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Should the legal driving age be increased
Should the legal driving age be increased
Should the legal driving age be increased
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Obtaining a driver’s license is a big moment for any teenager who wants to drive a car. It can also be a potentially dangerous and deadly decision as well. No matter what side of the argument that someone is on, there are facts that support the minimum age law currently and there are facts that support the need for an increase in the age of obtaining a driver’s license.
According to the a writer from the Chicago Tribune, “The front portion of the brain—which includes control of impulses, judgment and decision-making, and the coordination of multi-tasking—matures deep into the 20s” (Gregory). This is a very troubling fact for people who think that the minimum age law should stay as it is. Having a brain that is not fully developed may not be suitable for driving. The peer pressure, distractions, and the lack of experience all play a role in supporting an increase in the age of driving. This is just one side of the equation, however, and the other side has an equal amount of compelling evidence.
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According to the Seattle Times, with more “driver training, more hours of careful behind-the-wheel practice and effective parental involvement and role modeling, 16-year-olds can be excellent drivers” (Willette). Willette brings up some interesting reasons why teen drivers are such “bad” drivers. Many people who aren’t in agreement with Willette disagree because her reasoning is not necessarily factual. But, without actually doing an experiment as to whether or not this would work, we will never know if what Willette says is
Its not a question if teenagers are worse drivers than more responsible adults. According to a few researchers, a study in the 1990’s said crash-related deaths from sixteen and seventeen year olds were eighteen per 100,000 in New Jersey, and twenty-six per 100,000 in Connecticut. More than 5,000 teens in the U.S. die every year in car crashes. The National Highway Safety Administration said that the rate of crashes per mile driven for beginner drivers was almost ten times the rate of drivers thirty to fifty-nine. (Irvine; Greg...
People who support a higher driving age have many good arguments and question whether teens really need to drive as early as they do now (Gregory). Researchers for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety say that “raising the driving age makes sense and would save lives” (cited in Gregory).They also say that “licensing at later ages would substantially reduce crashes involving teen drivers” (cited in Gregory). It seems like many people agree with them. For example, Crisp states, “Handling several thousand pounds of automobile at highway speeds is ...
Just like the teenage boy that died in the wreck, most young teen drivers think they are invincible and are owners of the road which is all due to lack of maturity. The mind set of young drivers now days is “I’m too young to die”, or “it wont happen to me” and they are so blinded by the immature thinking that it gets them in trouble. Some traits generally linked with the immaturity are: chance taking, testing limits, poor-decision making, overconfidence, speeding, following to closely, and dangerous passing (Williams). When you have youthful age and immature characteristics combined the crash possibility is enlarged. The 15-16 age groups are among the most accident prone of most groups (“Don’t”), so why then would we want them behind the wheel? “Most U.S. states license at age 16, but the minimum age for a regular license is 14 in South Dakota and 15 in five other states including: Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and South Carolina”, stated Allan F. Williams. Youthful age and immature thinking is part of the reason wh...
Driving is something people do everyday. Although many people do it well, some do not, that being said the legal age to drive should be raised to twenty one years of age. The driving age should be raised because teens at the ages of fourteen through twenty should not be behind the wheel for the simple fact that they are just too young and too inexperienced to drive, also someone of that age can get more distracted than a person who is twenty-one or older and has had some time to mature and become responsible enough to operate a motor vehicle. “In the United States, 16–19-year-olds have the highest incidence of motor vehicle deaths among licensed drivers and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15–20-year-olds.” (Haggerty
I. Introduction A. Should 16 year old teenagers be able to drive? B. “Those who favor raising the driving age say that statistics show teenagers are more likely to get into accidents than adults. What they don't say is that statistics also show that men of all ages are 77 percent more likely to kill someone while driving than women.
An article written in 2016 by Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Finley mentioned this about many critics’ views on the social problems created by raising the legal driving age, “Meanwhile, critics argue that people under age twenty-five are legally allowed to vote, join the military, marry, attend college, and drink alcohol, and so should not be prevented from driving.” Across America, when teenagers reach the age of sixteen or seventeen, they begin their journey towards being an independent and responsible adult. Choices about career, marriage, what and who to vote for, and whether or not to join the armed forces are just a few of the decisions that teenagers are starting to work through (Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Laura Finle, 2016). However, without the privilege of legal driving, many of the steps towards adulthood became confusing and complicated in many ways. Ultimately, raising the driving age lessens the responsibility that comes into play while transitioning into an
This should not even be a question if the driving age should be the driving age should be raised to 18; that can be answered easily , YES!!! Alarmed by the car accidents involving teeagers , a number of states are considering raising the age for getting a driver's license. On december ,8 , 2005 four teenage boys from atlanta went out for a night dive and had a terrible accident. The state government should raise the driving age from 16 to 18 because teens under the age of 18 are at a high risk for accidents and are easily distracted while driving
Today, many teenagers work hard to obtain their license starting at age 15 by getting their permit. Many parents encourage their children to get their license and gain these privileges, however some encourage their kids to wait and many states agree. Driving age is commonly set at sixteen, but because of safety concerns, the idea of raising the driving age to eighteen is currently posed by state legislation. Increasing the driving age to eighteen is a smart decision because teenagers are seen as irresponsible, they are more likely to get into accidents, and teens can become easily distracted.
According to Anne Fleming, a Spokeswoman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, "Immaturity and inexperience both contribute to crashes. It's hard to untangle the two…Raising the age from 16 to 17 saves lives in crashes. Raising it to 18 saves even more lives"(ProQuest). It is believed that the human brain is nearly 95 percent developed by the age of six. Neural connections are being made incredibly quick during a child’s first few years. However, this does not take into account a second period of maturing the brain goes through that lasts until the age of 21. The second growth in the brain accounts for important skills like decision making and risk assessment (Triplett). These two skills are essential to operating a motor vehicle. Teenagers at 16 years old are three times more likely to be involved in an accident than teenagers at 19 (Triplett). Experts believe that t...
... middle of paper ... ... Even though teen drivers make up a small percentage of the population, the most fatal crashes are the result of one behind the wheel; therefore the legal driving age needs to be raised to eighteen years of age. Works Cited Becerra, Judith J. - "The 'Baby The “Teen Driving” Academic Source Premier.
[6] Teenagers always want privileges. [3] Unfortunately, they do not always count the costs or responsibilities that come with these admirable and honored privileges. [5] As they grow up, teens desire to drive at the earliest possible time – when their friends begin to do so. [2] Despite the driving age laws put in place for their safety, many individuals would boldly argue that the driving age should either be raised or lowered. [4] Seeking more freedom, teens support and lobby for the lowering of the driving age.
Engines roaring and cars flying down the highway recklessly, racing to the finish. This is a stereotyped outlook on teen drivers. This however, is not the case. Teens don’t drive to race down the road. They drive for freedom. They drive to get where they need to be on their own. The driving age should not be raised to 18 because it takes away their feeling of freedom, Denies the access to needed transportation, denies experience, It puts additional stress on parents, and they need to be learning the driving skill while they’re young.
Turning the age of sixteen is a huge step in the life of a teenager. When becoming the age of sixteen a new challenge is brought into that person’s life, and that new challenge is driving a car. But are sixteen year olds ready for this for this task? Some people would say that driving a car can be very problematic for a sixteen year old. Those people are right, sixteen year old should not be driving cars at that age, and just leave it for the people who are eighteen or even older to handle such a task. There are several good reasons why the government should raise the legal driving age to eighteen than leaving it at sixteen.
The article Should 16-year-olds drive? written by Ted Gregory, describes that “the front portion of the brain—which includes control of impulses, judgement and decision-making, and the coordination of multi-tasking—matures when 18.” Eighteen is at the beginning of adult life and that is when people grow and develop. According to the possible contributing circumstances listed on crash reports, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation detailed that sixteen year olds are more likely to be reported as “exceeding the speed limit, driving too fast for conditions, failing to yield right-of-way, failing to control, following too close, and driving inattentively.” Sixteen year olds underestimate the dangers of the road. Some people would say that teens now a days are more cautious and aware of dangers of the road due to social media awareness. However, Edgar Snyder, a law firm representing injured people, revealed that 32.8 percent of high school students aged sixteen to seventeen have admitted to texting while driving. Other than the fact that sixteen year olds are not mentally independent, they are also not financially
How old is old enough to drive? Most would argue the legal driving age of sixteen seems appropriate for someone to begin taking the wheel, while others say that twenty-one is a more sufficient age. Even though raising or maintaining the driving age at sixteen contain both pros and cons, major facts need to come to consideration if the driving age ever increases. As a teenager driving, I believe that people wanting to raise the driving age do not realize the negative effect that that would cause. For instance, if the age increased, teenagers would lose independence and freedom, parents would have to sacrifice their time and freedom, and even though teenagers die in car crashes every year, it would not decrease the overall number of deaths per year.