My SO is 28 and still doesn't have her license. Though, to be fair, she grew up in Manhattan, which is not a luxury that most folks have. (I wish it- or something like it- was a luxury that more folks could have, of course.)
Yes, that's probably part of the equation. My wife grew up in a city which, if it were in the United States, would be the second most populous, between NY and LA. In her own country it isn't in the top 20. There's a subway system there, buses, really cheap taxis, and, before the economic bubble, lots of bicycles as well.
For me, a suburban kid from the USA, it would have been tough without a car on my 16th birthday. But it was probably even tougher on all the cops who pulled me over during those first few years. Bastards. Now I realize that they were just doing their jobs.
Your argument seems to be that teenagers shouldn't be driving. Maybe that's a legitimate point, but it's a far cry from raising the driving age to 30 which seems to be overreacting a bit. Many people are a professional in the workplace at age 22, right out of college. Yet you want them to take the bus or subway to work everyday? This could add a lot of time and stress to one's day, possibly even monetary cost depending on how short the commute is. For some people that may be the best strategy given their life circusmtances, but I think most people in this situation would rather just drive to work. Restricting this for the safety to older adults seems to be of very limited value relative to the cost.
I live in a quasi urban area and there is literally no bus that could get me to my job. At best I'd still have 4 miles to walk. I could do that, by upon arrival my appearance would hadrly professional if it was raining or it was a really hot day.
