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Thread ID: 81976	2007-08-12 22:37:00	Should the driving age be raised to 18 ?	Digby (677)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
580290	2007-11-05 04:04:00	no way the driving age should stay the same Punctuation can be useful. Without it, your post can be read in two ways - both for and against - depending on where the reader decides to mentally place capitals or a full stop. Is it one sentence or two? It makes a vast difference. I believe 15 year-olds should be able to express themselves clearly, irrespective of how good their driving may be.	Laura (43)
580291	2007-11-05 05:12:00	Punctuation can be useful. Without it, your post can be read in two ways - both for and against - depending on where the reader decides to mentally place capitals or a full stop. Is it one sentence or two? It makes a vast difference. I believe 15 year-olds should be able to express themselves clearly, irrespective of how good their driving may be. Quite right Laura,you tell the young scallywag.	Cicero (40)
580292	2007-11-05 23:55:00	I knew she had one,but didn't know she was one;) LOL! That cracked me up. :lol:	Marion Wilson (12654)
580293	2007-11-29 08:40:00	Punctuation can be useful . Without it, your post can be read in two ways - both for and against - depending on where the reader decides to mentally place capitals or a full stop . Is it one sentence or two? It makes a vast difference . I believe 15 year-olds should be able to express themselves clearly, irrespective of how good their driving may be . Laura, I understand some people have their own idiosyncrasies, one of yours may be that you correct people's punctuation, but surely your comments are a little over the top? It's fairly obvious that xxxhello means "No way, the driving age should stay the same" or "No way . The driving age should stay the same" . No difference either way . If he did mean it as one sentence without a comer or a fullstop then it would be a double negative, but it would still mean the same thing - even though technically it's said wrong . Now in reply to your last comment . It sounds like your being sarcastic? Sarcasm is very misleading, even more so than a double negative . ====================================== Ok, now what I want to say . I was very interested in this thread a while ago, I wrote a speech for school "Why the driving age should stay at the age of 15" (I'm not sure on the exact title actually) . At that stage I was 14 and 'REALLY' wanted to get my license . I got merit for my speech (which is very good, considering I'm in the top class, and prior to that I was doing corospodense from home - very different) . While I was 14 (a few months and I was 15) I bought a car, it cost $2500 which I had saved over the past 3 years - ALL of that money was money that I had earnt . NONE of it had been just "given" to me, I worked for a company (delieving junk mail) . - So I worked hard for it, I've already posted about that on this thread too . <b>Right!! Now</b> I'm 15 now, I have my license, in the test I got one question wrong, the last one . It was something like how many meters can something hang over the front of your car? I put 2m from the front edge of the front seat, it was 3m . So that's not going to kill anyone? For a while now, I've been able to drive on the road and I've driven to work (I now work at Pack'n'Save), I drive around town, and drive from work . Soon I'm hoping to drive to school but I'm not quite that good (with parking etc when there are lots of cars) . I'm excited to have my license, that way I will have more independence, as I live in a rural area where there is no public transport into town (it would take about 1 hour 30 to walk there and back) . Now it's for that reason that 15 year-olds should be able to get their licenses, I also am looking forward to other facts like (so long as I'm sober) I can drive home from parties/to parties etc . So yeah, there are some positive points why "mind-teenagers" should be able to have their licenses . ==================== Two last things to clear up: I don't drive by myself at the moment, I'm on my learners license and I don't drink either and wont until I'm 18 . ==================== Right!! Thanks if you read this all (lol), Tyler	TylerR (12656)
580294	2007-11-29 09:24:00	I'm excited to have my license, that way I will have more independence, as I live in a rural area where there is no public transport into town (it would take about 1 hour 30 to walk there and back). Now it's for that reason that 15 year-olds should be able to get their licenses, I also am looking forward to other facts like (so long as I'm sober) I can drive home from parties/to parties etc. By that reasoning, we should just go ahead and give 14 year olds licenses too. Hell - why not 12 or 13 year olds. As long as you can reach the pedals, you're ok. You might look forward to driving to and from parties, but the rest of us innocent road users probably won't look forward to you having that privilege. Anyway, what concerns me more than the driving age is the whole driving education process (or apparent lack of) in this country. There are plenty of morons on the road, male and female of all ages, who should never have been granted a license. Take the time to teach people properly and it will pay dividends. I cringe at the number of people who I see tailgating or not using their indicators correctly (or at all) - they were obviously never taught any 'roadcraft' at all.	legod (4626)
580295	2007-11-29 10:12:00	Laura, I understand some people have their own idiosyncrasies, one of yours may be that you correct people's punctuation, but surely your comments are a little over the top? It's fairly obvious that xxxhello means "No way, the driving age should stay the same" or "No way . The driving age should stay the same" . No difference either way . If he did mean it as one sentence without a comer or a fullstop then it would be a double negative, but it would still mean the same thing - even though technically it's said wrong . Now in reply to your last comment . It sounds like your being sarcastic? Sarcasm is very misleading, even more so than a double negative . ====================================== Ok, now what I want to say . I was very interested in this thread a while ago, I wrote a speech for school "Why the driving age should stay at the age of 15" (I'm not sure on the exact title actually) . At that stage I was 14 and 'REALLY' wanted to get my license . I got merit for my speech (which is very good, considering I'm in the top class, and prior to that I was doing corospodense from home - very different) . While I was 14 (a few months and I was 15) I bought a car, it cost $2500 which I had saved over the past 3 years - ALL of that money was money that I had earnt . NONE of it had been just "given" to me, I worked for a company (delieving junk mail) . - So I worked hard for it, I've already posted about that on this thread too . <b> Right!! Now</b> I'm 15 now, I have my license, in the test I got one question wrong, the last one . It was something like how many meters can something hang over the front of your car? I put 2m from the front edge of the front seat, it was 3m . So that's not going to kill anyone? For a while now, I've been able to drive on the road and I've driven to work (I now work at Pack'n'Save), I drive around town, and drive from work . Soon I'm hoping to drive to school but I'm not quite that good (with parking etc when there are lots of cars) . I'm excited to have my license, that way I will have more independence, as I live in a rural area where there is no public transport into town (it would take about 1 hour 30 to walk there and back) . Now it's for that reason that 15 year-olds should be able to get their licenses, I also am looking forward to other facts like (so long as I'm sober) I can drive home from parties/to parties etc . So yeah, there are some positive points why "mind-teenagers" should be able to have their licenses . ==================== Two last things to clear up: I don't drive by myself at the moment, I'm on my learners license and I don't drink either and wont until I'm 18 . ==================== Right!! Thanks if you read this all (lol), Tyler Congratulations, Tyler, on your accomplishments - Firstly, for getting your licence . Well done! Secondly, for your industry in working & saving to buy your vehicle yourself . (I was reared in a family where this was normal, rather than parents providing the "extras" . I'm pleased to see that attitude hasn't died out) As you will know, it's hard to generalise about regulations involving a variety of people & a variety of circumstances . I've always had kinship feelings for young people living rurally when it comes to driving permissions . That's because I live rurally myself on & off . I have young neighbours who I know are good drivers by licence time because I've seen them practising & I know how keen they are to be independent . I would feel the same . . . I also see how well their parents teach them, as they also look forward to the time when they can stop being taxi drivers whenever teens need to go to town . But sadly that's just a small proportion of today's 15 year-olds . Most don't need a driver's licence . They merely want one . I'd be delighted if the country kids could have a special dispensation to start driving younger than the others, but probably that's unrealistic . It may seem unfair to you that Olds who could drive at 15 want to delay that for your age group now . But the fact is we weren't able to kill ourselves & others so easily in the past . Our cars were old bombs which couldn't possibly do the speed of today's cheapies . Nowadays a car can be a lethal weapon . I'm interested to know how many young people think of it that way - as opposed to a useful object or a show-off item . I'm glad to hear you plan to stay sober . Stick with that! P . S . As to the grammar - No, I wasn't being sarcastic . just pointing out that lack of punctuation can garble meanings . You may have guessed what he meant, but grammatically it was simply that - a guess . The version you didn't quote - with no punctuation - " No way the driving age should stay the same" is colloquial for the opposite of your version . Punctuation does count . Yes, it is sometimes one of my idiosyncracies .	Laura (43)
580296	2007-11-29 10:20:00	I'll reply to this properally tomorrow as I have lots of interesting thought on this. I agree with most of what you said Laura. Ummm, I (obviously wrongly) thought your last comment was sarcastic, it sounded like 15 year-olds/teenagers should be able to drive fast to prove they are better than each other. I thought that's what you meant. <b> I do not agree with it </b> Of course, if you weren't sarcastic then there is no problem. (lol)	TylerR (12656)
580297	2007-11-29 16:43:00	Fifteen is too young. Tyler R sounds a good person but.... I know a family of young kids probably 14, 15 and 16, that live on their own (parents hardly ever there) they hold parties every weekend and one of them drives ! They are often outside our house drunk and in a sorry state. They are not violent but cannot hold their drink (nor should any 15 year old be able to !) and I dread the thought of them driving off in their car and killing someone ! Young brains and minds are not fully developed until the early twenties and they are just not mature enough. Neither are some 18 year olds but we have to set an age somewhere ! So The age should be 18 like in most countries. Regards Digby	Digby (677)
580298	2007-11-29 19:11:00	I'm 15 now, I have my license, in the test I got one question wrong, the last one . It was something like how many meters can something hang over the front of your car? I put 2m from the front edge of the front seat, it was 3m . OT Anyone have any idea why the overhang is referenced to the front seat rather than the front wheels or the front of the vehicle (like the need to have a flag) . The front seat on something like a Rolls Royce is a lot further back than a Hiace van .	PaulD (232)
580299	2007-11-29 19:47:00	I also see how well their parents teach them That's often half the problem. The parents shouldn't be the ones teaching them because they are often the ones passing on bad habits or neglecting to teach them any 'roadcraft' (if they knew any in the first place). After all, where did the parents learn to drive? (they probably didn't). And then the curse of the dangerous Kiwi driver perpetuates through another generation.	legod (4626)
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