Nearly 4,000 Britons have signed a petition calling for the Government to lower the legal driving age in the UK to 13 years old.
The petition will run until April 2, 2024, and, if it gets more than 10,000 signatures, will receive a response from the Government.
Yusuf Marcu, who created the petition, noted that he believes that teenagers are capable of driving a vehicle.
He explained: “I would like the government to change the legal driving age to 13 because I believe that 13+ year olds can be trusted to drive a car and should be able to get a licence.”
Currently, motorists in the UK can apply for their provisional licence when they turn 15 years and nine months old, but cannot drive on the public roads until their 17th birthday.
However, Yusuf’s petition is far from the first time a motorist has questioned the current laws on the legal driving age.
In September 2023, over 95,000 people signed another petition which urged the Government to lower the age to 15 years old, stating that current legislation is not consistent with the Equality Act 2010.
Responding to the petition, the Government stated younger drivers are currently one of the highest fatality groups, voicing concerns that lowering the age could increase the number of road casualties.
As Brits debate whether the minimum driving age should be lowered, many other countries allow motorists to get behind the wheel from an earlier age.
Many countries around the world, including Columbia, Iceland and Mauritious, allow people to begin driving at the age of 16, with many stating that young motorists can only use a car when supervised.
Currently, the country with the youngest drivers in the world is El Salvador, with the South American country allowing residents as young as 15 to take to the roads, although requiring supervision until they turn 18.
Similarly, some countries allow budding motorists to drive other kinds of vehicles from a slightly younger age, giving them an opportunity to learn the rules of the road before getting into a larger, more powerful car.
In France, children as young as 14 years old are allowed to drive a ‘voiture sans permis’, meaning a ‘car without driving licence’, with owners only needing a few hours training.
These small four-wheeled vehicles are similar in appearance to cars, however feature a much smaller engine and cannot exceed speeds of 45kph (28mph).
