Driving is something people do everyday. Although many people do it well, some do not, that being said the legal age to drive should be raised to twenty one years of age. The driving age should be raised because teens at the ages of fourteen through twenty should not be behind the wheel for the simple fact that they are just too young and too inexperienced to drive, also someone of that age can get more distracted than a person who is twenty-one or older and has had some time to mature and become responsible enough to operate a motor vehicle. “In the United States, 16–19-year-olds have the highest incidence of motor vehicle deaths among licensed drivers and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15–20-year-olds.” (Haggerty …show more content…
"Raising Healthy Children: Examining The Impact Of Promoting Healthy Driving Behavior Within A Social Development Intervention" 257). Fact proven that teenagers have the highest crash rate in the United States with that being said there are many deaths of teens due to car crashes. The age group that was found in this research states that teens died from crashes, which means that they were inexperienced and was not knowledgeable to the facts and information about how to operate a vehicle and how to drive on the road. “Motor vehicle crashes among teenage drivers have been linked to several factors including insufficient driving experience…” (Haggerty 257). If teens are inexperienced and try to get behind the wheel of a car and fly down the road at outrageous speeds then they are likely to have a car crash and get injured or die. Teens being inexperienced means that they should not be behind the wheel at their teenage years because of the circumstances of them being inexperienced which is them not knowing anything about operating a car. “Annual studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (2005) show that risk-taking behavior and distractibility are two significant factors that correspond with the high teen fatality rates.” (Haggerty 258). Teens being distracted is another key reason that the driving age should be raised to twenty one because they are totally distracted by other teens riding with them, loud music, and phones. All these distractions cannot be as bad if you are older and driving because you are more aware of the consequences of driving and being distracted by one of these distractibility obstacles. Even from past personal experience I can back this up because I have caught myself being distracted by other teenagers in the car with me or by having my music up too loud and not being able to focus while driving, of course I am passed those days and now realize that as a driver you cannot let these type of things distract you while driving or you will end up seriously hurt or hurting someone else. As essay writer Pierre stated, “alcohol use and alcohol abuse or dependence is linked with numerous health problems, the most striking being the risk of road traffic accidents”. Alcohol has something to do with many teens being at risk for road and traffic crashes due to them drinking and then trying to drive. (Rodondi "Drinking behavior among teenagers in Switzerland and correlation with lifestyles" 602). When a teenager that is under the age of twenty one decides to drink alcohol that is one problem but for a under aged drinker to get behind the wheel of a car is another thing that should not be tolerated in the United States and is a dangerous to play because if you drink and drive you could hurt yourself and kill others and if you kill someone you are going to be charged with murder and will go to jail and it is not worth it just to have a drink and try to get behind the wheel of a car just to make it home. Not everyone cares about raising the legal driving age so why does it matter right, he or she would probably say why raise it their would still be crashes and inexperienced people getting into car accidents, and why does it matter if a teenager is distracted by other people being in the car with them. No one person would want some maniac on the road with him or her who does not know how to drive and could possibly crash into him or her. While in other countries the driving age is raised and their driving rate for teen crashes are lower because of this this is a specific example of why the driving age should be raised. By increasing the driving age the people who don’t really care about if it is raised or not will slowly began to see the decrease in crashes and that the road will be a lot safer. When he or she says that he or she does not care about the legal age it makes me think that they are apart of the problem and could be one of the underage drivers who wants to get on the highway and act foolish. He or she may say why do I care if the person in the car next to me at the stoplight is not focused or distracted? You would definitely need to know that because they could injure you and your passengers or even take your life or your passenger’s life if the severity of the accident is high enough. For example you are cruising along on the highway and here comes up a car and the teenage driver is texting and sideswipes your car and keeps going because he or she is so distracted what do you do then? The driver is too distracted to even notice it and you are left with damages to your car caused by a teenage driver who was distracted. Some say that raising the driving age would not benefit here in the United States because people are still going to continue to be distracted, inexperienced, and drink and drive under age.
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
age. Teen drivers are so eager to get out on the road to either hang out with friends, or go shopping, or maybe even somewhere to eat they are not even aware of the decisions that they make when turning at that red light without stopping or finding that favorite tune of the phone to play in the car that is the result of them being unfocused and being distracted by other things that are not important while you drive, the only thing that should be on a person’s mind when they drive is making sure he or she can get to their destination safely as possible. Teens fail to realize that these driving habits that he or she has can be deadly and lethal to someone who is experienced in driving and knows how to operate a car because an inexperienced teen could not know how to maneuver a car when he or she has lost control. Do you ever notice that one kid you see at a stoplight who has his or her music up entirely too loud? That is the number one distraction is loud music it causes the teenager to not be able to focus on what is going on around them and also the song that he or she is listening to. In my opinion teenagers should not even be allowed to have a radio in their car because it would cut out majority of the distractions that teens have while driving. A teenager should not have be drinking and driving also I am sure you have seen on your local news another teen dies in a car crash with alcohol being a factor that’s the number cause of a crash for teenagers fourteen to eighteen by raising the driving age that would eliminate that totally because a teenager would not even be allowed to be behind the wheel of a car. The teenager’s parents cannot afford to lose their child due to he or she being negligent and getting into a crash and parents have failed to realize that just letting their teen go and handing them the keys is the worst thing that they can do they should ease their teenager into the driving stages and let them know that being inexperienced, unfocused or distracted, and drinking while driving all have consequences behind them. The driving age should be raised to twenty one because teenagers are not yet ready for those driving responsibilities because they are inexperienced by not knowing the laws of driving, also not being focused while driving and or distracted by other things while driving, and by being underage drinkers and then try to get behind the wheel and drive. This is not how we want our highways to be where teenagers are getting killed over this nonsense so lets raise the legal driving age to twenty-one and watch the highways clear up from all of the chaos. Raise the driving age to twenty-one less teenagers will die due to car crashes.
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.
A lot of people point out that 16-year-olds are prone to accidents when it comes to driving. While this is very true, it’s not likely that it’s because of their age; it’s because they’re new when it comes to being behind the wheel. It doesn’t matter if they’re 16, 18 or 107, they’ll always be inexperienced to start with. Raising the driving age won't necessarily prevent possible accidents, it
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...
Driving allows people to go from one place to another faster. Some believe that nobody under the age of twenty-one should be allowed to drive. The problem here is that teenagers have places to be as well. These places might be school or work, which are both important. The driving age requirement should remain at sixteen.
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.
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.
Most people look forward to their 16th birthday because they are legal to drive. In 2012 there was 13,891 car crashes were reported but over 900 people were killed. Alcohol played a role in 260 fatal crashes. Speeding was a factor in13.2 percent of fatal crashes. So should we Michigan raise the driving age? Yes, Michigan’s driving age should be raised because of the number of people getting killed , having distractions and the fact that teens don’t care what could happen.
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.
... middle of paper ... ... Even though teen drivers make up a small percentage of the population, the most fatal crashes are the result of one behind the wheel; therefore the legal driving age needs to be raised to eighteen years of age. Works Cited Becerra, Judith J. - "The 'Baby The “Teen Driving” Academic Source Premier.
Teenagers have the right to drive when they are legally allowed to, which is the age of 16. However, driving increases the risks of an adolescent dying or being seriously injured when they are behind the wheel. In Alan Greenblatt’s article about age of responsibility he explains the rate of deaths and injury
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.
More than 5,000 teenagers die while driving each year in the United States (Gregory). In my opinion this is due to three different, yet equally important factors. The first factor is that the teenage mind is yet to be fully developed, causing them to make irresponsible and sometimes reckless decisions. The second factor is that the experience of driving has evolved since the original driving age was established in the early 20th century. The third and final aspect to take into consideration would be that driving is the lowest minimum age of any adult restricted activity in the United States. Although, it can be one of the more harmful, not only to the perspective driver but his or her surroundings as well. Taking all three of these factors into account I believe the minimum driving age should be raised to 18 to decrease the accident rate amongst teenagers.
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 it 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 contains 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.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.” - Dave Berry