The 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.

Teenagers are more likely to speed than older drivers because people have less developed brains at the ages of 16 or 17 than at 21 or 22. As a result, one in four teenagers are aggressive drivers and almost twenty percent of teenagers admit that they enjoy speeding, as stated in the New York Times. Drunk driving is a recent problem even among adults. Although drinking and driving is illegal, and drinking under the age of twenty one is illegal, twenty-five percent of all fatal car crashes caused by teens involve an underage drunk driver. Teenagers also have the lowest rate of seat belt use, and seat belts are the most effective way of reducing accidents. In addition, texting while driving is the number one cause of car accidents among teenagers due to the development of social media. This causes teens to drive while looking down at their phones, which can eventually put them in the hospital. Therefore, raising the driving age to 21 will prevent teens from dying due to car accidents-- the number one cause of teen deaths in 2013, according to the CDC Injury

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.

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.”

The reasons advocates of a higher driving age give for its existence is that 16-year-olds aren’t ready for driving yet. The writer, Rep. John D’ Amico of the Illinois state legislature, gives of the example of an accident where two teens died in an accident. What he does not give is more examples to prove that this wasn’t an isolated incident. Another reason that advocates provide for the higher driving age is that government

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.

Most kids out in the country may have to drive to get to there school or social events mabe even their friends house. Another example could be that some people have a lot of siblings so parents have to run from place to place to picking up and dropping off their children. A solution to their problem may be allowing their teen to start using the driving privilege they will be able to help out parents and go places for them self without having to stress their parents by having them run from place to place

"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.

Today, the legal driving age in most states ia 16. The author points out “ following a horrific in a district in Illinois state representative John D’Amico introduced legislation to raise the driving age in his state from 16 to 18”. Before “ 155 teens between the ages of 16 and 19 died in automobile crashes”. After the enforced law “it dropped to 92”.

Having the ability to drive at such a young age also builds character and also helps teach them responsibility. The driving age should not be raised above 16 because no matter when people learn how to drive, the first year is always the hardest and most dangerous. If the driving age was raised to 18 or above, teenagers would not be able to work and support themselves or their family, depending on their situation. Teenagers are starting and applying for their first jobs which means that they are going to have to drive themselves since their parents have their own jobs, and they will not be able to stop working just to drive their child to work. Most, if not all high school graduates would be negatively affected by the driving age being raised to 18, as some graduate at 17, and many others at 18.

Many people think it is a good idea to change the driving age from 16 to 18. They think it would reduce crashes and stress on parents. They also think it would help out parents that has jobs. However, I believe raising the minimum driving age from 16 to 18 is good because some people has a job, some have sports, and some people are responsible.

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 the age limit were raised to the age of eighteen, it would give teenagers time to practice on driving skills and safety regulations of the road. Furthermore, if teens are given more time to practice and understand specific guidelines, it will gradually make them better drivers and help them recognize smart driving skills.

The legal age for driving is a constant debate that remains unsettled. Should the legal age to drive be higher than sixteen? If so, how high should it be raised? Would it really save lives? The simple answer is yes. Raising the legal driving age to twenty one would not only bring benefits like less congestion on highways, it would also prevent nearly thirteen million teen deaths each year. Currently, most states allow teens to acquire a driver’s license at the young age of sixteen. At this age, people do not possess the ability to properly handle a vehicle. The driving age should be legally changed to twenty one because teens are too irresponsible to drive, receive too much freedom and lack the proper instruction to be fully prepared to operate a vehicle.

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.