Raising The Age Of Teenage Driving

For many teenagers obtaining their driver’s license is the first initial step of becoming an adult. Many political and public figures question the ability to drive legally at age 16; in some states even younger. There are many reasons why many individuals question the legal driving age such as how will impact society? If the legal driving age in the United States is raised to 18 will there be a decrease of accidents? In the United States most states allow teenagers to have a learner’s permit and a driver’s license at age 16. Rising the legal driving age would cut down on car accidents and associated damages, cut down on teen deaths from traffic accidents and allow for teens to gain more experience before driving on their own.

In 2014, 2,270 teens in the U.S. ages 16-19 were killed and 221,313 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. State legislature should raise minimum driving age from 16 to 18 because of the immaturity level of 16 year olds, responsibility, and they would be older and have more experience. If driving age was moved up it would make the roads a much safer place to be.

If this age limit were to raise the teens get no freedom. Now teens go to the mall, go get ice cream and hang out with friends. If the age limit was 18 they would not get to do any of the fun things they normally do. When this happens they loose connections between them and their friends. Without the freedom of driving at the age of 16 teens will lose even more between their loved

A few people may say that it is not fair to let adults determine if teens should drive, however, many teens actually agree with raising the driving age. A seventeen-year-old from Nashville, Liza Darwin, agrees that raising the driving age would benefit the public (Davis, p.249). Not only do teens support raising the driving age, so do many adults. A Gallup Poll found that sixty-one percent of people say that sixteen is too young to drive and only thirty-seven percent oppose raising the driving age (Davis, p.248). With almost two-thirds of society agreeing sixteen is too young to drive, it only makes sense to move the driving age and save a ton of lives which benefits

The reasons why the driving age should be increased to 18 is because they are not fully responsible for obeying the traffic laws, they get distracted easily, and they are just not capable of having the responsibility of driving a car. Teenagers the age of 16 have caused many car accidents in the past years due to the fact that teenagers are not ready to drive at 15 with a permit, they are just not fully ready to drive. It's a huge responsibility and a huge risk to the society. Parents should be more involved in their children's driving. If one does not teach their children to obey when their driving then they never will.

We as citizens today should do everything we can to protect our youth, after all they are the future leaders of America. As a mother of a teenager, I worry about when my teenager will begin driving. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2013). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). [Cited 2015 Oct 7]. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. We as citizens need to take an active role and do more to prevent our youth from being in harm’s way. Allowing our youth to begin driving on the roads at the age of 15 years, with a learner’s permit, we are allowing them to drive as an inexperience driver, a driver subject to distractions, and the age limit needs to be raised.

One of the most anticipated moments in a teenager’s life is when they finally pass the driving exam and get to stare into their own fresh, gleaming, brand new driver’s license. This is certainly a life changing moment for any teenager, but not in the way they would expect. Sadly, car accidents with teens at fault cause more injuries and deaths than any other demographic in the world. While getting a license at 15 or 16 may be a commonplace milestone of the American way, the associated risks of having young teens driving without restriction are simply not worth the privilege of being able to drive at such an early age.

In the article titled "States Should Raise Driving Age" discusses why states should raise the driver's license age from 16 to 17 or even 18 years old. The author proves that research has shown that New Jersey has significantly reduced deaths related to traffic crashes in teen drivers compared to states that issue a license at 16 years old. New Jersey issues a drivers license at 17 years old. The author states that representatives of the Insurance Institute agree that there are other options such as tougher laws, education programs, and longer permit requirements that would allow teens to still obtain a license at the age of 16. Although there is evidence that teen driver crash's are high, researchers argue that auto safety groups should focus

The reason why they should lower the driving age is because many teens tend to start getting jobs and its hard to find transportation. Some teens

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.

It would be Irrational and Ineffective to raise the driving age. Parents would have a huge weight put on their shoulders. Many teenagers would lose nearly all of their privileges. Some may benefit by saying it’s a stress relive to not have teens on the road but many more would disagree.

Teenagers tend to induce poor mistakes, such as failing to scan the road, misjudging driving conditions, and becoming distracted can cause them to have a higher crash rate. Especially if they are on their phones texting or talking while driving will definitely cause more accidents. Having the driving age increased from 16 year olds to 18 year olds will reduce the number of accidents they cause, because 18 year olds are mature and can handle driving for hours at a time. Which is another reason to raise the age because teenagers also cause accidents from lack of sleep when they undergo school and it starts early in the morning, so of course teenagers are going to be sleepy. Having an adult with them in the car, teens are more careful and aware of what they are doing which reduces the risk of them doing something irresponsible and cause an accident. It not only protects teens, but it also protects everybody else on the road. However, it protects them so much that they miss out on learning experiences that they can receive when they are alone, such as knowing the responsibility of owning a vehicle and self-regulation.

We shouldn’t raise the driving age to 18 because school kids need to drive to get to school events and jobs. Teenagers are becoming independent adults and are learning how to become their own people. According to States Urged to Raise the Driving Age "Parents like the

Many states have increased the age at which teens can begins to drive. In our society teens wait for their license. In our society parents worry about their children on the road. Age limit should remain the same because one needs to get to their job, one need to get to school, and one is responsible taking care of their own.

Everyone experiences a series of milestone events in their life. What makes these types of achievements so tasteful are the fresh feelings of being part of something such as driving for the first time. For some first time drivers, before they begin their driving experience, some felt limited due to not having the knowledge or eligibility to drive a vehicle. After experiencing the feeling of driving, they describe the experience of having a sense of freedom behind the wheel and being able to make their own decisions. Focusing on such beautiful tastes, there are also the unfavorable memories many would rather wish did not occur to them. Throughout the years, teen car accidents have increased slowly due to the presence of peers, consumption of alcohol and untimely human error. Teens should not be allowed to drive because teens are more prone to common activity that causes car accidents.