Do you really want to be stuck at home until you’re 18 doing nothing with your free time while your parents are gone? Don’t you want to be able to roam around places and probably take extracurricular activities on your own time and hang with friends too? Being able to drive is what many children in our society think about these days. When many teenagers reach the age of 15 ½ they are allowed to officially take their permit test to receive their permit for driving with an adult. After they have officially turned 16 they may take the behind-the wheel driving exam for a driver’s license, but the USA plans to change the driving age from 16 to 18. This idea seems to be a mistake seen in many ways. I believe that they shouldn’t change the driving age and keep it at 16 for so many reasons!
Many people say that young drivers don’t have the knowledge about driving and that they wouldn’t know the rules of the roads. The truth is that they do because of some rules for permitted teens to follow. The rules include that they complete Driver’s Education before taking their permit exam, drive 50...
Maturity and rationalization is not yet achieved or experienced by teenagers. In the era of technology there are several distractions for drivers of any age to maneuver. Parents can play an educational role by enrolling their teen into a driver’s educational program. Some states require students to complete a comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program prior to receiving their license. The brain function is still developing in teenagers and may impede the quick thinking process necessary to become a responsible driver. For the safety and welfare of teenagers the age requirement in Arizona for a driver’s license should be increased from 16 to 18 years of age.
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.
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...
For years fiery debates whether the driving age for teens should be sixteen or eighteen captured the nation. Sixteen year-olds have a legitimate argument for keeping the age where it stands, but statistics show that sixteen year olds are not responsible enough to drive, and that more practice is needed before anyone should get a driver’s license. However, from the looks of it, it seems that legislation is going to make the legal driving age eighteen.
The driving age should stay at 16. Although, not many people think that it should stay at 16, but instead that it should increase. This should not happen because certain responsibilities are given to an 16 year old that involves a car. Changing the driving age to a higher age, could infect a lot of things. Some of them have jobs, younger siblings, or even disabled parents. If we raise the driving age, then who would be able to drive around the teen’s disable parent if no one else is able too. The legal driving age should stay at 16.
Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.
Another point regarding the matter is that the driving age should be raised so that the limit aligns with other adult responsibilities. You have to be 18 to drink alcohol. You have to be 18 to smoke cigarettes. You have to be 18 to vote for your choice of government. So why do you only have to be 17 (when you are less mature) to endanger yours and others’ lives by driving? In most countries 18 is considered the age of where you make the transition from your teenage years to adulthood. Driving can be very nerve-wracking for young people and they would possibly benefit by waiting until they’re 18, so that they are mature enough and ready to drive. I agree with this because I feel 18 is an age where you can start to move on and begin living independently, so at 17 I don’t think some people are ready to drive.
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
First, teenagers need more experience in driving because leaving home at 18 with no driving skills would be a disaster waiting to happen. 16 year old teenagers need a little taste of what it is going to be like out in the real world once they move away from home. Teenagers need more than just two years of driving practice
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.
Have you ever wondered if the legal driving age should be lowered? Well, I have, and I think the driving age is already perfect as it is. One reason is because kids might not be mature enough. Another reason why I think this is because they could be too short to reach all the pedals. The last reason kids should not drive cars is because they could not be heavy enough. As you can see, these are my three reasons why I think the legal driving age should not be lowered.
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.
Teens only make up seventeen percent of the population today, but almost twenty percent of fatal crashes are due to teenagers behind the wheel. Growing numbers suggest to change the driving age to eighteen and some even believe that changing it to twenty-one may save even more lives. With a sixteen year old behind the wheel, accidents are even more likely to occur when compared to a seventeen year old (Boulard). With so much new technology in today’s society there are more distractions on the road than ever before; therefore the legal driving age should be raised to save more lives. If we do not act quickly then more lives will be lost.
If we were to raise the driving age it would most likely be changed to 18. The best reasons for raising it to 18 would probably be that they are more responsible. “Children are not equipped to handle these vehicles, which are hard for even an experienced, adult driver to handle.” (Ron Shaffer) They have More money because of there jobs and if you go away from home you need a license.
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.