I’ll weigh in… I live in Switzerland, a country I find very mature when it comes to most public policy issues like this. Over here, the drinking age for beer and wine is 16, and for the hard stuff it’s 18. However, you can’t get a driver’s license till you’re 18, and even then you have to jump through some real hoops to get it: i.e., there is no Driver’s Ed in school; driving is not considered a “right” that is more or less automatically bestowed upon you for reaching the age of 16 and 1 month (and passing a ludicrously easy test). Here, if you want a license, you have to take private driving lessons, which cost about a thousand bucks by the time you’ve added it all up. There is a significant fail rate on the test.

(By the way, this doesn’t make the Swiss better drivers, sadly.)

Drinking, on the other hand, is considered part of living well. I live in a wine-growing region (Lake Geneva), and it’s normal that wine is part of an evening’s pleasure. My 15-year-old daughter is regularly served in restaurants when she is with me – and she has never been asked for an ID. Likewise, my son and I could enjoy a brandy after dinner when he was only 17, and nobody gave it a second thought.

The key is teaching kids to respect alcohol, and to know something about what they are drinking. My kids are hardly wine snobs at their age, but they already know a litle about wine, can appreciate a good wine and also tell if they are being served crap. They love its taste and its diversity and I think they understand that it’s only good in moderation. I honestly can’t imagine either one of them even wanting to indulge in a binge-drinking activity: what’s the point? If you actually like beer or wine, then where’s the enjoyment in drinking till you throw up?

Footnote: drunk driving is taken very seriously here. First offenders will usually face a fine of around 500-800 bucks and probably also a suspended license for 30-90 days. Second time, your license is gone for a year.

Helveticus (a displaced American)