Safehaven(s) vs Survival Instincts

The topic came up today of kids/ teens driving at the age of sixteen as opposed to eighteen. How do you train them? Should they be allowed to drive alone? What about all the distractions (ie texting, radio, friends in the car). Who and how should these limits be imposed?

My 16th bday: I got out of bed, went to school, came home (normal day so far), picked up my mom's car, drove myself to the DMV, passed the written portion of the state required driving test, completed the driving portion of the state required drivers exam, got my driver's license picture taken, and drove myself home. When I arrived, my mom said "Is it your birthday today?" I responded, "Why yes, yes mom it was, thanks for remembering." So, for me, at age sixteen I was well ready, and quite prepared for the driving experience. Shortly after, one of my mom's boyfriends took thirty minutes out of his day to teach me how to drive a stickshift, and I knew, it was "now or never", if I didn't focus and get it the first time, who knows when I might have had another opportunity to get to learn. I picked it up in thirty minutes. That was twenty five years ago, and I have never forgotten that day.
I grew up figuring out pretty quickly that if I didn't take an opportunity that was handed to me I would be S.O.L., so I never looked a gift horse in the mouth. I took life very seriously, and I soaked up information like a sponge. Because I had to.

Kids now have a certain sense of entitlement. They don't have to learn it the first time, because there will be a re-test. They don't have to play 100% on the field, because everyone gets a trophy. I'm not sure what happened to the concept of "earning" in our society; when everything had to be pc instead of real. I don't like it. We are raising a bunch of pansies. My son says to me often, "It's not fair", and I get much joy in saying "Life's not fair", because it's not and it shouldn't be. There are people who work hard and people who drift by. I do not condone drifters. And I'll be damned if my kids are going to join the ranks of the lazy, entitled.

I thought about my thirteen year old daughter who wants to drive so bad, she can taste it, but can't keep track of her soccer uniform. She won't clean her room. She asks daily if she can go to the mall. We have to push push push to get her to do her homework and clean her room, yet she wants to drive a car.

Granted, I doubt highly I will forget her sixteenth birthday. I am positive I will give her lessons in driving the car. I am sure there will be rules about her being in the car - no texting, no carloads of screaming girls to parties on the weekends, but not because she won't earn it, because her attention span is that of a flea. The commonality of these kids who think they can text, drive, sing, hand their friends something in the backseat, and blow bubbles at the same time, isn't so much a lack of skill. It is a lack of respect and short attention spans. We now live in an MTV generation where everything is right here -right now. We have coddled these kids into thinking that they can do whatever they want with little or no repurcussions. There is a direct correlation between raising independant, self-assured people, and raising dependant, aloof, unconcerned individuals who have no real concept of what the real world looks like outside of their bubble.

The concept of safehaven vs chaos (not knowing if the floor will fall beneath your feet) and survival instincts - which is better? To this question, I have pondered all day. I like knowing I am a survivor. I like knowing I can travel anywhere I want and if I sense danger it is likely I will make it out unscathed. I like teaching my kids about life. Simultaneously, I nurture and coddle, something my parents had an aversion to. So, I am learning along the way, but I try. I often wonder, if I am raising unaffected individuals who will proceed to talk and text, while trying to shovel burger king and tie their shoes, while driving seventy miles an hour down I-25.
If these new rules are indeed for their benefit. I know this is an individual question which should be answered on a case by case basis, but I know in my heart as a parent, you cannot protect your children all the time, but in teaching them how to protect themselves, are we doing a disservice by implementing all these rules and not letting them learn how to do anything for themselves?