Pros And Cons Of Owning A Car At Sixteen

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Recommended: Negative impacts of dangerous driving on teens

Between 2002 and 2011, car fatalities have gone down a staggering 63% (Teenage Driver Fatalities by State:
2012 Preliminary Data). In the past 50 years, many teens have held jobs outside of the home. As a result, more teens own cars. Despite their expense, cars can be useful.
Some say teens should be able to own a car when they turn sixteen, while others believe teens do not need a car when they are sixteen.
Teens should be allowed to own a car at sixteen for three reasons. If teens are mobile, they can drive themselves to personal activities. Driving teens can help a family and driving can encourage responsible habits.
First of all, cars allow teens to drive themselves to sports, hobbies, and other social activities. Depending on others for transportation limits the level of a teen’s involvement. High school and college campus life can be filled with activities. “Actively involved students are better students academically. Actively involved students are often happier students socially. Actively involved students are often more satisfied students who remain at the institution.”
We also see that driving teens can help a family. Another driver can lend flexibility to a family’s schedule. It is often very convenient for the parents because the teenager can transport his or her siblings wherever they need to go. Parents often find themselves constantly driving, which is not efficient. Another driver can help distribute the work and run errands for the family.
Finally, driving can encourage responsible habits in teenagers. For instance, many teens are obsessed with cell phones, and yet “66 percent of teens say they care about their parents’ opinion on cell phone use while driving”(Teen Driving: Facts And Statistics). So teens are ...

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...ols. 15 March. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. “56 percent of teens rely on their parents to learn how to drive.”

“66 percent of teens say they car
“Should My College Student Have A Car On Campus?” College Parents Of America. College Parents of America. 10 Jan. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. “Actively involved students are better students academically. Actively involved students are often happier students socially. Actively involved students are often more satisfied students who remain at the institution.”

“Teenage Driver Fatalities by State: 
2012 Preliminary Data” GHSA. Governors Highway Safety Association. Feb. 2013. Web. 23 Apr. 2014

http://www.sps186.org/downloads/basic/272002/Teen-Driving-Straight-Facts.pdf http://www.collegeparents.org/members/resources/articles/should-my-college-student-have-car-campus http://www.ghsa.org/html/publications/spotlight/teens2012.html

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