Goodmorning everyone, Imagine your sixteen year-old friend just got his driver's license, and you and a couple of other mates are going for a ride to celebrate. However your friend’s attention isn't on the road, and crashes into another vehicle. Two of the friends die on scene, and your friend who was driving is seriously injured. For thousands of teens each year, this is the reality. Today i'm gonna be talking about the importance of why the driving age limit should be increased to 18 years old in all states of Australia. Turning to the age of 16 and 17 is a huge step in the life of teenagers. When becoming the age of 16 or 17 a new challenge is brought into our lives, the task of driving a car. But are 16 and 17 years olds ready for this task. Driving a car is a task that should only be taken on by teenagers over the age of eighteen, because they are more responsible and understand the risk involved. Young drivers in the other hand are not yet fully developed and so are their decision making skills, which is the key thing all drivers need while driving. We now live in a generation where teenagers are now crazy and out of control, 16 and 17 year olds consume alcohol illegally. And overall young drivers have higher accident rate. However many argue that it is unfair or 16 and 17 …show more content…
The Australian Law Reform Commission's report on decision-making by and for individuals under the age of 18 states, 'The frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for functions such as organising thoughts, setting priorities, planning and making judgments. Scientists have discovered that the frontal lobe undergoes significant change during adolescence. 16- and 17-year-olds simply do not have the cognitive capacity necessary to take the decisions that driving
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...
The rite of passage for 16-year-olds, driving. The question, is allowing them to drive the right thing? Many are coming to the conclusion that the driving age should be increased to decrease accidents on the road. This is not the case, because cars are necessary to some, not all teens are like this, and they can become better.
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...
Davis, Robert. (2005, March 3). USA Today. “Is 16 too young to drive a car?”
Driving at the age of sixteen is perfectly okay with people who does not seem to care because he or she feels as if someone gets into a car they are automatically going to put all attention into driving the vehicle which is not true nowadays because teenage drivers feel the need to be on a cell phone or trying to control the radio and trying to get dressed or put on make up when he or she should only be focused on operating the car. As the CDC stated “High school students aged 16 years and older who, when surveyed, said they had driven a vehicle one or more times during the past 30 days when they had been drinking alcohol.” ("Teen Drinking and Driving"), high school students are actually drinking when they should not be anywhere neat alcohol beverages and be able to drive. Based on these facts “Teens are more likely to speed, run red lights, make illegal turns, ride with an intoxicated driver, and drive after using alcohol or drugs.” (Only the Strong Survive "Teen Driving Crash and Fatality Stats"), teenagers are most likely to one ride with a intoxicated driver, and two driver after using alcohol or drugs which proves my point that teenagers should not be able to drive at such a young
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.
More than 5,000 teenagers die while driving each year in the United States (Gregory). In my opinion this is due to three different, yet equally important factors. The first factor is that the teenage mind is yet to be fully developed, causing them to make irresponsible and sometimes reckless decisions. The second factor is that the experience of driving has evolved since the original driving age was established in the early 20th century. The third and final aspect to take into consideration would be that driving is the lowest minimum age of any adult restricted activity in the United States. Although, it can be one of the more harmful, not only to the perspective driver but his or her surroundings as well. Taking all three of these factors into account I believe the minimum driving age should be raised to 18 to decrease the accident rate amongst teenagers.
A lot of people point out that 16-year-olds are prone to accidents when it comes to driving. While this is very true, it’s not likely that it’s because of their age; it’s because they’re new when it comes to being behind the wheel. It doesn’t matter if they’re 16, 18 or 107, they’ll always be inexperienced to start with. Raising the driving age won't necessarily prevent possible accidents, it
... 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.
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.
Sixteen year olds have a higher crash rate than drivers of any other age. “ in 2011, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths” (Teen Driving Statistics). For this purpose, Many states have begun to raise the age limit by imposing restrictions on sixteen years old drivers. For example, limiting the number of passengers they can carry while driving. “The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a report in May 2012 that showed that the risk of 16- or 17-year old drivers being killed in a crash increases with each additional teenage passenger in the vehicle. The risk increases 44 percent with one passenger; it doubles with two passengers, and quadruples with three or more passengers. The study analyzed crash data and the number of miles driven by 16- and 17-year olds” (Teen Driving Statistics). Another example, is that many people believe that teenage drivers have a race boy/girl mentality. This mean that when any teenager gets into a vehicle of any kind they get some type of thrilled or that the driving laws do not accommodate them in any way, shape, or form. They would go drag race ...
Many accidents are caused because teenagers are unaware of driving risks and hazardous situations. One piece of evidence that shows that teenagers need driving experience appears in the following quote, “Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations,” ("Teen Drivers: Get the Facts"). Teenagers will not have enough driving experience if the driving age is lifted. If teenagers are allowed to drive at sixteen then they will be prepared to drive later on. The longer one waits to drive, the longer it takes for them to become prepared for the risks and hazards of
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.” - Dave Berry
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
“Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time,” said by Steven Wright. Teenagers look forward to their sixteenth birthday so they are able to drive. Everyone has felt that feeling where they can hardly wait to get behind the wheel and start driving. Little do people know teen drivers are more likely to die from a car accident than from a homicide, suicide, or cancer combined (Littlefield). They are mostly inexperienced with the road and how to handle distractions. If the age were moved to eighteen teenagers would have more driving experience (Sostarecz). Teenage drivers are extremely eager to drive because of freedom, but they are not aware of the distractions and peer pressure on the road; their experience of driving is not as well as others and statistics show how many deaths are caused due to teenage driving.