A New Generation of Teenage Drivers

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A new generation of teenage drivers embark on the open road every year. With this new generation of teenage drivers comes a set of skills and responsibilities that the adolescent drivers are going to have to learn. Operating a motor vehicle is a task that requires an immense amount of skill, responsibility, and knowledge, and the process of obtaining a license in Indiana should be more difficult. With more rigorous and time consuming driver’s education courses, harder licensing exams, and a stronger presence of parents in the early months of holding a driver’s license, the number of teen deaths related to motor vehicles would not be as astronomical as it is today.
The rules and regulations today are not as extensive as they should be. At age fifteen, one is eligible to obtain a learner’s permit if enrolled in a driver’s education program. Driver’s education consists of thirty hours of classroom/online lessons and six hours of driving with a professional driving instructor. However, completion of driver’s education is not required to receive a permit. With a learner’s permit, new drivers may only drive with an already licensed driver at least twenty-five years old, a licensed spouse at twenty-one years old, or a certified driving instructor.
At sixteen years of age, a learner’s permit is available to teenagers without enrollment in driver’s education. In order to receive the permit, the teenager must take both a vision exam and a written knowledge test. After the permit is awarded, one must complete fifty hours of driving practice only with a licensed instructor, a licensed driver of at least twenty-five years old or a spouse at least twenty-one years old. Ten out of the fifty practice hours must be completed at night. This en...

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...motor vehicle is a task that requires an immense amount of skill, responsibility, and knowledge, and the process of obtaining a license in Indiana should be more difficult. The current statistics throughout the United States are appalling and would be drastically reduced with these proposed changes.

Works Cited

"Drivers Ed in Indiana." DMV.org. Indiana Department of Motor Vehicles, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

Natalie, S.C.. "Texting behind the wheel? Think before you respond." McClatchy - Tribune Business News. 18 Dec. 2013 eLibrary. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

Sloviter, Vikki. "How Teen Behavior Influences Their Driving: National Young Driver Survey." Pediatrics for Parents. 01 May. 2009: 10. eLibrary. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.

"Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Feb. 2014.

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