Letter: Young drivers lack maturity

Friday, March 11, 2005 | 5 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

March 12 - 13, 2005

I'm writing about the Supreme Court's recent banning of the death penalty for people under the age of 18, rather than allowing the lower courts to make that determination on a case-by-case basis, ostensibly because those young criminals lack the mental development and maturity to understand the consequences of their actions.

Isn't it interesting that youths of 16 and 17, while not allowed to vote, to enter into contracts, to serve in the military and, now, not allowed to be executed for especially heinous crimes, are allowed to propel motor vehicles weighing 4,000 pounds and more along our highways at high speeds?

If their brains are so undeveloped as to make them ineligible to pay the ultimate penalty for their crimes, let's apply the same logic to their ability to drive. Let's make 18 the minimum driving age. However, given the lack of driving skill, the lack of courtesy and the misdirected machismo that I've observed among a large number of males in their 20s and early 30s, the age of 35 might be even better to begin driving!

J. JEFFREY TATE