"AND YOU'RE GOING TO LET HER DRIVE?"

An actual picture taken by a friend of ours when the younger bro strapped himself in the backseat to go for a ride with his newly licensed sister. The glazed look of fear. It's a great shot.

But should the driving age be raised to 18? Heck, no. I know, I'm usually on the side of safety and conservatism to the point that some might say I'm reactionary. But even though I recall putting 3 dings in the family car before I was 18, I still say let them drive.

For one thing their reflexes are better. Because they're well, young. They're also better at texting. Again because they're young. Older people texting takes longer, which takes their eyes off the road longer.

For another thing, they have at least a little trouble obtaining alcohol. For the most part. Though these days, if I worked at a liquor store, I'd have to resort to Hooters' way of carding everyone. I mean, I do not know how to tell the difference between some teens and some twenty or maybe even thirty somethings. Remember I qualified by saying some. When I was younger there were only two guys that looked a whole lot older. One had a moustache in Little League, and the other started shaving in grade six.

Finally, they're extremely helpful in picking up, dropping off, and running errands. What would we do without them? Plus, they don't care. They still have that simple love for driving. Remember that feeling? I have so lost it that I can't stand to drive anymore.

First of all, I know, no matter how hard, how determined I am not to complain about other drivers that it's just not gonna happen. I don't get to the point of road rage, but I do get to the point of "other drivers really tick me off almost rage". I won't bore you with the details of pitfalls I encounter. You know them all.

But, you know what? Most do not involve 16 year-olds. So give them and us good drivers a break and let them have their drivers' licenses. I might even say, drop the age limit to 14.

Whoa! Am I a radical?