In the brief Sunday morning I had last week, a friend of mine got into an interesting frustration as he’s off for his national trip. He lives in the US, he already got the driver license, and he’s 18. For months and months, he had talked to me about the coming trip and all the gooey love bird stuff he was going to do with his girl when he takes her on such trip. However, as it turned out, his trip burned to ashes because they required their customers to be at least 21 years old to rent a car.
Now, why would anything be legal, from getting a driver license and buying a car to applying for car insurance, but renting a car under 21?
The reason why we need to be 21 to purchase alcohol is understandable; youngsters can be irresponsible and childish even without alcohol usage, which affects greatly on the ability to think clearly and to decide whether or not they can drive in such condition. Yet, being 21 to rent a car is not necessary. Why does a hopeful young child at the age of 18 has to go through all the paperwork and ask for help from the driving schools, e.g., Westshore Driving School, pass the test, and then get turned down for not being qualified for a car? It’s not as if he’s irresponsible for his decisions; the car’s insurance is already covered, and the child is already qualified for driving. Yes, it could be the first car he drives, which pushes his excitement a little, but he’s also trained for the ability to control his anticipation with the car he practiced with. As for the irresponsible excuse, the fact that the law allows us to drive under 21 is but the proof of approval to drive any car, whether or not of our possession.
And for the insurance-related matter, driving schools have got more strength of willingness than them, and by “them” I mean those who published this unacceptable requirement. Back to the situation of the child, Westshore Driving School already approved him of using their car if in need. That is, whether or not the insurance is affected by the child’s driving, it’s up for by-hour rental. Nonetheless, when a rental car gets into accident, it’s not the company that has its insurance rate goes up, but the participants’. They have nothing to worry about their profit as well as their property because the insurance company was willing to pay for it.
Non-universally speaking, NY State is one of those that have the minimum rental age of 18 with additional charges, which is acceptable for my friend’s case. The other States and Nations, however, could have require additional terms and tests before approving for rentals instead of straight closing up on those poor love birds. It was not only profitable for the firms, but also beneficial for the image of governments in the mind of their civilians, not to mention the extra plus to their annual GDP account.
