Group wants to raise the driving age

Taking aim at a long- standing rite of passage for 16-year- olds, an influential auto safety group is calling on states to raise the age for getting a driver's license to 17 or even 18.

Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry, acknowledged that the idea is "a tough sell" but noted that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_10414151

The main factor that determines a person’s driving ability is experience, not age. Riding a bicycle requires as much skill as driving a car. I had my first drivers license when I was 14, it was a restricted work and farm license, but it allowed me to get the experience I needed to learn to drive and by the time I turned 16, I was a much better driver than those whose parents waited until their kids turned 16 before letting them behind the wheel.