Driving Age Argument

Young drivers should have to wait until they are 18 years old to get their license because 16 year olds are more likely to get in an accident than an older driver. One author said, “Sixteen-year-old drivers are the most likely to crash, so raising the age at which teens could get their license would save many lives…” (Rubin). Rubin gives a valid reason to why the minimum driving age should be raised from 16 to 18. If the driving age is raised, there would be less people involved in wrecks, which would help the world out as a whole. Even though 16 year olds are more accident prone than other drivers, taking 16 year olds off of the road would save the lives of everyone on the road. However, there are people who believe that the minimum driving age should not be raised because of various reasons. One article states that, “If they have to wait until they are 17 or 18, they remain dependent on parents practically until they are ready to go off to college, join the military or take a

Every day teens are given access to automobiles. Every day these young people go to their jobs, classes, and athletic practices. Do they all abuse their driving privileges? No. Then why restrict all teens, including the law-abiding and mature, by raising the driving age? This debate reaches all across the nation, to all levels of government, and many related laws and propositions can be found. If the driving age is increased, teenagers will have more difficulty getting jobs and gaining experience. On the other hand, if the driving age is 18, new drivers will have more maturity. So the question remains, should the legal driving age be 18 years old? No, the current driving age

Putting teens on the road at a young age as low as 15-16-years-old allows them to gain experience that will help them become more accustomed to the road when they get their driving licences at 18. As stated in the article, Teenage Driving Laws May Just Delay Deadly Crashes, it says “Many teenagers, rather than deal with the extra restrictions for 16-17 -year-olds, are simply waiting until they turn 18, and skipping the restrictions altogether. As a result, a greater proportion of inexperienced drivers hit the road” (40). This proves that teens who do not drive at 16 are more likely to get into car crashes, because they wait til 18 to avoid being restricted like the 16- 17- year-olds. Teens who skip the 16 -17-year-old restrictions are just starving themselves from gaining the early knowledge on driving that is needed to prevent fatal crashes. The same article also says that, “There have been 1,348 fewer deadly crashes involving 16-year-old

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.

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.

A lobby that speaks out against teen driving is Mothers against driving, who say that drinking and driving is the easiest ways that teenage driving accidents can occur. “Given the incidence of auto-accident deaths among teenagers, despite the higher drinking age, you have to ask whether the powerful lobby Mothers Against Drunk Driving simply targeted the wrong D.” This quote demonstrates an ethos because it is given from an incredibly large and reliable count, a lobby group opposing drinking and driving underage. Their reliability makes us comfortable believing the information and its accountability. Anna Quindlen can also be believed to be a reliable source. “The national highway traffic safety administration has found that neophyte drivers of 17 have about a third as many accidents as their counterparts only a year younger.” Quindlen collects facts from people who have studied this subject to reinforce her beliefs on changing the driving age. He retrieves factual information on the subject from people who have researched it. This gives us a credible first hand facts so we can get in depth and accurate information on the

Evidence from the personal experience of teenagers is used (“…young drivers, only half said they had seen a peer drive after drinking…nearly all, however, said they had witnessed speeding…”); collective evidence (“It’s become a sad rite of passage in many American communities”); statistics (“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that neophyte drivers of 17 have about a third as many accidents as their counterparts only a year younger”) and (“Between July 2004 and November 2006, only 12 provisional drivers were tickets for carrying too many passengers”). The author also used common mores on teen safety; (“…parents will tell you that raising the driving age is untenable, that kids need their freedom…perhaps the only ones who won’t make a fuss are those parents who have accepted diplomas at graduation because their children were no longer alive to do

The article, "States Urged to Raise the Driving Age" says, "We are worrying too much about teen drivers and not enough about others who cause serious problems on the road. The intense focus on teens diverts our attention from the real threats to public saftey". Some of these threats include drunk driving, speeding, carjacking and texting while driving. There is too much emphesis on teen accidents while these threats are just as dangerous. Therefore, raising the legal driving age will not

Boo!yay! People are siding with GDLS or raising the age to get a drivers licence. First of all, studies show that raising the driving age doesn’t help prevent accidents because the teens don’t have experience when they first drive. Getting GDLS helps teens be more responsible with the cars and on the road. Raising the driving age could benefit parents and teens letting them know they are more mature.

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.

Some say raising the driving ages won’t save lives. Supporters of GDLs (graduated driver’s licenses) say the GDL system saves lives. Opponents of GDLs say that GDLs make it

The organization recommends the Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) for young people. This is a method that has proven to decrease teen's driving crash rate by 20 to 40 percent. This method works by allowing young drivers to increase their driving experience, while decreasing the common risks teens face when driving, such as nighttime driving and distractions that happen when carrying teen passengers. Car crashes are the number 1 cause of death for teenager drivers and the problem is because they don't wear seat belts, struggle with speeding, and their teen passengers serve as a distraction. GDL allows teen drivers to only drive with supervision or with immediate licensure, teens may drive unsupervised, but with restrictions, such as, without

According to TIME magazine, there have been cases where teenagers have caused traffic accidents due to having road rage. This shows how teenagers have little control over their emotions while driving which could cause accidents or lead to someone’s death. In Fairfax High School, there are many students who would fall asleep in class because they go to bed very late at night. This states how students cannot manage their time wisely that can lead to their academic failure. In a recent poll by Washington Post, 15% of teens are arrested for drinking and driving after partying at a friend’s house. This shows how teens are immature behind the wheel and don't consider about the safety of themselves and the others around them when doing foolish acts. Obviously, the State of Virginia must change the driving age to 18 because teenagers lack the make proper decisions behind the

In today’s world, especially in the United States, teenagers can start driving a motor vehicle as early as sixteen years old. Although, recent discussions have brought up the topic that should teenagers be able to drive at sixteen, or should teenagers have to wait till the legal driving age at eighteen to drive. On the other hand, according to many sources and statistics, teenagers should wait until they are eighteen because the can focus on schooling, make better decisions, and are more responsible.