Interesting comment about the driving age. This 2004 article from the Washington Post points out the European minimum ages for drinking are relatively low, but it is harder for teenagers to get a drivers' license.
[A] fundamental difference between U.S. and European approaches to drunk driving among young people: Americans have raised the drinking age to 21; Europeans keep it low but put faith in stiff rules and regulations.
While most European countries issue driver's licenses at age 18, the difficulty of passing the test, high insurance costs and wide use of trains and buses all mean that young people generally begin to drive much later than in the United States.
"They start drinking at 16, but they cannot drive until they are 18," said Florence Berteletti Kemp, a communications officer in Brussels for Eurocare, a private group that campaigns to reduce Europeans' alcohol consumption. "I think in the U.S., there is an expectation to have your own car. It's not that young people in Europe are more careful. It's that they haven't got the car."
. . . .most countries allow people to buy beer and wine at 16. In many places, such as France, drinking starts much earlier, with parents giving their children small amounts of wine at holiday celebrations. Switzerland allows drinking at age 14, and Poland and Portugal have no minimum drinking age.
More nannyism isn’t going to solve a problem of maturity. Why do people drink? Boredom, self-medication, poor self-image, etc. The same reasons people participate in all kinds of negative behaviors.
Teens are much more capable than we give them credit for and we infantilize them until they turn 18. At which point they remain immature well into their thirties.
They’ve never had the chance to grow up, which should and used to occur from 10 and on and in most communities even younger. It is not unusual to see two or three year olds holding razor sharp knives without parental supervision.
Can you imagine a yuppie household trusting their children to this degree. Lower standards just lead to lower standards. No one fears the flame like the fool who’s badly burned.