Quote Originally Posted by wombat2u2004 View Post
The age is 18 here, when they take on their own legal responsibility.
So parents are no longer the issue.
One of the problems is that drivers licences can be issued as soon as they turn 17.....a year later they are allowed to drink legally.
Driver's licenses here I think still vary from state to state, I know in Massachusetts you can get one at age 16 1/2, as long as you have taken a driver's education class, otherwise you have to wait until you turn 17. I think some states it's younger. My niece Emily will turn 16 in September, and I know she's already thinking about getting her Learner's Permit.

But even back when I was in high school, I knew kids who were already heavy drinkers at 15, and a bunch of classmates got kicked out of the musical that year because they were noticeably drunk and drinking more in the bathroom before the show ... so adding a Driver's License is only gonna exacerbate it!

Yup, Johanna, we still call it DUI here, but we also don't have a DMV - we have the Registry of Motor Vehicles, so when a tv character in a show set in Boston says they're going to the DMV, or even the RMV, you know someone didn't do enough research. Around here, we say "going to the Registry."