An 18 year-old can go to war and die for their country. They can adopt a child. An 18 year old can buy and live in their own home. The age one has to be to rent a car is 25. This is unacceptable. This means a 21 year old returning home to their kid from their first tour in combat can not rent a car to drive home from the airport. 

The age requirements for renting a car need to be lowered. The arbitrary age of 25 is far too restricting and unreasonable. If rental companies can’t trust people to drive a car until the age of 25, why should the United States trust people under 25 to serve in the military or vote? 

People are permitted to have a driver’s license and drive at the age of 16, They become adults at 18. By making the age requirement 25 rental car companies are discriminating by age. Most 18 year old adults are more than fully capable of safely driving a car, so why should they have to wait so long to drive one in a different state? 

The main concern, as always, is money. Young people are not a safe bet for car companies.

The fear is that young adults are more reckless and do not have good insurance; so if they were to get into an accident they could not pay for the damages. However, allowing for younger users has the potential to have financial benefits. Car companies can have higher cover charges based on what one’s insurance policy covers. Not only does this create financial incentive for car companies, but it also creates more security for them with middle aged adults who are also not a safe bet. This would earn the rental companies an influx of users that would again bring them more profit. 

According to Student Universe, this system already works. Student Universe is a system that allows college students to rent cars while they are under 25 years old. They have to pay a heavy additional $60 cover charge and present their insurance. This system should just be implemented to all rental car companies with only a few adjustments. Implementing a system where young adults can rent cars would allow that 21 year old to safely return home to parents home for the holidays.