Legal Driving Age Research Paper

In the article “Driving to the Funeral” the author Anna Quindlen addresses the issue of the age to begin driving. She believes that the age 16 is far too young teenagers to begin driving. Driving at a too young of an age is one big reason that the way majority of teenagers die is because of automobile accidents. There isn’t enough limitations on young drivers, causing safety concerns. Parents shouldn’t allow their children to drive at such a young age, just because they want their kids to have “freedom and responsibility”.

Maturity and rationalization is not yet achieved or experienced by teenagers. In the era of technology there are several distractions for drivers of any age to maneuver. Parents can play an educational role by enrolling their teen into a driver’s educational program. Some states require students to complete a comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program prior to receiving their license. The brain function is still developing in teenagers and may impede the quick thinking process necessary to become a responsible driver. For the safety and welfare of teenagers the age requirement in Arizona for a driver’s license should be increased from 16 to 18 years of age.

Due to safety concerns, many states across the country have increased the age at which teenagers are able to start driving. The state legislature is considering raising the minimum age from 16 to 18, which is a legal adult. This situation has been a huge debate for many years mainly between teens and older adults. However, there’s more reasons why the age shouldn’t change.

A variety of activities improve upon hours of practice, whether it be a hobby or a sport; this principle can be applied to driving because teenagers need at least 45 hours of driving practice before getting their driving license in the state of Virginia. If the Virginia standards require practice before approving teen drivers of being safe for the public, then two years worth of practice before the age of 18, when most teens leave home for college, will only polish their driving further to become more responsible drivers. More experience can lead to fewer traffic accidents among young adults and teenagers, which is one of the reasons why some people are against 16 year olds driving. Furthermore, if teenagers learn about the dangers of driving when they are 16, they are more likely to apply that on the road soon after they have learned it rather than two years later, when they have most likely forgotten about it. In short, being able to drive at 16 can give young drivers experience to improve their driving and prevent traffic accidents, as well as building their experience from what they remember from their Drivers' Ed class, making the roads safer from the

One of the greatest accomplishments in a teenager's life is receiving their driver's license. Obtaining a license gives a teenager freedom, a newfound sense of independence. It is exciting to know that you are not at your parent's mercy to drive you to school, meet friends, or to work.At the age of 16 people can receive their drivers' license. 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.

Driving ages throughout the United States vary state by state. In South Dakota, to obtain a license you only have to be 14 years and three months old. In New Jersey, you have to be 17 years old, but throughout the United States it is pretty consistent that you have to be 16 years old to get a license. Along with a license come many freedoms for a teenager, but also many restrictions. Restrictions such as the times allowed to drive and the amount of passengers allowed in the car are set in place throughout the United States. In South Carolina new drivers cannot drive between the hours of 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The majority of states have the restriction of no driving between midnight and 5:00 a.m. Vermont is the only U.S. state to have no restriction

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 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.

The achievement of a driver’s license is a rite of passage for a large number of adolescents and young adults in the United States. Societally, the driver’s license is representative of a key to the outside world, and, in some ways, it is also thought of as being one of the first steps into adulthood. This perceived importance leads numerous fifteen and sixteen-year-olds to obtain their license as quickly as they possibly can which can be dangerous. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), drivers who are between sixteen to nineteen years old are at the greatest risk of being involved in a fatal crash, and sixteen and seventeen year olds also are at nearly twice the risk of eighteen and nineteen year olds. This has led some experts to call for a raise to the minimum driving age. While this is an understandable conclusion to come to, this is not necessarily the best course of action. There are other programs which can decrease the fatal crash rate, which can alleviate the crash concern. Otherwise, the ability to drive is, as stated above, an important step towards adulthood, and it provides maturity. Additionally, due to the lack of public transport or other safe ways to travel from place to place, the ability to drive provides younger Americans with mobility so that they can work, go to school, and also be with friends. For these reasons, the minimum driving age must stay at sixteen.

The driving age limit should be raised to 18 years of age and restricted to yearly road test up to age 21 and the same for those drivers after age 80, however, it should include the road test eye exam. However, in the State of New York, a learner’s permit is issued until age 18 and the individual must follow strict Graduated Driver License law (GDL). The concern is the unsupervised drivers that receive a driver’s license at the age of 18 years old. According to a research conducted, “A number of cases involved people

Although, teenagers are not fully developed in the brain yet; they are advanced enough to be able to drive for themselves at least the age of sixteen. In the news article, “Making Driving a Federal Matter”, by Laine Picker; he states “ some states minimum age ranges from fourteen years old to fifteen-and-a-half.” He tells us this because even though

On June 30, 2014, KTLA News reported a fatal car crash in the Lancaster area. Two sixteen year olds driving at an unknown speed had driven through a stop sign and drove into a big rig. The driver died at the scene and the passenger was pronounced dead at the hospital. The truck driver did try to stop, but was unsuccessful. Stories like these are read across the news headlines frequently. Raising the age limit can prevent and help lower the amount of accidents and fatalities.

Legal driving in South Australia should not be increased to the age of 18. The reason for this is because most teenaages have been waiting for years to drive and have learned many experience and knowledge from their parents. Also from being in a car for most of their lives they see and acknowledge all the attributes to driving. When you turn 18, you are expected to be an adult and uphold all the responsibilities towards that. Having someone in your car while you have to drive is not helping you be independent and live the life you want to. Legal driving at the age of 16 would help you become more independent

Studies show that teens ages 16-17 are more immature and irresponsible when it comes to driving and texting on their cellphones. They seem to make more carless decisions. Teens are more likely to exceed speed limits, run off roads and roll over at higher rates than do older drivers involved in fatal crashes. Young drivers are less experienced therefore lose control of the vehicle easily. New medical research explains that the part of the brain that weighs risk behavior and controls impulsive behavior isn’t fully developed until the age of 25, according to the National Institutes of Health. This questions some state legislators and safety activists whether 16 year-olds should be licensed to drive.

Recent studies have been done that show a decline in the number of drivers getting their driver’s license between the ages of 16 and 19. “It’s especially pronounced for the teens—in 2014, just 24.5 percent of 16-year-olds had a license, a 47-percent decrease from 1983, when 46.2 percent did. And at the tail end of the teen years, 69 percent of 19-year-olds had licenses in 2014, compared to 87.3 percent in 1983, a 21-percent decrease.”(Beck) Of the people surveyed in this study many said that they were too busy, could not afford to drive, or already had a ride from others as their reasons for not getting their license. The longer teens wait to get their license the more mature, they can become and that should make them better drivers. “Based on government research, drivers under age 20 have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.” (How to prevent...) Parents need to make sure when they are teaching their teens to drive that they make sure let them