When can my son start driving? 16 or 17?

[sbk1972]

Hi all,

I have a 15 year old son who is desperate to drive and Im currently in the belief you have to be 17. 17 was the age I had to wait.

However Ive noticed more and more comments on the net, facebook, where people have started to learn to drive at 16 ? I did a little research and if you have some mental issues or personal independance payments (pip) then you can drive at 16 as mentioned on this Gov site - https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-dri...

Reading the site further it seems to be able to claim PIP you need to be someone that needs help preparing medical, going to the loo, dress, etc. Seems madness that this should then allow you to drive earlier.

I then saw Top Dead Centre last night and they also mentioned 16 for a quadracycle ?

My son doesnt have an issues, or PIP or whatever, just a normal chap. When can I get him driving ? :-)

SBK

[blue_haddock]

If he is disabled and in receipt of high rate PIP mobility element then he can learn to drive at 16 but otherwise it will be 17 until he can drive.

At 16 he can drive a quadricycle like an axiom or ligier but i think he will need a cbt to drive one of those.

[Glosphil]

On public roads - 17.

[LunarOne]

At 16 he could do a CBT and then ride a moped. I don't know how you feel about bikes, but this might lead on to getting a motorbike licence, and this will likely make him a MUCH better driver as he will learn to become aware of lots of telltales that will tell him what other drivers are going to do. Things that car only people don't seem to pick up on as much or at all.

With a name like SBK I expect you do like bikes.

[Tony1963]

LunarOne said:

At 16 he could do a CBT and then ride a moped. I don't know how you feel about bikes, but this might lead on to getting a motorbike licence, and this will likely make him a MUCH better driver as he will learn to become aware of lots of telltales that will tell him what other drivers are going to do. Things that car only people don't seem to pick up on as much or at all.

With a name like SBK I expect you do like bikes.

Yep, motorbikes are nature's way of weeding out the weak and stupid, especially when they're full of testosterone.

Great idea.

[anyoldcardave]

sbk1972 said:

Hi all,

I have a 15 year old son who is desperate to drive and Im currently in the belief you have to be 17. 17 was the age I had to wait.

However Ive noticed more and more comments on the net, facebook, where people have started to learn to drive at 16 ? I did a little research and if you have some mental issues or personal independance payments (pip) then you can drive at 16 as mentioned on this Gov site - https://www.gov.uk/driving-lessons-learning-to-dri...

Reading the site further it seems to be able to claim PIP you need to be someone that needs help preparing medical, going to the loo, dress, etc. Seems madness that this should then allow you to drive earlier.

I then saw Top Dead Centre last night and they also mentioned 16 for a quadracycle ?

My son doesnt have an issues, or PIP or whatever, just a normal chap. When can I get him driving ? :-)

SBK

Any age you like, on private roads, like Hornchurch Cardrome, and I can tell you from experience, it is very worthwhile if you can.

17 on public roads, but recent experience with insurance for a 17 year old with a full licence, suggest 18 is when it becomes somewhat financially viable.

[Mr Penguin]

Some places will teach U17s away from the public road. https://www.youngdriver.eu/lessons_and_experiences

[sbk1972]

Thanks for your replies.

He's had many sessions at the youngdrivers courses. We go to Lingfield park and he loves it.

I dont want him to have a motorbike. I did a deal with him to buy him a car if he didnt go down the motorbike way hence why seeing this 16 age to drive seems ideal. Reading this PIP and the criteria to achieve it seems so counterproductive / wrong.

Anyway, 17 it is.

Simon

[Simpo Two]

And an extra year to concentrate on his studies and save up for a better car

I got my first car in my final year as an undergraduate and it could well have been why I got a 2.2 not a 2.1... suddenly you have a huge distraction.

[Tony1963]

sbk1972 said:

Reading this PIP and the criteria to achieve it seems so counterproductive / wrong.


Simon

It’s a very good system, works well for those who really need it, isn’t at all counterproductive.

Saying that, I’m well in favour of everyone being able to drive at a much younger age. 14? 15? Why not? Get them driving before the hormones have really kicked in and being an aggressive road-warrior takes over. Get it out of your system before that, but with sufficient restrictions and punishments in place to save themselves from themselves.

When I lived in Saudi, the law was that the eldest son could drive as soon as he was both able to, and once his father trusted him. Quite a sight when a massive big-block Chevy Surburban pulls nicely into a car park and 6 women get out, followed by the 10 year old boy from the driver’s seat!

[Desiderata]

I don't know if it helps in the OPs case, but my daughter applied for and got her tractor licence on her 16th birthday.
She loved turning up at school in a tractor after that.
Just to add, her big brother had done the same with a moped the year before but my daughter refused to go down that route.

[Starfighter]

Try this outfit.

https://under17-carclub.co.uk/

I had my lad on one of their courses over a week. Having never been in the driving seat before he was driving well by day 2 and by day 4 was out in a 7 1/2 ton truck, a marked cop car and a (replica) Cobra 427.

[stemll]

sbk1972 said:

Thanks for your replies.

He's had many sessions at the youngdrivers courses. We go to Lingfield park and he loves it.

I dont want him to have a motorbike. I did a deal with him to buy him a car if he didnt go down the motorbike way hence why seeing this 16 age to drive seems ideal. Reading this PIP and the criteria to achieve it seems so counterproductive / wrong.

Anyway, 17 it is.

Simon

I think you may be reading the wrong part of the PIP criteria. PIP is in two parts, mobility and daily living. The bits you mentioned in your OP relate to daily living. Mobility assesses things like physical mobility, whether you get stressed in crowds or public transport and the like. All things that can be mitigated by allowing earlier access to a licence.

[Nomme de Plum]

sbk1972 said:

Thanks for your replies.

He's had many sessions at the youngdrivers courses. We go to Lingfield park and he loves it.

I dont want him to have a motorbike. I did a deal with him to buy him a car if he didnt go down the motorbike way hence why seeing this 16 age to drive seems ideal. Reading this PIP and the criteria to achieve it seems so counterproductive / wrong.

Anyway, 17 it is.

Simon

I drove a three wheeler at 16 but it did require a motorcycle licence. I'm not sure if that law still stands. It took me a couple of weeks after my 16 birthday to pas the test then straight into the Berkeley T60.

The Bond Bug still looks cool albeit two wheels at the front is very much better. Grinnel used to do some 3 wheelers.

[FlabbyMidgets]

Would he have any interest in something like a Citroen Ami? Those can be driven at 16 but you would need to pass a test for an AM licence I believe

[JamesW]

If you live in the southeast - take him to car drome in Essex.

Been teaching my daughter the basics of driving there for two years in a mates borrowed picanto.

You need 20 pound coins to put in the barrier (and a car you don't mind them driving) - but you can spend all day there if you want.

Obviously not insured - but everyone there is in the same boat, she turns 17 in 2 weeks and has got all the key skills already (can even reverse park!)

https://drivecardrome.com/

[richhead]

sbk1972 said:

Thanks for your replies.

He's had many sessions at the youngdrivers courses. We go to Lingfield park and he loves it.

I dont want him to have a motorbike. I did a deal with him to buy him a car if he didnt go down the motorbike way hence why seeing this 16 age to drive seems ideal. Reading this PIP and the criteria to achieve it seems so counterproductive / wrong.

Anyway, 17 it is.

Simon

For some being able to drive at 16 is a game changer, high rate pip usually means mobility issues. So those wheelchair bound etc, where a bicycle or the buss arent really an option.

[Simpo Two]

Tony1963 said:

Saying that, I’m well in favour of everyone being able to drive at a much younger age. 14? 15? Why not? Get them driving before the hormones have really kicked in and being an aggressive road-warrior takes over. Get it out of your system before that, but with sufficient restrictions and punishments in place to save themselves from themselves.

Drive perhaps, but not on public roads. The roads are hazardous enough without having children behind the wheel too.

[Sheepshanks]

Desiderata said:

I don't know if it helps in the OPs case, but my daughter applied for and got her tractor licence on her 16th birthday.
She loved turning up at school in a tractor after that.

Does the licence (not to mention tax - if exempt - and insurance) cover that kind of use? I thought it was all limited to agricultural purposes.

[ChocolateFrog]

I got a scooter a few days after my 16 Birthday and did a CBT.

Was the done thing if you wanted some freedom on the roads before you were 17.

Then you could put 180cc heads on and do 90mph.