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

798 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Driving age controversy

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

Show More
Related

  • Raising The Driving Age Essay

    516 Words  | 2 Pages

    If people want to save lives by raising the driving age, then how about saving lives by allowing only women to drive? Except raising the driving age won't save lives. Studies show that it is inexperience, not age, that causes accidents. Raising the driving age will just create inexperienced, accident-prone drivers at 18 instead of 16. Teens need the ability to drive just as much as anyone else—to get to school,

    Read More

  • Increasing the Minimum Driving Age

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...year, raising the minimum driving age to 16 seems hopeful in making safer roads for society. In doing so we all should strongly encourage our teenage drivers to be more mature, to pay more attention, to be more confident in their driving, and to not think that they are so invincible to accidents.

    Read More

  • Raising The Driving Age Essay

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Raising the Legal Driving Age to 18: A Perspective

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    My parents gave me my first car for my sixteenth birthday. I was overjoyed by this new found freedom; however, like a large portion of teenagers, I was also terrified of driving. This was mostly because I didn’t receive a lot of experience with my permit, and also because I was afraid of crashing my new car. In the years preceding my sixteenth birthday I had mourned the deaths of several teenaged friends who had died in car crashes. I ended up waiting a full year after I turned sixteen to take my driving test, because I didn’t feel comfortable driving until then, which later paid off when I passed my driving test the first time I took it. In my opinion, all teenagers should do as I did and wait to get their licenses. Though in reality, not all teenagers would agree to wait, so, I believe the legal driving age should be raised to eighteen years of age.

    Read More

  • Indiana Graduated Drivers License

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    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 ...

    Read More

  • Raising The Driving Age

    1543 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Raising The Driving Age

    429 Words  | 1 Pages

    This should not even be a question if the driving age should be the driving age should be raised to 18; that can be answered easily , YES!!! Alarmed by the car accidents involving teeagers , a number of states are considering raising the age for getting a driver's license. On december ,8 , 2005 four teenage boys from atlanta went out for a night dive and had a terrible accident. The state government should raise the driving age from 16 to 18 because teens under the age of 18 are at a high risk for accidents and are easily distracted while driving

    Read More

  • Hilarious Misadventures of a Toddler Driver

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    We do have an increase in the number of vehicle accidents, but it can always get better. If we leave it the way it is then these young adults get the practice they deserve. Long highways and busy interstates are prime road for accidents to happen, but if we leave the limit the way it is we won 't see more accidents. If anything we will see a decrease in accidents. From my previous experiences with driving I personally feel that more driving time and practice could benefit everyone. Especially when in the means and terms of a safer environment for everyone. If we were to change the age to eighteen or twenty one then we could potentially see an increase in accidents. If the debate is over whether the percent of accidents would go down or up we have to keep it the same to see a decrease or break even. Furthermore, we need to keep the legal driving age at sixteen to see an sort of improvement and

    Read More

  • The Driving Age Should be Raised

    1842 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • The Driving Age Should Not Be Raised To 18 Essay

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Increasing Minimum Driving Age

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Driving Age

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many teens are interested in being able to drive at a younger age, but it is still unclear if they are able to handle it. If the legal driving age is lowered, are we endangering the lives of teen drivers, as well as the passengers with them? I believe most people want to drive as soon as they can. However, recently the government has been trying to pass laws that may change the current driving age of 16. There are positive and negative aspects to changing the laws that allow the driving age to stay at 16.There have been new bills being proposed that mite be passed. “The Minister for Urban Services has introduced a Bill (proposed law) into the Assembly. He wants to amend the Road Transport (Driver Licensing) Act 2000. The new Bill is called the Driving Age Amendment Bill. This Bill is intended to raise the age at which people can apply for a learner’s permit and driver’s license.” (Legislative Assembly). This bill will raise the driving age if it is passed but the aspects of what will happen should be considered before we change it. There are many different reasons why we should keep it at 16. First off it’s a good working system that we have followed for a long time. Another good reason that helps this concept is that the teenagers are still in school so it’s easier for them to take drivers training. If there are more drivers that ultimately mean that more people will be paying for insurance. There are also the reasons why we should change it from 16. Like for instances most 16 year olds aren’t responsible enough to drive. “The facts show that younger drivers (those between ages 16 and 25) receive more citations, are more likely to have their driving privilege suspended, and are responsible for more accidents than drivers in any other age group.” (Dr. Steven Evans). Another reason is that it’s a high cost own a car when they are making so little money.

    Read More

  • Should the Driving Age be Raised to 21?

    613 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On The Minimum Driving Age

    2806 Words  | 6 Pages

    It has been a very controversial topic over the past couple years, and people have varying opinions on it. Should the minimum driving age be raised or should it stay the same? Some people believe it should remain the same and let kids continue to get their permit at an early age and then being able to fully drive by age 18, but it should not. It is not safe for kids to be driving around by age 16, most can 't even handle simple responsibilities , so they should not be entrusted with driving on roads. This issue is constantly talked

    Read More

  • Essay On Teenage Driving

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many accidents are caused because teenagers are unaware of driving risks and hazardous situations. One piece of evidence that shows that teenagers need driving experience appears in the following quote, “Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations,” ("Teen Drivers: Get the Facts"). Teenagers will not have enough driving experience if the driving age is lifted. If teenagers are allowed to drive at sixteen then they will be prepared to drive later on. The longer one waits to drive, the longer it takes for them to become prepared for the risks and hazards of

    Read More

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

Open Document