18; to drive or not to drive?
What is the age of consent these days in England? When I was a lad, we could ride a motorbike at 16, be a soldier at 18 and vote only when 21 years old. My dad could start work when he was 14 but I had to be 16. Clearly some changes had to be made for the sake of fairness. Either no fighting (and possibly dieing) for your Country until 21 or the right to vote at 18 for the Government, which might want to send you off to war.
We have now certainly rested on the age of 18 when a man or woman is considered old enough to be engaged in the Nation's conflicts and vote for Her Government. The age of 21 is now, regrettably, nothing more than the distant historical age when a man was considered strong enough to raise a sword above his head in full armour. I still think there is much merit in 21 as the age of adulthood, but we are where we are. (Thanks mostly to the World Wars of the 20th Centaury)
This being so, 18 should be the age for all things. That wonderful and universal watershed between youth and adulthood.
I suggest all permissions be aligned at 18 years of age, including the right to join a political party and vote in any public election.
This means the ability to drive/ride anything on a public road. Perhaps there would need to be some allowance for horses and pushbikes but only when accompanied by an accountable adult.
Ability to leave school or full time education.
Ability to buy and consume alcohol or tobacco or any other prescribed items (glue, knives etc)
Any other views out there?
Comments: 3
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i must admit to being lobbied by my daughter who will turn 18 in a few years and will therefore see the prospect of friends in her year a school being able to drive at 17 while she will have to wait until she is 18. Life is not always fair and equitable!
Remembering to my dim and distant past when i was 17 and let loose on the roads, i support to increased age limit.
not sure about the pushbikes though as i feel it is prudent to allow children to ride on the roads from a much earlier age. I remeber going on a cycle camp when i was 12 which involved extensive cycling on the roads. Further i believe that cycling is a viable alternative to walking or being driven to school for secondary age school students. In fact we should be encouraging these students to use this form of travel.
I cannot forget the memory of so many white stones in Flanders with ages of 19 and 20 years old. If we can ask such young people to die for their Country, when does the law allow them self detirmination?
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