Essay on Increasing the Minimum Driving Age

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.

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

Firstly, studies have shown that many of the crashes recent regulations for 16 year olds have prevented actually only happen two years later when there are no restrictions. As stated in the article Teenage Driving Laws May Just Delay Deadly Crashes by Anahad O’Connor, “there have been 1348 fewer deadly crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. But at the same time, there have been 1,086 more fatal crashes that involved 18-year-olds. The net difference is still an improvement, Dr. Masten said, but not quite the effect that many had assumed.” This shows that drivers are simply waiting to become 18 in order to skip the restrictions placed on the younger drivers. Knowing this, we ought to make regulations that encourage drivers to learn to drive while under these heavier regulations, so that they can get real on-the-road experience while not being in as much risk of

“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

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

All of the studies that have been carried out in this field show that younger drivers that are behind the wheel are more likely to be involved in serious accidents - raising the age would make the roads a much safer place for

Shari Roan in “Should the driving age be raised” talks about the controversial issue all American families face when it comes to teens driving and the safety of others. She states that in a nationwide analysis the number of fatal crashes between the ages 16 and 17 year old drivers have fallen and the number of fatal crashes between the ages of 18 and 19 year old drivers have risen by almost the same amount. She states that the combination of immaturity and inexperience makes teen drivers particularly vulnerable to motor vehicle accidents. She also explains that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens resulting in 4,054 fatalities in 2008 according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington Va.

"Just because of your birthdate, are you dangerous?" (Should Driving Be Raised to 18? by John D'Amico and Alex Koroknay-Palicz). Lawmakers and state legislators are considering raising the age for legal drivers from sixteen to eighteen. But doing so will bring more harm than good. First, cars are essential for transportation, and teenagers today desperately need that transportation.

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.

As teenagers are leaving their homes, cities, and in many cases, states, to attend colleges, driving has become an integral part in a teen’s life. However, many states are putting heavy restrictions on teen drivers to keep not only them safe, but the rest of the community as well. But that has not been enough- teen drivers still are a major problem on the road due partly to their lack of mental development. This has pushed some states to consider raising minimum driving age, eliminating the whole problem of inexperience in drivers. The minimum age should not raised, however, because it will not help the issue of road safety.

Statistics show that ‘in 2011, about 2,650 teens in the United States aged 16-19 were killed’ and almost 300,000 teens were severely injured from fatal crashes. Every day, 7 teens die from car crashes/injuries. Newly licensed drivers who are aged 16-19 are at a higher risk of fatal crashes than drivers aged 20 and over. As well, many of these crashes are caused by teens that text, talk, or drink and drive. Inexperienced drivers, who are many 16 -19 year olds in the United States cause higher insurance, accidents and crashes, and so, the legal driving age should be increased to 18.

There still an improvement but not quite an effect we assume said Dr. Masten . 18 year olds driving is still risky but they at least have more experience than 16 year olds who barely know the basics about driving . A study in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine this year found that teenagers who started school earlier in the morning had higher crash rates .

Well, 18-year-olds have an increasing number of fatal crashes each year while 16-year-olds are decreasing in the number of fatal crashed each year. Since 16-year-olds are wanting to continue to be able to drive at age 16, there are being more laws and restrictions when 16-year-olds are driving. It is also getting harder for 16-year-olds to pass the driving test to get their license which only allows the better drivers to get on the road. In the article “Teenage Driving Laws” it states, “Dr. Masten strongly suspects that the reason for the increase in deadly crashes among 18-year-olds is that many teenagers, rather than deal with the extra restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds.” This quote is stating that the restrictions are getting stronger and that some inexperienced 18-year-olds are getting on the roadeasier than it should be. All in all, 18-year-olds should have the same restrictions and rules that 16-year-olds have to eliminate as many fatal crashes that we

Teen driving is unsafe and dangerous, teen driving is the leading cause of teenage deaths in the United States with more than 5,000 teens dying a year. 17 year old Weston Griggs, killed himself and the 2 passengers he had in his car. But, this accident was no accident. Weston was going 70 mph in a 40 mph speed zone. The issue in this story is that young drivers like Weston, inexperienced and full of adrenaline are just hurting them selves and others by getting behind the wheel at such a young age. Teens between the ages 15 through 17 do not belong on the road. Outrageous amounts of teens are dying every year and these numbers are not changing, so why keep them on the road? Teen driving in the United States have three main problems

In recent years, the country as a whole has become more conscious and aware of health and safety. From dieting and exercise, to putting in new laws to prevent accidents and drug use, society is making an effort to make cities and their citizens feel more secure. That’s why some believe that the driving age should be made older. However, recent studies are showing that that make not be the solution to the problem of the many fatal injuries sustained by teenage drivers.