Should the Driving Age in the Uk be raised to 18?

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Should the driving age in the United Kingdom be raised to 18? The current driving age is 17, but there are debates relating to whether we should raise the age to 18. The argument has been raised because a large number of road accidents are caused by young drivers, therefore measures should be put in place to rectify the dangers.
One of the main reasons the driving age needs to be addressed is the number of casualties caused by youths on roads. According to the UK Department for Transport, one fifth of all deaths on British roads involved drivers aged 17-24. They believe that raising the age would result in less road accidents and deaths, but also would cut casualty numbers by 4,471 and would save £224 million. This means less young drivers would be on roads and fewer accidents would occur. I think this is true because it is not something teenagers can disobey easily, unlike drinking or smoking laws.
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.
Another reason to change the ...

... middle of paper ...

...e driving age would be taking away the rights and freedom of currents teenagers. I believe that the age should be raised as allowing time for further brain development is not only important for 18 year olds learning to drive but for other drivers and pedestrians too.

Works Cited

http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/news/traffic-travel-news/pupils-not-happy-at-raising-driving-age-1-6148752 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-452390/-Immature-brains-make-teenagers-bad-drivers.html http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-the-minimum-legal-driving-age-be-raised-to-18 http://www.debatewise.org/debates/116-the-minimum-driving-age-should-be-raised-to-18 http://www.drinkdrivingfacts.com/drinkdriving/drink_driving_facts.aspx http://news.sky.com/story/152957/driving-test-could-raise-to-18 http://www.standard.net/topics/opinion/2011/03/03-driving-age-should-not-be-raised

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