# Drinking and Driving Ages In Different Countires



## gorbatzjov

Hello,

What are the ages one can drink in your country. And when can you start driving? What do you think about this?

In Belgium you can start learning to drive when you're 17 years old, but you cannot have your licence before you're 18.

You can drink, officially from the age of 16 (hard liquor: 18). No-one ever checks your ID so most people start drinking around the age of 14. I didn't even know about this law until I was 20 years old. I started drinking when I was 14-15 and I went to a pub after school with some friends. This is seen as "normal" in Belgium...

I think this is good though. We learn to drink and we can do it more or less legaly. So by the time we know about the dangers of alcohol, and we now it's not fun to go out and drink just to be drunk, we can learn to drive... Whereas in the USA, you can't drink under 21. Yet everyone does it - illegaly. So whenever they have the opportunity to drink, they to it fast and with a lot of quantity... In my eyes this isn't very healthy nor intelligent..

This is reflected on our culture as well... Mc Donalds serves beer in Belgium and wine in France! Or alcohol is Okay in theme parks...


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## Black_Mamba

In England you have to be 17 to drive a car etc. I think its 18 to drive a bus, 16 to drive a moped. Drinking ages are 16 in a pub or restaurant with a meal and 18 elsewhere. Sometimes clubs etc are restricted to 21.


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## jester.

In germany you may start drinking alcohol from the age of 16 (beer and wine) and from 18 on you may drink everything.

You can start driving a car at the age of 18, but recently a law has been introduced which allows people to start driving  a car from the age of 17, if they are being accompanied by an adult during their ride.


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## nichec

Hello to all:
I think in Taiwan you can start drinking at the age of 18, and driving at 20. But we do have this funny law that you are not allowed to be out in the pub or KTV or whatever place after midnight if you are under 18 and you're not with your family. The police will check your ID and take you to the police station and call your pa and ma to come claim you home. ( et oh la la ... ) So normally if you want to enter this kind of place after 11PM, there'll always be a guard or something standing on the door checking your ID to make sure that they won't get into trouble.

As for MD, all the fast food chain restaurants in Paris sell mineral water, like Evian or something, they even sell orange presee in Starbucks in Paris! Aren't they healthy? ( I love that )

cheers, N


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## Márcio Osório

In Brazil, *18-year-old* Brazilians can legally drink and drive. They can do it if they so desire. People older than that can also do it, provided they do not get drunk and insist on driving their own vehicles back home, in which case police at road checks might arrest them (have everyone of them sent to jail), individually or collectively.


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## ampurdan

In Spain it's the same as in Belgium, I think.


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## BasedowLives

in the state i live in, you can get a drivers permit at 14, which allows you to drive as long as your parent/guardian is in the car.

the drinking age is 21, but the entrance for bars is 19 years old (again, where i live). and i live in a college town, so it's a lot easier. the newspaper puts the names of everyone in the city who got a ticket over the weekend for drinking underage and it usually takes up about a half-page. it's semi-entertaining.


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## VenusEnvy

Is there supposed to be a connection between the "drinking" aspect of this thread and the "driving" part? It seems as though people are just talking about the two issues separately. Gorb: Were you planning on relating the two topics?

In the USA, driving while drunk is illegal.  Look here for a thread about driving drunk.



			
				BasedowLives said:
			
		

> in the state i live in, you can get a drivers permit at 14, which allows you to drive as long as your parent/guardian is in the car.


14?! Good Lord! Which state do you live in!?

In another state in the US (Maryland), one can obtain a regular driver's license at the age of 17. One can legally drink alcohol at the age of 21. Driving WHILE drinking alcohol isn't done at any age because it is illegal here.


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## gorbatzjov

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> Gorb: Were you planning on relating the two topics?



Nope not drink-driving (I believe it's called DUI in the US), just what you think about the differences in ages young people are permitted to use alcohol. Appareantly some countries jugde people to wise enough to start drinking from like their birth and orthers want them to wait until they're 21. 

What's best do you think?


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## KingSix

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> In the USA, driving while drunk is illegal.


 
Well I think that counts for almost every country.  It's probably very obvious that drinking and driving don't mix but if the government didn't make a law about it, a lot more people would do it.

Anyway the topic is indeed a bit confusing, better to make two different topic or integrate the subjects more.


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## anangelaway

gorbatzjov said:
			
		

> This is reflected on our culture as well... Mc Donalds serves beer in Belgium and wine in France! Or alcohol is Okay in theme parks...


 
Is MD really serves wine in France? 
I feel so ignorant...


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## Agnès E.

I can't reply about McDo serving wine in France (I feel sick from the sheer smell of McDo food in the street). This seems very odd anyway, and they should pay for a special licence to be allowed to sell any kind of alcohol... 

In France, you may be served alcohol from the age of 18. This law is pretty strictly enforced.

You may drive with an entitled (registered) adult from the age of 16 (but it is not compulsory; it just enables you to pay a lesser course to get your driving licence). You may have your driving licence from the age of 18.


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## GenJen54

I don't know if McDo serves wine in France. I can say that when I lived there several years ago, it served beer. Many of the American students I was there with were particularly excited about this prospect since they could buy beer in France (being over eighteen), but were not able to drink at home (not being twenty-one).

On the contrary, several european students I have known in the US cannot stand our drinking laws because they tend to be so restrictive.

One of the great ironies about the drinking age in the US being twenty-one is that our young people are old enough to drive, old enough to smoke (18), old enough to die for their country (can enter military or be drafted at 18), but are not old enough to have a beer.


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## ampurdan

Yes, I don't understand why is the legal age to drink alcohol in the USA so high (I don't know it this is the approppriate adjective in English), you can decide who is going to govern on you, you can make full use of your properties, but not of your body...


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## tigger_uhuhu

In Mexico the legal age to drink and drive is 18, but the teenagers can drives too whit a provisional licence since 16...


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## look

ampurdan said:
			
		

> Yes, I don't understand why is the legal age to drink alcohol in the USA so high (I don't know it this is the approppriate adjective in English), you can decide who is going to govern on you, you can make full use of your properties, but not of your body...


I have always wondered the same thing.

About fast food restaurants selling alcohol in mainland Europe: yes, I think it is quite common, although definitely not in the UK or Ireland: that would be a recipe for disaster. 

(By the way, I didn't even know that 16-year-olds could drink alcohol here when eating a meal in a restaurant, I'm guessing that they'd also have to be accompanied by an adult).


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## BasedowLives

VenusEnvy said:
			
		

> 14?! Good Lord! Which state do you live in!?
> 
> .



Iowa


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## Putrid Toaster

In New Zealand the drinking age is 18 (it was reduced from 20 5-10 years ago and now they want to raise it again). But even if they raise it, people who are 18 now will still be able to buy it, so it won't apply to people who are already 'legal'.

The driving age is 15 and the earliest that you can drive on your own is 6 months after your 15th birthday. From what I see, that's much more of a problem than the drinking age. They have lots of problems with boy racers here.


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## tvdxer

In the State of Minnesota (United States), one can get an "instruction permit" at the age of 15 after taking a "driver's ed" course passing a simple written test.  This is like a very restrictive license, in that the driver must be accompanied by a licensed adult of at least 21 years of age.  After turning 16, or having an instruction permit for at least 6 months, you can get a slightly restricted full license, and may drive alone, without an adult.   Of course, you must pass a driving test to get this.  The restrictions are something like you can't have a certain number of people in your car or you can't drive in the middle of the night or something like that.  Not very substantial.  The slightly restricted license lasts like 2 years.

Most here get their instruction permit at 15 and their license when they are 16.  I personally got my IP at 15, took the driving test a little after turning 16, failed miserably, and didn't end up getting my license until a few months before turning 18!  I guess I'm "European" in that regard. 

As for drinking, the legal age is 21.  It was 19 when my parents were that age, 18 across the bridge in Wisconsin.  The law is strictly enforced around here, althouh I hear that in some rural areas, it is not so adhered to.  It is very often broken (informally, of course, usually at "keggers" or house parties).  Many of these gatherings are busted by the police, who hand out "consumption" tickets to offenders.  It's somewhat odd to see 20-year olds getting consumption tickets in the public record section of the newspaper!  

Just to throw it in, the smoking age here is 18, as it is in most (or all?) of the country.


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## gorbatzjov

Hey,

No, there used to be no smoking age in Belgium, since 01 July 2005 stores and supermarkets can't sell cigarettes to people under 16. Then again, they never ask ID so if you LOOK older than 16, it's ok.

Moreover, there are vendingmachines selling cigarettes everywhere and there is no control on who buys out of them...


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## *Cowgirl*

In the US driving laws differ by state. 

In TN you can get your hardship license at 14,
your learners permit at 15 
and your license at 16 or 17
Drinking is 21 (and yes,they check)
Smoking is 18

I think it is very similar in MI too.


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## SpiceMan

In Argentina:
You can get a driving license since you're 16 provided you go get it with any of your parents (or the one who has you in custody). Some limits apply: you can't drive in highways nor routes, nor downtown where traffic is heavy (and I'm not sure, but I think it was also main avenues). Otherwise, 18 y/o and up.

You can drink as long as you can hold your glass (I'm being picky ), buying is another issue, as it can be sold only to 18 y/o and up. ID is rarely asked as having it with yourself is common, but not usual. If a quick face check makes the counter person think you're younger, he/she might not sell you. They might sell you if they believe you if you say you're older even though you have no ID. Depends on the tenant. 

Smoking is also 18 y/o, but is rarely checked. In fact I've never heard of anyone how couldn't buy smokes, except myself when I went to buy smokes for my dad, but I was like 10... so it's ok


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## Hakro

Agnès E. said:
			
		

> I can't reply about McDo serving wine in France (I feel sick from the sheer smell of McDo food in the street).


 I agree! McDonald's should have an age limit of 75 because older people don't taste anything anymore and the junk food doesn't do much harm for them anymore.

In Finland the age limits are:
- for wines and hard liquor: 18
- for low alcohol beer or wine: 16
- for driving license (automobile and heavy motocycle): 18
- for light motorcycle: 16
- for moped: 15
- for smoking (or rather buying tobacco): 16

When I was young the alcohol limit was 21 years and so was the limit of the right to vote. I wouldn't say that it was better but...

Well, one day I was standing near an alcohol store (it's a monopoly in Finland, and it's not allowed to sell booze to people who are drunk or who seem to have drinking prolems) when two teenage (15 or 16 years) girls came to me, asking: "You wanna have something to drink? We can handle it, daddy!"


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## Brioche

In Australia, the drinking age is 18 everywhere.
The age for voting and marrying is also 18.

Driving age varies between 16 and 18 depending on the state.


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## JazzByChas

It has been mentioned that in the U.S.A, drinking and driving ages differ from state to state. I'm not sure exactly what the ages are here, but I believe drinking cannot occur until one is 21 years old.

I believe you can get a provisional drivers licence from the age of 16 here (in Florida), which means driving with an adult in the car. When you are 18, you can drive on your own, but with a curfew (can't drive past 23:00). After 21, you can drive anytime you want.

I think it interesting that drinking and driving are mentioned in the same thread. They are two things that need to be considered carefully before they are done together.

And your point was not lost on me, Jen: I was old enough to vote when I turned 18, old enough to be drafted (and go to Viet Nam at that time), yet not old enough to drink. In my case, I was rather tall (still am: 6' 6" or 1.98 m) so I did not get carded much. 

It is rather difficult to say just exactly when you are considered old enough to be responsible, but I go by the laws in place when I was growing up in Arizona: You could get a learners permit 5 months shy of your 16th birthday, so you could learn to drive (or drive) with an adult present. 

The drinking age has gone up and down in this country, but In my opinion, I think children past 16 should be able to consume alcohol with their parents present, to make sure they don't do something stupid. I know in most European countries, children start to consume alcohol earlier. I believe the goal is to let your children know, as was mentioned earlier, that drinking must be done responsibly. 

Driving, in my opinion, is comparable to entering into a legal contract, so it should not be done until one is 18. Before that, there should be a "cosigner" with you, i.e. an adult with you in the car at all times. And I like the idea of curfews. Until you are 18, you should not be allowed to drive past a certain hour at night, say 22:00.

Oh, if my facts are incorrect about Florida, any other Floridians should feel free to correct me.


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## blancalaw

In Michigan the drinking age is 21 in unison to all of the USA. The driving age is 16 but one can take drivers training at 14 if their birthday is after a certain date. (don't know what date) After two driver's Ed courses the youth can get a provisional license that limits him/her from driving during certain hours. After the person is 18 he/she gets their regular license.
Since I live near Canada many 19 year olds tend to migrate to Canada for the night to spoil themselves with alcohol. I often wonder why don't the Canadians card them and after seeing they have a USA license, tell them they can't drink?


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## Brioche

blancalaw said:
			
		

> Since I live near canada many 19 year olds tend to migrate to canada for the night to spoil themselves with alcohol. I often wonder why don't the Canadians card them and after seeing they have a USA license, tell them they can't drink?


 
What legal basis could the Canadians have for stopping visting US citizens (or anyone else) from drinking in Canada, if the visitor is of the legal drinking age for that Province?

Do you have breath testing in Michigan?  The police should set up a breath testing unit just inside the US and test all those returning teens.

In Australia the police have the power to conduct random breath tests on any driver. They don't need a reason, or "probable cause".

Here, for the _first year_ that you have driver's licence, it is illegal to drive (or attempt to drive) with any alcohol in the blood.


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## gorbatzjov

blancalaw said:
			
		

> Since I live near Canada many 19 year olds tend to migrate to Canada for the night to spoil themselves with alcohol. I often wonder why don't the Canadians card them and after seeing they have a USA license, tell them they can't drink?



Because in Canada, Canadian law rules, and Canadian law says that anyone over the age of 18 (19 in some states) may drink alcohol. The only way American government can prevent this to happen is thoroughly breath tests for any person under the age of 21 at the US border... But wouldn't that be an infraction of personal freedom?


Did you know that on an INTERNATIONAL flight on an American airplaine (AA, United, Delta, ...) from/to the USA, one can drink alcohol as of the age of 18? Domestic flights have a strictly enforced drinking age of 21 (as I encountred). Why would the age be 18? To make ANY sence it should either be 21 ("you're flying to/from the USA", "you're on an American airplaine") or, in the case of Belgium, 16 ("you're flying from Belgium"). This doesn't of course apply when flying Air France, SN Brussels Airlines, or other airlines.

Another similar thing: Although you can drink beer at the age of 18 on an American Airlins flight from, say, Berlin, Germany, you cannot drink alcohol in the pubs at Newark Airport BEFORE customs (although that is technically international territory)...... The law is full of leaps


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## tvdxer

Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is very strict on when one can consume alcohol and quite liberal on the minimum driving age.

In all U.S. states, the legal drinking age is 21.  This was formerley 18-19 in most, but some time about 20 years ago the federal government threatened to terminate transportation funding if states did not raise it to 21.

I am also pretty sure in most or all states smoking is 18.

The driving age in the vast majority of the country is 16.  In some states, it is higher, and I believe in Louisiana and perhaps a few others it is only 15!


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## macta123

In India
18 : For Driving
25 : For Drinking


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