When I was a young pup, my generation made the argument that if we were old enough to die in 'Nam we were old enough to buy a beer. The argument got traction, and the drinking age was lowered to 18. Society reversed that decision a few years later, finding that just because you were old enough to die in "Nam did not mean you were old enough to make good decisions regarding alcohol.
Recent studies have shown that the emotional centers of the human brain develop more quickly than the higher centers that put brake on impulsive behaviors. This is why teens seem to take so many stupid chances, and why males in their teens and early 20s are actually the best group to send to war. The higher order centers do not develop fully until about the age of 25. So the car rental companies are really the only ones that get it right, since they do not consider you an "adult" until 25. Interestingly, they drew this conclusion based on actuarial data, and they hit it dead on when you compare it to the newer MRI and PET data.
We are going to keep seeing these things happen until we start limiting our recruitment to people 25 and older. It is a consequence of our biology.
1000 posts. KACHING!!!