Hello. My name is Richie, and I am a 13-year-old student in the state of New York. Recently, I sent a letter to my congressman, asking him to lower our state's minimum driving age to 14. I have not received a response, so this is why I am calling upon you all to help me get the word across to every politician in New York State. I am asking for your help because for many of us students, we live in desolate locations where our only options are either paying $2.75 for a train ride along with a possible mugging, riding bikes, and still arriving late to school, taking a bus, or being driven to school. Many adults in New York cannot afford to arrive late to their jobs or lose a significant amount of money weekly just to get their children or selves to school. This is why the minimum should be lowered. As a 13-year-old who can drive not only automatic but sequential (stick shift), I feel like children must start driving at a young age. For example, children today learn best through physical training. As stated by journalists at Cram.com, "If a 14-year-old teenager is able to pass all of the tests to be able to drive a car, why shouldn't they?" For example, if you're 14 and you have a basic perception of the law, are responsible, and have no criminal or possibly negative history or wording against your name, you should be allowed to drive if you can pass the tests. As I stated to my local congressman, teenagers that are around my age should have a probationary period until they turn 16 years old, or have a job for more than 2 months. This would not only cut down on teenage accidents behind the wheel, but it would also teach teenagers a heightened sense of responsibility for the juvenile community. As a teenager who not only drives trucks, but ATVs, motorcycles, side by sides and snowmobiles, I feel as if the license should only be allowed to be permitted to residents outside of city limits. I say this because of the percentage of how teens in large cities will most certainly get into a serious accident compared to teenagers like me who live in the countryside, who may only get into a fender-bender. Even if this license was implemented downstate, there should be times where children are allowed to drive, which should be 6 AM to 8 PM on weekdays, and 6 AM to 10 PM on weekends. This is extremely fair as parents will not have to worry immensely about their child's whereabouts, especially if parents put trackers on the vehicle or their child's phone. As one can see, us teenagers deserve to be treated like adults. Some of us have parents that work in the morning and cannot pick us up throughout the whole day, and some of us have jobs or extra-curricular activities, or we have to go pick up groceries to support ourselves or our families. By lowering the driving age by 2 years, you will not only make sure that teenagers are much more responsible, but that they achieve a skill they'll never forget, even 20 years from now.