Many people argue that raising the minimum driving age is the key to reducing traffic accidents. I disagree with this point of view as I believe that other measures would be more effective in improving road safety. On the one hand, I agree that a higher driving age can certainly help to lower road crashes. Because of the lack of driving experience, most teenage drivers are not equipped to recognize and react to dangerous situations. For example, teenagers may be unaware that keeping a safe following distance while driving is vitally important to avoiding collisions. These young drivers also tend to engage in reckless driving and other types of moving violations for their irresponsibility and immaturity. Therefore, increasing the minimum driving
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
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
Don’t get me wrong, driving for anyone can be dangerous, let alone teenagers. In an article from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the author talks of studies as well as actual real life numbers. “During 2004--2008, a total of 9,644 drivers aged 16 or 17 years were involved in 9,494 fatal crashes. A total of 4,705 (50%) crashes involved one vehicle; 3,976 (42%) involved two vehicles; and 813 (8%) involved three or more vehicles. A total of 8,274 (87%) crashes resulted in one fatality, 986 (10%) resulted in two fatalities, and 234 (3%) resulted in three or
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
At the same time, they are the least able to cope with hazardous situations that arise unexpectedly" (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2014). Again, it is apparent the blatant disregard of traffic laws directly correlates to teen deaths in vehicle crashes. Teens underestimate how speeding actually impedes their reaction time when placed in precarious driving situations. Contributing factors such as wet roads or uneven pavement necessitates that drivers slow down. Unfortunately, speeding causes them to overcompensate resulting in many one-vehicle accidents resulting in death. Learning to understand the reasons why one should obey traffic laws begins at home through observation of adults. However, academic settings such as driver's education classes are the optimum place for these lessons because their structure provides in-depth training.
Although many who support lowering the driving age believe that there are immature and distracted drivers in every age group, there's no arguing with science. It is scientifically proven that sixteen-year-old children are far less qualified than further developed individuals in terms of brain development. According to a study conducted by National Institutes of Mental Health, teenage drivers are not only vulnerable because they lack experience behind the wheel, but also because of the unique makeup of the adolescent brain. The brain is at its peak in terms of acquiring and retaining new information during adolescence. However, the areas needed for impulse control and mediating emotional responses are the last to develop and may not reach full
Teenage drivers are more likely to get into an accident than someone who is in there 30’s. This is mostly because of maturity in the brain. Scientist have proven “that critical parts of the brain involved in decision-making are not fully developed until years later at age 25 or so.” Teen drivers do not think about what could happen, or the lives they might have in
When I heard that the minimum driving age was going to raise, my little brother screamed running into the bathroom to turn on the shower to cold. While the whole time I was watching him and laughing my behind off but inside I was feeling sorry for him. The driving age should not be raised, because students who are younger and learning to drive will stop learning to drive since the age has risen even when they were so closed to their goal. Instead the students will not learn then that would lead to drive without a driving licence and permit.
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
If the age that a driver can legally get behind the wheel in a vehicle is increased, doing so won’t change the ability one has to drive. Most crashes occur because of inexperience and bad judgement, all of which are teachable. The main way to learn how to drive is to actually drive a car. Increasing legal age is
I. Attention Getter: Do you know that one of the leading causes of deaths of many teenagers is car accidents? In teenager’s life, everything is about freedom, getting away from home and being independent. Should there be a limit to this freedom? Many people question the driving age.
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults. More than 5,000 young people die every year in car crashes and thousands more are injured. Drivers who are 16 years old are more than 20 times as likely to have a crash, as are other drivers. There are two main reasons why teens are at a higher for being in a car crash and lack of driving experience and their tendency to take risks while driving. Teens drive faster and do not control the car as well as more experienced drivers. Their judgment in traffic is often insufficient to avoid a crash. In addition, teens do most of their driving at night, which can be even more difficult. Standard driver's education classes include 30 hours of classroom teaching and 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training. This is not enough time to fully train a new driver. Teen drivers are more like to be influence by peers and other stresses and distractions. This can lead to reckless driving behaviors such as speeding, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and not wearing safety belts. There is no safe amount that you can drink and still drive. Even one drink can influence your driving offences. “Nowadays, drunk driving has become driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired, driving while under the influence, operating while under the influence (impaired, intoxicated, or whatever), and in many
As a teen I often get stereotyped as a bad driver but this is a very unfair judgment. The fact is I have helped prevent accidents the closest I have ever been to being in an accident was the fault of an older gentleman. Still the numbers do not lie teens have the most accidents of any age bracket. Why do teens have the highest accident rate? I believe it is because of inexperience not bad habits. Most teens have only been driving for a very short time, if at all, when they receive
Teen drivers are every adult’s nightmare. With the lack of experience and maturity, both parents and fellow drivers are frightened to share the road with adolescents. Through much research, juveniles as a whole have proven to be incapable of obtaining respectable driving skills. According to “Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association,” motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among 13-19 year old males and females in the United States. Culpable for this statistic is the three main distractions: visual (taking one’s eyes off the road), manual (taking one’s hands off the wheel), and cognitive (takings one’s mind away from the driving task). Factors causing these distractions are cell phones, passengers, and adolescent’s