15 too young to drive, says brain expert

[Filterer]

Just make licensing harder.

I think if in the first six months of your restricted you are 19x more likely to have an accident then someone more experienced, regardless of if you are young/old, black/white/yellow/green drive/ride etc then you shouldn't be on the road. Make licensing harder!

[Big Dave]

sweet, problem solved.

ya reckon? - look up 'scooter culture'.

[placidfemme]

Dr Robert Isler, a senior lecturer in psychology at Waikato University, said yesterday that the frontal lobes of 15-year-olds' brains were not fully developed, and as a result many struggled to recognise and react to hazards and took extra risks.

haha they needed an expert to tell them that?

tossers... I could have told them that years ago when I first got here

[The_Dover]

ya reckon? - look up 'scooter culture'.

Finn will deal to them in his SUV.

[Big Dave]

Finn will deal to them in his SUV.

Cool - I thought he was busy holding an edition of Vogue magazine in one hand, but OK.

[Skyryder]

It is just as dangerous to drive at 15 as it is to take advise from academics.

So it's you whose been moonlighting as a surgeon performing lobotomys on 15 year olds. You have been busy.

Skyryder

[Finn]

Finn will deal to them in his SUV.

You've heard of Roo Bars in Australia. I've got Scoo Bars on mine.

[sAsLEX]

I think if in the first six months of your restricted you are 19x more likely to have an accident then someone more experienced, regardless of if you are young/old, black/white/yellow/green drive/ride etc then you shouldn't be on the road. Make licensing harder!

Thing is learners are always going to be x times more dangerous than the data set they are comparing them to, no matter what age.

[Phils Motorcycles]

I used to work for Robert Isler when I was at the uni. He's been doing road safety studies etc the entire time I've known him and that's been 12+ years. Nice guy too and he didn't mind that we would take 2 hour breaks to play games on the driving simulator.

[SPman]

I don't think 15 year old kids can handel the responsibility of being on the road. But yea, that's just my view.

-Indy

Shit - I was OK. Was doing deliveries for the old man 3 weeks after I turned 15.
Perhaps it also has something to do with being given responsibility at an early age, and being treated as someone who will act responsibly when that trust is given, instead of the current vogue of treating kids like they are complete imbeciles, still on mummies breast, until they are about 15!

Scott Dixon racing a formula ford at 13 must have really pressed this guys buttons!

[smokeyging]

Debatable issue. I’ve seen some very sensible 15 year old drivers, and I’ve seen a lot of 30, 40, and 50 etc year old drivers that shouldn’t have a licence. I’m not saying all 15 year olds are sensible, some are naturals, others just haven’t got a clue, can’t read distance or speed, then of course there’s the cowboys…bullet-proof. Age is only a guideline, but I think not all that foolproof. The drivers that do worry me are the ones that know it all….

[SPman]

Debatable issue. I’ve seen some very sensible 15 year old drivers, and I’ve seen a lot of 30, 40, and 50 etc year old drivers that shouldn’t have a licence. I’m not saying all 15 year olds are sensible, some are naturals, others just haven’t got a clue, can’t read distance or speed, then of course there’s the cowboys…bullet-proof. Age is only a guideline, but I think not all that foolproof. The drivers that do worry me are the ones that know it all….

That's the trouble - trying to govern a world of greys in black and white!

[Speedy]

I personaly got my first bike at 15 (GSX250) and that was stupid - ive only been driving for a year . im currently 19 . i think the age should be the same but geting your licence should be much much harder with engine size restrictions etc 2day courses etc . learning 2 ride b4 driving should be compolsury u just learn so much more on a bike and i think every1 can agree. OH and ive never crash or have an acident in 4years. im lucky!

[Lou Girardin]

The problem is not the 15 year olds, it's the 17 year olds who have driven for a while and think they are Rossi, Schumacher and Loeb all rolled into one. Raising the driving age delays the onset of this stage to a point where they are more mature.
Labour won't do it because they're shit scared of Federated Farmers, who want the age left at 15.
Which is quite typical of cockies really. Bugger the dead kids in town, as long as their sprogs can drive a tractor on the road.

[terbang]

Bugger the dead kids in town, as long as their sprogs can drive a tractor on the road.

Not entirely true. They pay their taxes and rates and yet any sort of public transport system is confined to the cities. This forces them to use their own sort of transport. You used to be able to leave school at 15 so therefore it made sense for, a rural kid to be able to hold some sort of regular employment, they should be allowed to either drive or have public transport available like the town kids. We all know what NZ public transport system is like so they drive. The school leaving age is now 16.