding.

I have voted for 16, because I think a 16 year old is grown up enough to be a responsible driver. Moreover, I don't think that increasing the age limit to 21 will help us get any better drivers, I think the government should implement stricter safety norms and driving tests before giving out driving licenses, like in developed countries, we too need a proper driving course for all young (and some old ones too!), and a real strict driving test. And of course the family of all new and young drivers need to be educated about keeping a tab on their children, and how their care free attitude can harm their own children and other beings on the road.

And I have no idea why is there a hatred for rich kids everywhere(not only on the forum). I mean not all rich kids are bad drivers, in fact a few of them are extremely well versed with cars, technically too, partly because they've always been around one, and are genuinely good drivers. About rich brats being involved in accidents, doesn't it happen to the best of drivers, irrespective of their financial status and age? So why classify ten just because two were bad!

As someone pointed out keeping a person who loves driving, waiting longer will only make them rip their cars and drive rash, as and when they get a chance to drive.

And with all due respect to people who have voted for 21, I am sure Sirs, you didn't want that when you were about to turn 18!

P.s. I am no rich kid and I am, by no chance, advocating rash driving. I did learn driving at a very young age but my parents allowed me to drive around only when I had a valid driving license, but the wait was for sure killing!(its been three years now, since I have a driving license) And I just think that the country needs stricter traffic norms and stricter driving tests.

Nice thread indeed! To start off, I first held my cars steering when I was in 3rd std and learnt to use the clutch, brake and accelerator together in 4th standard and all these were done in empty playgrounds. I started taking the car out of the parking lot right from around 6th standard and I kept doing the same till I got my learners license!(The wait was maddening)!! I was a car frantic since my second birthday (my dad says so) and thats when I got my first Car Magazine! All these years, what I've learnt and what has been taught by my dad is to respect everything, be it a car, or anything! So, though I take my car to college everyday and do loads of driving, I have never felt like speeding up or get into a sense of hurry!

I'm 19 and friends in my age group are of many different types! Most of them drive rashly, get to very high speeds and still can't get over the "superhero" or "game-like" imagination while they drive and many lack the sense of responsibility while on road. But, there are some, very matured in thinking and on the road. Basically, its the maturity to be taken into consideration. Its not about being rich or poor. Its just based on how one's mind works, just like how important parenting and moral values are! 18 is kind of the right age I feel. But, with parents giving away vehicles to their tender aged kids without any guidance or warning, and with such a weak way to award DL, no law can help us out of this hole!!

Therefore, me voting for 18! :)