Kim Jong Un ‘could drive aged three’ – but where are the world’s youngest legal drivers?
N orth Korean leader Kim Jong-un could drive a car by the age of three, according to official documents issued to teachers in the secretive state.
The manual accompanied the introduction of a fresh subject in the North Korean national curriculum – ‘Kim Jong-un’s Revolutionary Activities’ – which appeared in schools in 2015.
L ittle is known about the Supreme Leader’s childhood, but other claims were included in the same instructing manual. Kim Jong-un was a competitive sailor at the age of nine, while nurturing profound artistic talent. It’s difficult to verify these claims.
But could he have driven a car in a country where he wasn’t a revered dictator? In brief, no – pretty much every civilisation on the planet has developed laws that prevent three-year-olds getting into the driver’s seat.
Where are the world’s youngest drivers?
The minimum driving age in the UK is seventeen for most people, and most cars. There are some exceptions to that regulation, but it’s a solid rule of thumb. And generally, that reflects attitudes around the world, both in Europe and further afield.
But there are some notable exceptions to that rule. Some nations deem much junior teenagers capable enough to take to the road. Here are some of our favourites.
C anada – drive legally at 14
Alberta Province is a pretty vast chunk of the planet, broadly comparable in size to Spain, England and Sicily combined. Here, a fourteen-year-old can get behind the wheel legally using a Class seven Learner’s Permit – however only when accompanied by a person over the age of eighteen who holds a utter licence. So a lot like a provisional licence in the UK, only you can use it when you’re in Year 9.
T his only applies to Alberta Province, however, and you can’t drive inbetween the hours of midnight and 5am. This presumably prevents Canadians using their junior siblings to pick them up from the pub.
Australia – drive legally at fifteen (and nine months)
You can get your Learner Licence in the Australian Capital Territory nine months beyond your fifteenth bday. You have to pass a test and accomplish a ten-hour course, before being permitted to take to the road with L-plates. You’ll need to be accompanied by a total licence holder.
Most of the rest of Australia has a minimum learning age of 16. It’s worth noting that other road laws vary by state, too, and that there are elements of confusion when crossing boundaries within the country.
N orthern Mariana Islands – drive legally at fifteen (and six months)
Another territory that feels that fifteen years old is too youthful to drive, but that sixteen years old is a little late to commence learning, is the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Here, you can legally drive six months after your fifteenth bday. Interestingly, helmets are mandatory for cyclists aged below eighteen in these strange island outposts of America.
France – drive legally at 15
Just twenty one miles from Dover, where you need to be seventeen to get behind the wheel of the car, the youthful residents of Calais can get their very first taste of freedom aged 15. A system called the apprentissage anticipé de la conduite enables youthfull people to begin learning a little earlier than their peers.
T his will have benefits later on, and will reduce the length of the driver’s probationary period from three years to two, but as with any country’s provisional licence, they’ll have to be accompanied by a qualified driver. They’ll then need to wait until they’re eighteen to drive unaccompanied, tho’.
Well, in certain states, anyway. Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota all suggest learner licences to 14-year-olds, while Michigan and Montana will mitt one over nine and six months later, respectively. South Dakota will give a restricted licence to someone three months after their 14th bday, while several states will suggest a utter, unrestricted licence to 16-year-olds. Several states have specific confinements in place preventing youthful drivers from driving at night, for example, or from carrying more than one passenger.