Essay On Minimum Driving Age

Have you ever counted down the days until your sixteenth birthday? Could you imagine having to wait until you were seventeen or even eighteen? That seems brutal. Well, that could potentially happen because of the controversy over the minimum teen driving age being raised. The minimum driving age should not be raised because it allows drivers to be more experienced, there are more restrictions, and it enables independence.
When starting to drive at sixteen it gives you more driving experience. Dr. Scott Masten, a researcher with California’s Department of Motor Vehicle said, “The whole thing about learning to drive is you need to expose yourself to crash risk to get experience,”( paragraph 9). You can also lean a lot from the experience of others. Having adult supervision, due to the adults’ experience, reduces risk, (paragraph 8). “Having

adult drivers point out to teenage passengers examples of unsafe driving and explain to them how they are dealing with distractions on the road,” (paragraph 13).
When driving at sixteen it comes along with restrictions. These restrictions allow you to become a better driver. “A nationwide study shows that tougher licensing laws for teenage drivers have reduced deadly accidents among 16-year-olds…” (Paragraph 1). “Tougher Laws…have been credited with a 30 percent drop in highway fatalities among teenagers,” (paragraph 1). If the minimum driving age is raised these restrictions will no longer be enforced.
Having the minimum driving age set at sixteen, it enables independence.

Programs for teenagers teach teenagers to be fully responsible for a vehicle, (paragraph 8). At the age of sixteen driving is a step into adulthood and responsibility. The restrictions on teenagers teach teenagers how to self-regulate, (paragraph 8).
Although studies by Dr.Masten and his colleagues show, “75 percent of the fatal crashes we thought we were saving actually just occurred two years later,” (paragraph 4). This was stated when the minimum driving age was sixteen and this effected the number if fatal crashes in eighteen-year olds. Dr. Masten suspects that teenagers are waiting to get their license and skipping the restrictions, (paragraph 7).
The minimum driving age should not be raised because it allows drivers to be more experienced, there are more restrictions, and it enables independence. The experience that is gained when you’re young will help keep you safe for years and years down the road. Now, imagine waking up on your sixteenth birthday and getting your license, with your experience and independence, you can finally taste

freedom.