Pros And Cons Of Raising The Driving Age

For many teenagers in the United States their 16th birthday is an important milestone. This is the age that teenagers begin to integrate more into society as they begin to drive and experience new levels of freedom. As 16 is the usual minimum age for employment in most industries some teens even get jobs for personal reason or to benefit their household. The minimum age to acquire a driver's licence should not increase to 18 as younger teens will not be able to help provide for their families with current public transportation methods in the United States.

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

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.

Personally I am very excited to receive my driver's license within the next year, but if all of the sudden instead of waiting one year I had to wait three to four years because the legal driving age was raised to either eighteen or twenty one I would wonder why. So should the legal driving age raised?

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.

Raising the age to eighteen doesn’t provide them more information to drive. It just takes them longer to be able to travel by themselves. Also eighteen is closer to being able to do drugs and they have an excuse to do drugs. Which is not ok. Also if you raise the age, what happens to the people at age sixteen who have a car already? They just have to take

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.”

Because of safety concerns, many states have increased the age at which teens can begin to drive. The Virginia state legislature is considering raising the minimum driving age from 16 to 18. If the state raises the age to drive, kids would start depending on their parents to take them places. The parents would be chauffeuring their kids to places like school, work, and so on. I think raising the age to drive is a bad idea because the kids don't have to depend on the parents as much, it can teach the kids responsibility and freedom, and it can allow the kids to get jobs without their parents.

Due to state safety concerns many states have raised the minimum legal age to drive. The state of Virginia, which is where I live, is now thinking of doing the same. This state should be looked at with careful consideration. The state of Virginia will look at all reasons why it should not be raised before coming to a conclusion. The driving age should not be raised because it would be much harder to get a job, having another driver in a large family can help with day to day tasks, and social freedom and growing up.

I understand that individuals want the driving age to be raised. Sixteen-year-olds can be very irresponsible and immature. There are also the safety concerns that can happen, for example, car crashes. However, I believe that the age requirement to drive should stay the same. Teens get the freedom they have been wanting. Teens are able to get jobs to help save up for college. Teens can also learn the responsibilities that come with driving or owning a vehicle. Therefore, what I am trying to say is sixteen-year-olds are responsible enough to

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.

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.

Although many auto safety experts assume most teenagers are immature to handle driving. Those teenagers are lack responsibility. Many high school teen drivers certainly concerned about popularity than safety. The state legislature should rise the age sixteen to eighteen because teens are more distracted easily by cellphone and other communication devices, increasing the driving age could less car accidents and rising the age of driving could save many tragic lives.

“...since the first graduated driver programs were instituted, there have been 1,348 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…” (O’Connor 2). There has been much controversy regarding the minimum driving age for teens. With the raising or lowering of the minimum driving age, comes many “pros” and “cons.” Moreover, the minimum driving age should not be raised as it brings more unconcerned, inexperienced and crashes upon drivers.