Introduction
In this post, I am examining the similarities in discrimination against youth drivers in two countries which are:
- United States of America; and
- Canada
There are similarities in the discriminatory issues faced by the Canadian youth drivers and the American youth drivers when compared to the adult drivers of both counties. These similarities are as discussed in the following paragraphs:
Driving Curfew
In America, driving curfew is imposed on youth drivers. Young people are not allowed to drive at nighttime to reduce the numbers of accidents at night resulting from supposed unruly vehaviour of young drivers. Similarly, some provinces in Canada are starting to place driving curfew on young drivers. For instance, Quebec has imposed curfew from midnight to 5:00 a.m. on young drivers for the same reason of reducing the rate of accidents on the roads.
Passenger Limits
According to the President of USA’s National Youth Rights Association (NYRA), Mr. Nadel,
“There is passenger limits imposed on young drivers in America. Kyleigh’s law reduces the number of passengers that a youth driver carries in his car.”
NYRA WEBSITE
Similar law exists in Canada. For example, G2 licence holders and drivers 19 years and below has passengers limits during the first six months of driving.
High Insurance Premium
In the USA, young drivers are punished for distracted driving through high insurance premium while the adult drivers are not punished for the same behavior. In most provinces in Canada, young drivers pay high insurance to discourage them from driving.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are similarities in discrimination against young drivers in both Canada and American in the following areas:
- Placing driving curfew on young drivers to ensure they do not driving during some time of the day (mostly night time);
- Limiting the numbers of passengers that a young can carry in his vehicle; and
- Making young drivers to pay higher insurance premium than adult drivers so as to discourage young drivers from driving because they are considered the more distracted drivers.