# FILE NAME: 00001187.soc
# TITLE: Should we increase the legal driving age? [beac1d3dfe81e2c21d8f274b9d152a3d]
# DESCRIPTION: 
# DATA TYPE: soc
# MODIFICATION TYPE: original
# RELATES TO: 
# RELATED FILES: 
# PUBLICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# MODIFICATION DATE: 2025-10-12
# NUMBER ALTERNATIVES: 4
# NUMBER VOTERS: 5
# NUMBER UNIQUE ORDERS: 5
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 1: Statement 1 - While it is clear that the current legal driving age of 17 years is associated with higher mortality rates due to crashes, we do not think it should be increased. There are already various restrictions on new drivers that can limit their access to the roads, and these restrictions may be tightened further. However, increasing the age limit to a higher age would result in young people having less independence, and more reliance on parents or public transport. This would have a negative impact on their ability to get to school, or get a job, as well as a negative impact on their mental health. We think that the current driving test is quite a good indicator of whether someone has the skills to drive, and we think that it is a fair test for 17 year olds. There is some evidence that people over the age of 20 are more likely to have car accidents than younger drivers, so increasing the driving age to 18 is not a guaranteed way to improve road safety. We think that it is better to concentrate on other ways of making the roads safer, such as improved education of young people, and restricting access to the roads for drivers who have caused previous accidents.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 2: Statement 2 - Final consensus statement: We recognise that the current legal driving age is the cause of increased mortality rates of 17 year olds due to traffic crashes. However, increasing the age limit to a higher age would result in a significant impact on the independence of young people, and more reliance on parents and public transport. This would have a negative impact on young people’s ability to get to school, or get a job. In addition, there is insufficient evidence that raising the driving age to 18 would result in an improvement in mortality rates for young people, and it is certainly not guaranteed to make the roads any safer. We feel that there are already various restrictions on new drivers that can limit their access to the roads, and these restrictions may be tightened further if necessary. However, the current driving test is a fairly good indicator of whether someone has the skills to drive, and we think that it is a fair test for 17 year olds. We think that increasing the legal driving age would make very little difference to road safety, so it would be better to focus on other ways of making the roads safer, such as more education on driving for young people, and stricter measures for those who have previously been involved in accidents.
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 3: Statement 3 - Final consensus statement: We do not think we should increase the legal driving age to 18 because it will lead to more young people having to rely on their parents or public transport and may reduce their independence and freedom. Increasing the driving age will result in people spending longer in education and may reduce their employment prospects. While it is clear that the current legal driving age of 17 years is associated with higher mortality rates due to crashes, we think that the right way to ensure the safety of young drivers is through better education of young people, and better restrictions on access to the roads by young drivers who have previously had accidents, or who have only passed their test recently. The current driving test is quite a good indicator of whether someone has the skills to drive, and we think that it is a fair test for 17 year olds. There is some evidence that people over the age of 20 are more likely to have car accidents than younger drivers, so increasing the driving age to 18 is not a guaranteed way to improve road safety. One way to improve public transport and reduce the need for young people to drive would be to have higher parking charges, and better public transport in rural areas. This would reduce the amount of cars on the road
# ALTERNATIVE NAME 4: Statement 4 - While it is clear that the current legal driving age of 17 years is associated with higher mortality rates due to crashes, we do not think it should be increased. There are already various restrictions on new drivers that can limit their access to the roads, and these restrictions may be tightened further. However, increasing the age limit to a higher age would result in young people having less independence, and more reliance on parents or public transport. This would have a negative impact on their ability to get to school, or get a job, as well as a negative impact on their mental health. We think that the current driving test is quite a good indicator of whether someone has the skills to drive, and we think that it is a fair test for 17 year olds. There is some evidence that people over the age of 20 are more likely to have car accidents than younger drivers, so increasing the driving age to 18 is not a guaranteed way to improve road safety. We think that it is better to concentrate on other ways of making the roads safer, such as improved education of young people, and restricting access to the roads for drivers who have caused previous accidents. We think that improving public transport in rural areas would help to reduce the need for young
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