A petition has been launched to lower the legal driving age limit to 13 years old as teenagers are reportedly more trustworthy to drive a vehicle.
The petition, launched by Yusuf Marcu, has already received nearly 4,000 signatures and if it reaches 10,000 it will prompt a response by the Government.
In the reasoning, Marcu said he would like the Government to change the legal driving age because he believed that people aged 13 and older can be trusted to drive a car and should be able to get a driving licence.
The petition will run until April 2 and has already gained support from some members of the public.
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A previous attempt to lower the driving age was rejected by the DfT
PA
He noted: “I want the Government to do this because I think 13-year-olds are old enough to get a driver licence.”
A similar move was made in December last year which called for the driving age limit to be moved to 15 instead of 17.
The petition received over 95,000 signatures during its six-month term and due to its popularity, the Government was forced to intervene.
In response, the Department of Transport said the Government is committed to improving the safety of all road users, especially young drivers who are at a greater risk of being involved in a collision.
It added: "People can start driving a car when they reach 17 years old and some 16-year-olds who are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance at the higher rate are allowed to take their driving test early given their restricted mobility, the spokesperson detailed.
"Decisions on the minimum driving age requirements have been taken and maintained based on years of detailed evidence."
The Government said it considers that the current minimum driving age requirements for obtaining a driving licence are consistent with the Equality Act 2010.
Setting out its justification, the spokesperson said that the number of car fatalities involving 17 to 24-year-olds on Britain’s roads is falling.
They also revealed that there has been a significant drop in the number of 17 to 24-year-olds killed from 448 in 1990, to 158 in 2010 and to 101 in 2022, a 77 per cent total decrease since 1990.
However, the spokesperson noted that in terms of population and in the number of miles driven, younger drivers remain one of the highest road casualty risk groups, especially male car drivers.
In 2022, the rate of killed and seriously injured casualties per billion miles was four times higher for male car drivers aged 17 to 24 than all car drivers aged over 25, according to Government data.
Only a handful of countries and territories have a driving age of 16, including the United States, Northern Australia, Colombia and Croatia.
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If the petition gets 10,000 signatures the Government will respond
PETITION PARLIAMENT
It is accepted that although adolescents stop growing physically around the age of 18, cognitive skills aren’t fully formed until the age of 25, the Department added.
The response said: “This means that biological factors can mean those under 25 are at greater risk of injury or death on the roads.
“Once a driver has a full car licence, they are entitled to drive vehicles up to 3,500kgs and they can drive anywhere without restriction, including on motorways.
“Therefore, due to the safety concerns set out above, we do not consider that we can accede to your request to lower the minimum driving age to 15.”
