Driving Restrictions Essay

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.

In contrast, many believe that 16 years old is old enough to operate a motor vehicle. Many minors living with their parents face punishments, such as suspension of driving privileges, if they get a ticket or in a collision. They fear losing the ability to drive the family car if they break traffic laws, and often decide to obey the laws rather than be punished. In addition, teens need transportation to their jobs, classes, various entertainment venues, sports practices and competitions. Parents often lack the time to chauffeur the young adults to and from these places. Driving is imperative to teenage life. The ability to drive allows a teenager to be less dependent on their parents and more able to take on additional responsibilities. Without driving privileges, teens would not be able to get to the destinations previously listed.

“The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16 to 19 year olds than among any other age group.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) “The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. The risk increases with the number of teen passengers.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) In the United States motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause death in teens. “In 2010, seven teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 2) This alarming number of casualties could be prevented by educating our teenage drivers prior to them being on their own and operating a couple ton weighing

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 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.

I’ve recently discovered that the leading deaths for 16-19 years old are car crashes. In the United State of America, ages between 16-19 there were 2,333 were killed. That’s not all, 221,313 were treated in emergency hospitals. You have to consider to processing this in your mind, that some of those crashes were not the 16-19 drivers fault. Sixteen year olds that drive may not be the cause of all accidents. We must all be responsible drivers, no matter the age.

Is it really safe to drive a car or be a passenger in one? Does the age of other drivers on the road make it any safer? Some states in the U.S want to raise the minimum driving age from 16 to 18. Albeit many drivers, and passengers alike, may think the minimum driving age should be raised to 18 because of the number of traffic accidents caused by younger drivers, the minimum driving age should remain at 16 because the responsibility of having a car can influence teenagers to be more responsible with other aspects of their lives, teens would not have to rely on their parents for transportation, and it could help adolescents build up experience to improve their driving.

“Driving mishaps can happen to anyone, but they happen all too frequently to teenage drivers because of their lacking significant experience behind the wheel…in recent years, safety experts, elected officials, and public policy experts have focused on strengthening such state laws with the goal of making the roads safer for teens. ” (Andrews, 2) New laws should be made to keep teens and the road a safer place.  The driving age should be raised to 18 to reduce many dangers.

Even though some people have a belief that teens should “mature”, or graduate high school before they are able to legally drive without adult supervision, I strongly disagree on account of the following reasons.

The legal age for driving is a constant debate that remains unsettled. Should the legal age to drive be higher than sixteen? If so, how high should it be raised? Would it really save lives? The simple answer is yes. Raising the legal driving age to twenty one would not only bring benefits like less congestion on highways, it would also prevent nearly thirteen million teen deaths each year. Currently, most states allow teens to acquire a driver’s license at the young age of sixteen. At this age, people do not possess the ability to properly handle a vehicle. The driving age should be legally changed to twenty one because teens are too irresponsible to drive, receive too much freedom and lack the proper instruction to be fully prepared to operate a vehicle.

The current driving age of sixteen is implemented in almost every state in the United States. Most states have become accustomed to the current driving age, but recently there are certain states that believe that the legal driving age should be raised due to various reasons. The main argument for most states is that sixteen-year old’s are not mature enough and lack the preparation to handle the responsibility to drive safely. Teenagers under the age of eighteen should be required to wait longer to get their license and should be more prepared before getting their license.

Teen drivers have the mentality were they are untouchable when behind the wheel. But it’s obviously to much to handle for them because when it comes to the facts to many teens die a year. In 2007, 4,200 teens in the U.S aged from 15-17 were killed and 400,000 were treated in the E.R for injuries because of car accidents (“Motor vehicle safety, Teen Drivers, page 1”). This just shows how irresponsible teens are while driving. In a national survey 12.5% of all high school students rarely wear seatbelts, this just asking too get hurt in case an accident happens (“Motor vehicle safety, Teen Drivers, page 1”). This just shows how teens have a bad mentality while driving. In 2005, 54% of teen deaths occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. This statistic shows that one more reason why a teen would want there license is to get to a party or go

entertainment? Youngsters are known for partying, sneaking out, drinking; when it is illegal and we can not have people like this causing chaos on our streets. Minors are also distracted too easily with the latest technology, friends and other passengers. Teenagers also like to eat, talk, and groom which is a distraction. A distraction is anything that could divert a person’s attention from their main task, which is driving. Studies have shown sixteen year olds are immature and their mind is not fully developed, and therefore should not be able to drive. They also do not have enough experience as most youth get their license at the age of sixteen and hardly practice safety on the roads before that. Teenagers consistently cause trouble, they should not be permitted to drive until eighteen years of age.

Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.