Argument Analysis: The Graduated Driver License

Everyone has felt that feeling where they cannot wait to learn how to drive and to get behind the wheel. Little do they know, driving causes a number of deaths every year. Teen drivers are involved in more car-related accidents than any other drivers. The minimum driving age should be raised from 16 to 18 because 16 year olds are more accident prone, 18 year olds are more experienced, and a 16 year old’s brain is not as developed as it is at 18 years old.

Should the minimum driving age be raised? In the article Traffic Safety Facts the NHTSA states that, 5,864 15 - 20 year old drivers were involved in fatal crashes in 2008, which is a 27% decrease from the crashes in 1998. This is still a big number, and has been tried to be reduced by New Jersey, but ended up not doing much, and instead added and increase of car crashes to an older age group. The minimum driving age should not be raised to allow teens to gain experience, learn responsibility, while staying safe altogether.

The driving age should be lowered to 14 or 15 years old because people should know how to drive a vehicle by then.People need the experience it will improve their driving skills before they get older and it will make it easier for tennagers to get to school and to their job because it will make them understand responsibility.

Driver’s Education courses are important for a new driver.  Drivers Education is proven to help young driver’s become familiar with driving and to learn important defensive driving techniques.  Our mission at Greenbrier High School should be to incorporate a Driver’s Education course into the curriculum for their students.  Teens from the ages 16-19 have the highest accident rate in the nation.  It is important for teens to complete a Driver’s Ed course so they can learn road safety rules, traffic rules and regulations, and defensive driving strategies.

The big debate as to whether the legal driving age should be raised to eighteen is an ongoing issue. There are both arguments for and against this matter. Younger drivers, as well as old ones, can cause many life-threatening accidents; therefore, raising the minimum driving age could significantly reduce the number of accidents. The accident rates can be lowered considerably if the legal driving age is bumped up to eighteen. This would mean that no more kids could get hurt or worse, killed in a car accident.

In 2013, more than 2,500 teenagers died in the United States from motor vehicle crash injuries. Such injuries are by far the leading public health problem for young people 13-19 years old (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [IIHS], 2014). Drivers are not the only ones at risk. Teenagers who are passengers in others vehicles make up a startling 87% of the fatality statistic. Lack of driving experience, disregard for traffic laws, and quick access to full driving privileges contribute to teen death. To reduce teen driving fatalities, successful completion of driver education classes provided by public and private schools should be mandatory for all teenagers prior to receiving their driving permit.

On the counterclaim side if the driving age is raised to 18 then it will save young lives.On Average about nine teens ages 16-19 are killed everyday from car wrecks. If it's raised to 18 then there won’t be as many teens ages 16 and 17 killed in car wrecks. A lot of teens lose their lives a year do to car accidents. On average about 6,000 teenagers die a year due from car wrecks. So that's why it might be a good idea. According to( DRIVE-SAFELY.NET) “ A sixteen year old is almost twice as likely to die in a car crash then a 30 year old.”

We have implemented many ways in our society to decrease the amount of car accidents teens get into. Two of these ways are that you have to wait until you are 18 to drive and the other is the graduated license program. These are both effective ways to decrease the amount of teen car accidents, but they both have their pros and cons. Some people may prefer that you should wait until your 18 to drive, and others think the graduated license program is better. I personally think the GDL program is better than waiting until you are 18.

The driving age should not be tampered with and raised to 21. Raising the driving age to 21 will introduce numerous of problems for parents and young teens that are working , social events ,and also school activities have

We should still give them time to develop their driving skills. If we raise the age of adulthood more lives will be saved.

Well we all can't wait to drive and get our license at 16 but some of us are, sometimes a little careless. Did you know that in2013, 2,163 teens in the U.S ages 16-19 were killed and 243,243 were treated in the emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicles crashes. That means that six teens ages 16-19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries. Others are like how would i get to school think about this if there was no cars you would ride a bus or your parents when you were 15 and under you didn't drive and it wouldn't be a problem if you didn't drive till you were 21 nothing would change. Being teens we like to do teen things like party and hang with friends and thing but you have to think

Graduated licences go off the chart! This restricts teens to a certain amount of driving hours. Now some states are debating whether to get GDLS or keep it the same way it is. Teens having Graduated drivers licence will decrease the number of accidents.

Many people think it is a good idea to change the driving age from 16 to 18. They think it would reduce crashes and stress on parents. They also think it would help out parents that has jobs. However, I believe raising the minimum driving age from 16 to 18 is good because some people has a job, some have sports, and some people are responsible.

“Population and Drivers involved in Fatal crashes by age Group of 45 to 54 in 2008 was a high number and percent (Source 2).” I used to have a friend who was driving from his mother house and there was a driver and the old guy crashed into my friend, my friend died at the age of 20 years old by a old guy who was driving under the influence. When you think about it aging on both sides with the old people and the young people they can not drive, you just have to keep looking on both sides of this issue just to understand that this problem you have to get on one side you also have to get on the other side to. Before you incused the younger drives that they cannot drive and raised up the driving age limit, you should also look at the old people and check them out to because its not really fair that the DMV changes the rule but not for the old people

Raising the age was not an idea based on opinions. Over the years many people and organizations have recorded facts and statistics to support their claims. An example shown on CBS News, shows that “More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Safety Administration” (CBS NEWS). One huge influence on the topic was the Insurance Institutes for Highway Safety, they created a seventeen page memo filled with statistics and examples of how raising the age is a necessity. This is not the first attempt to use statistics to support the appeal to raise the age. The Seattle Times states, “The example the institute uses most prominently is New Jersey, the only state with a minimum driver's license age of 17. The report cited a study from 1992-96 in which the rate of crash-related deaths among 16- and 17-year-olds was 18 per 100,000 in New Jersey, compared with 26 per 100,000 in Connecticut, which had a minimum driver's license age of 16 and 4 months” (Willette). Overall the argument that raising the age will result in less teen deaths while driving is highly justified. There are frequent examples and a huge amount of research that proves that younger drivers are more likely to cause harm or damage than an older, more experienced driver.