The Driving Age

Although I can drive on the wild road, it would be more beneficial to the world if driving age is changed from 16 years old to an older age. My concerns of the age group are the distractions as in technology, peers, and instincts. I consider that 16 to 19-year-olds should have at least a year's experience before qualifying for a full license to drive unsupervised. There will be mature people as well as fewer accidents if the legal age to drive would be raised to 20 years old.

As technology becomes more popular in my generation, it becomes more difficult to focus. A vast problem today is texting while driving, taking your eyes off the road for a couple of seconds can be turned into a critical situation. According to the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration, “For drivers, fifteen to nineteen years old involved in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones”. Not only being on the phone while driving, another danger is closer than you expect as in the passengers. Generally, teenagers might be peer pressured by their friends. For example, starting to speed due to driving “too slow” or going to a party where alcohol is served which leads to drinking and driving. The risk of a motor vehicle crash involving alcohol with the presence of teen passengers is expected than for older drivers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, brain researchers from Child Psychiatry Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health explain that a teenager’s ‘frontal lobe’ undergoes alterations during adolescence stage than those who are in their 20s - the part that weighs risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behavior.
However, one major issue about changing the legal driving age to 21 are the benefits that would be taken away from 16-19-year olds. Benefits as in getting to work, basic credit history, being independent and getting to other activities. Teenagers are able to create a good foundation for credit through their first car. Teens would be supervised at home and start to take on more responsibilities. In order to take on numerous responsibilities, youth needs to take steps into adulthood by getting a job and driving. High school students are perfect candidates to drive due to availability of driver’s education classes and they would want to take it since their friends are taking it which is peer encouragement. Usually, teenagers without options of transportation become dependent on their parents. Therefore, they should have the freedom to drive a car.
On the other hand, teenagers are able to carry those responsibilities without a car. Raising the driving age could penalize some families since teens need to drive to work, driver licenses should only be offered to teens in special circumstances where driving is required for work related or family reasons, proof should be required. Other than that, teenagers are exposed to other options of transportation as in walking, riding a bicycle, bus, train and an Uber. Of course, driver’s education promotes having skills and experience in driving while being 21 and inexperienced. But, researchers noticed deadly crashes usually come from immaturity than from inexperience. In making decisions, adolescence rely more on emotions part of their brain referring to National Institute of Mental Health. Even though driving and buying a car is good start for good credit, auto insurance rates would be lowered for all drivers if teens don’t drive. A family’s insurance rate doubles and/or triples when added their child to their plan. Therefore, no teenagers driving would be safe from parent’s wallets to the streets.
In conclusion, teenagers would want to be behind the wheel and drive, because it could create a sense of maturity and responsibility, raising the driving age causes fewer numbers of deaths, less accidents and crashes, and less guilt among teenagers and parents.