where exactly do you draw the line between experienced/inexperienced and good/bad drivers? i have friends and people i know that will do some crazy stuff in their cars just because they can and like to show it off, being young and all. these are also the people i refuse to get into a car with. this lack of responsibility and carelessness is definitely an issue with younger people, i don't expect to see my parents doing donuts in the parking lot or heel-toe'ing around mountain curves. this is what makes younger drivers more at risk i would think, the tendency for them to push themselves/their vechicle to the limit, not necessarily that they don't know how to handle the situation.
but age is such a loose factor when determining experience, in my opinion. many of my friends are very experienced drivers, and though they may not have as much travel time behind the wheels than an older commuter, i would trust my life in their hands as a passenger much more so. for example, my dad's been driving for more than 30 years on a regular basis. although he also gets extremely lazy/confident as he's driving and not as attentive as many of the younger drivers. lack of signaling while changing lanes, posture, etc. most of my friends are incredibly attentive as they drive, paranoid of road conditions, and constantly scanning the road for signs of possible trouble. aside from that, another example age doesn't necessarily mean experience is with my mom. whenever she gets into the slightest trouble on the road she completely flips out and doesn't know how to handle the situation. she's one of the most in-experienced drivers IMHO, with over 30 years beind the wheel as well. things like skidding, braking hard on ice, and such concepts totally elude her. every single one of my friends however knows what it means to countersteer, the functions of ABS, etc. i would trust one of them driving me up to tahoe rather than her.
i'm taking advanced driving classes to learn what it really means to handle my car. i don't plan on taking mountain curves and playing initial d (hell, i've never even seen the anime), but i would like the experience under my belt in case the need arises. i'd just like to make it a point that while teenagers obviously have a higher risk rate than adults, it's not necessarily because of any set age or experience. common sense and responsibily play a huge role, instead of placing limits on age i think it would be much more productive to set boundaries on driver ability and education. any schmuck can take the drive test and get a license, but if you need to go through personal training and spend some time demonstrating you know that ABS isn't just a muscle, i think you're ahead of the pack.
maybe i'm wrong though and everyone over 30 with 30,000 miles is automatically a safer driver than a 18-20 year old.