“Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for American teenagers, accounting for about a third of all deaths in that age group” (Crisp). In actual numbers, motor vehicle crashes kill more than 5,000 teenagers every year (Gregory). These statistics are frightening and have led more than 50 percent of adults to support higher required ages for drivers’ licenses (Gregory). Teenagers, though, say this would be unfair and would make their lives difficult. Meeting the needs of Indiana teenagers while still keeping them and other drivers safe can be accomplished by a more restrictive graduated licensing law.
The current licensing law in Indiana is graduated. It requires teens to be at least 15 to start driver’s education. At 15, a teen who takes driver’s education get a permit; otherwise one has to be 16. One has to have a permit for 180 days. Also, one has to be 16 ½ to get a probationary license if they have taken driver’s education or 16 ¾ years if they haven’t taken it. The probationary license has rules about 50 hours of supervised driving, passengers, nighttime driving, and cellphone use (Teen Driving Requirements). All of these are important, but they don’t seem to be enough.
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 ...
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...vers are involved in. Statistics in Illinois and New Jersey support this too (Gregory). While experts could examine what restrictions are the most helpful in cutting teen driver deaths, some solutions could be raising the minimum age to start driver’s education to 15 ¾ and to get a permit with driver’s education to 16. Teens who don’t take driver’s education could get a permit at 16 ¼. After six months, one could get a probationary license. The restriction of 50 supervised hours and limited passengers should stay the same. Nighttime driving could be even more restricted, unless the driver is going to or from work. Cellphone use restrictions should stay the same, and penalties for breaking any driving laws should be strict. Then, at eighteen, one should be prepared for an unrestricted license. This plan could meet the needs of Indiana teenagers and protect them too.
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...
Sixteen year olds do have a valid argument as to why the age should stay where it is now. Endersby argues that many teens are in fact safe and careful drivers, they should not be punished for the bad behavior of others. Also, studies show that the same bad behavior commonly seen in men in their twenties is seen in sixteen and seventeen year olds. Driving is a huge part of a teenager’s social life too. They need licenses to get to school, work, or social events. So, a way to keep the driving age at sixteen and have better driving on the road is to have a graduated driver licensing. This GDL would make it so new drivers would gain experience driving under supervision of an older experienced driver before they can drive on their own. (Endersby)
In some states, a program known as driver education is required. The program varying from a week or two in length to a whole year of curriculum can make a very large difference in the driving experience and knowledge of the driver. According to the national DMV website, teenagers who participated in a driver education course are fifty percent less likely to occur in an accident if they have completed a year long course of driver education. I think that a driver education course should be a requirement in schools across the nation in the student 's year when they would apply for their learner permit. By completing that course, future driver would share the same sort of education as well as having a vast knowledge of driving. By doing that, the legal driving age would not need to change as it should not need to change. I also believe that in addition to the mandatory driving hours spent with a parent, guardian, or adult, a new driver needs to spend time with a driver education certified teacher. By doing so, they will learn and maintain the proper skills needed to drive safely. Again, making that happens will only make the roads safer as driver will share the same knowledge on the road. Another stipulation that should take place before a teenager can apply for their license is drug and alcohol education and testing. Furthermore, students need to be aware of not only the dangers of drug and alcohol, but the dangers of drugs and alcohol in relation to driving. As projected, more and more higher school students are drinking under age and driving while intoxicated. In addition to that, drug use and abuse rates are going up causing more and more students to drive while under the influence of mind
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
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.
In recent years, the legal driving age has become a topic of heated debate. There are many supporters that advocate for raising the legal driving age to eighteen or twenty-one. However, raising the driving age would cause some major problems. Sixteen should remain the legal driving age in most states and areas because the economic burden would be extremely large and the problems related to young drivers would not be adequately solved by simply rising the legal driving age. This essay will outline the reasons why the legal driving age should not be raised and what some of the better choices are instead.
Teenagers have the highest average of annual traffic violations than any other age group in the U.S. (Teen Drivers:Get The Facts). This may be one reason why over 100 countries, including most of Europe, have a minimum driving age set at 18. Although the debate over raising the driving age to 18, in the U.S, has been an ongoing argument for many years, researchers have found that raising the driving age would drastically impact the U.S in a positive way. (McBride). Parents say that this would be a benefit because teens would be held responsible for their own actions, since they would be an adult, and parent involvement would no longer be necessary. They also say they want to keep their teen’s safe but not sure if raising the age by 2 years would actually help. Scientist has concluded that even though it is only by 2 years the brain is more developed and teens are more mature.(Crowe). Meaning they would be more focused on the road instead of other distractions. Raising the driving age to 18 would be the best decision for the U.S.
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.
According to Adreienne Mandel, a Maryland state legislator, "what are you doing? You're making me drive my kid to the movies on Friday night for another few six months?" (Davis 250). This shows that teenagers parents do not want to wait more months for their teens to be able to drive alone with out them. They have waited long enough for their teens to drive for themselves. However, sacrificing other peoples safety for parents convenience is wrong. According tp safety experts "In 2003, there were 937 drivers age 16 who were involved of the 16-year-old drivers died and 352 of their passengers were killed"(Davis 249). This example shows that the sooner the teens drive the sooner they can die. If teenagers are not experienced and they are driving already they might not be able to respond quickly enough to save their own life. Raising the driving age it would decrease the crashing rate dramatically.
On the other hand, 16 and 17 year olds get into more accidents, that reason why is because there brain isn’t fully developed according to numerous studies. According to “Teen Driving Age Should Be Raised, Says Auto Safety Group” Its said that “One study from the 1990s found that the rate of crash-related deaths among 16- and 17-year olds were 18 per 100,000 in New Jersey, compared with 26 per 100,000 in Connecticut. Those rates, researchers said, have dropped even further since both states instituted graduated driver's license programs.” With new issues such as cell phone driving, texting while driving, and other forms of distracted driving, there is good reason to debate this issue. If we can take the most dangerous drivers off the road, we
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 ...
As expected, most if not all teens will disagree with that. But there are some safe teen drivers that are thrown into the bad teen driving category just because they are a teenager that drives. If there are some good teen drivers, then do all teens really need more drivers education? Samantha Williams is a senior at Winchester Community High School that has an answer to this question. “I do consider myself to be a safe driver. I’m always aware of my surroundings when I’m driving, and I always stay away from any distractions” (Question 1). She is intentionally aware of her surroundings and stays focused while driving. The government should not make more regulations and rules for all teen drivers when there are many teen drivers like Samantha on the roads. There are even some adults that believe not all teen drivers are bad drivers. Gregory explains, “ The teen driving issues are not about age and maturity as they are about making good choices and demonstrating exceptional behavior, whether they start that driving experience at 16, 17, or 18” (1). Many teens and parents seem to think the government has not made the best decisions recently when it comes to
Driving a car and obtaining a driver’s license does perhaps seem to provide people with a great sense of independence and freedom. Teenagers need to feel independent in order to learn to become successful on their own as well as realize how to handle life situations on their own, and having a license seems the perfect start and most effective way to do so. When teenagers feel this independence they tend to act more mature, knowing the responsibilities they must now carry on their own (More4Kids). Teenagers often look forward to the freedom that driving offers as well. Teenagers are able to take drives to escape from life’s many stressed, and leave any troubles at home behind without rebelling out against their loved ones.