The Driving Age Should Be Increased

1265 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Teenage drunk driving

The Driving age should be increased to eighteen According to federal driving license laws in the United States, the current legal minimum driving age to obtain a restricted driver’s license varies from state from fourteen years, three months in South Dakota to as high as seventeen in New Jersey. Many high school teens by this time are out and about in their vehicles, adjusting and learning the rituals of the road. But, it is also a time when many teens are at higher risk of danger due to many activities teens are bound to do at their age. From drinking under the influence, drug intakes that can affect mental and physical stability and result in mental performance, to the focus level when it comes to the cell phone usage while driving a two ton death machine. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among teens aged sixteen to nineteen than among any other age group. It is why insist that the legal driving should be increased at eighteen to twenty-one. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for United States teens.1 In the first month of driving for a teen their crash risk is particularly high.5,6 Fourteen percent of the U.S. population is represented by young people of the ages fifteen to twenty. However they account for thirty percent (Nineteen billion dollars) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among males, and twenty-eight percent (Seven billion dollars) of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries among females. In 2012, two thousand eight hundred and twenty-three teenagers, between the ages of thirteen to nineteen, died in the United States from crash injuries.2 Seventy-nine percent of teenagers killed in crashes in 2012 were... ... middle of paper ... ...afer place and cut the number of accidents on the roads.10 Adding a year to the minimum age would bring maturity in all areas and increase awareness of the dangers of driving.11 The leading cause of death for teens is vehicular crashes. If the driving age were to be raised at eighteen then parents and educators will have more time to prepare these future drivers on safe driving practices. It is inevitable to avoid the risk of getting into an accident on the road and the chances of being one will always be present. But for young minors and adults who aren’t yet involved in the adult world and still have many things to do and accomplish by that time should not be put in this kind of the danger yet. Asking to increase the driving age will give teenagers and young adults more time on their hands to do more, learn more, and mature enough to prepare for what’s out there.

Show More
Related

  • Raising The Driving Age Essay

    516 Words  | 2 Pages

    The driving age should not be raised to 18 years old because teenagers have responsibilities to be go to certain places, if teenagers learn to drive early on in life they will be more comfortable driving and cautious when they get older, and an opposing view point is that teenager’s reflexes are not fully developed or equipped to safely handle an accident. II. Teenagers have responsibilities to be go to certain places. A. Teenagers normally have responsibilities to go to places like sport practices, band meetings or even school meetings. B. Teenagers should be able to drive themselves so they do not miss their activity because they have no one to take them.

    Read More

  • Legal Driving Age in the State of Iowa

    2135 Words  | 5 Pages

    According to national teen driving statistics, 16-year-olds, in particular, are 3 (three) times more likely to die in a crash than the average of all drivers, and they have higher crash rates than any other age group. In 2008; 81% of teenage crash deaths were passenger vehicle occupants, 31% of teenage drivers killed had been drinking alcohol, 55% were not buckled up, and 37% of male teenage drivers involved in fatalities were speeding. Teenagers who drink and drive have a greater risk of serious crashes than older drivers with equal blood alcohol concentrations. Teens do not wear seat/safety belts as much as adults. Teens tend to take more risks due to overconfidence in their abilities. These risks include: speeding, tailgating (driving too close to the vehicle in front), running red lights, violating traffic signals and signs, illegal turns, dangerous passing, and failure to yield to pedestrians.

    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

  • Persuasive Essay On Teenage Driving

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the 21st century, our nation is facing a major issue, causing teenagers to lose their lives at the hand of the wheel due to inexperienced driving. “Teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in an automobile crash,” and statistics show. Automobile accidents are the number one cause of teen deaths. Driving regulations are in high need to be changed in order for teenagers to gain more experience with driving before taking the driving test, which could help save countless adolescence’s lives. People, like Brittany Leedham was fortuitous to survive from a teen car accident, but others like her boyfriend Zak Kerinuk was not able to come out of the crash alive.

    Read More

  • Driving at 16 is a Rite but Not a Safe Passage

    599 Words  | 2 Pages

    Car crashes have been and are the number one cause of death for teens. (1) Many feel that the development of their brain is not advanced enough to handle driving. Impulse control is the last thing to develop in the teen brain and doesn’t reach maturity until their early 20’s. Irresponsibility is also a problem with teens. The CDC states that teens are more likely to drive too fast, get distracted and underestimate hazards. This is especially true of males. (1) Each year, more than 5000 teenagers die in motor vehicle accidents. The rate of motor vehicle accidents, both nonfatal and fatal for 16 year olds is almost 10 times higher then drivers 30 to 59 according to the National Highway Safety Administration.(3)

    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

  • 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

  • Drinking And Driving

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    The biggest problem with drunk driving by young adults is the high rate of traffic accidents. Although young drivers ages 16 through 25 makeup only 15% of U.S. licensed drivers, they constitute 30 percent of all alcohol-related driving fatalities. This is double the amount of licensed drivers in that age group. Inexperience with both drinking and driving may contribute to this disproportionate rate. Nationwide in 1996, people ages 15 to 24 died in fatal motor vehicle crashes and 45 percent of those deaths were a result of alcohol (NHTSA 4). So it comes to no surprise that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death in the United States for people younger than 25 (NCHS 98).

    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

  • Pros And Cons Of Raising The Driving Age

    250 Words  | 1 Pages

    I don’t believe raising the driving age by only one year would reduce accidents at all. There’s a possibility the teenager hasn’t even matured yet, and would still be just as likely to be irresponsible on the road as they were merely a year ago. At this young age, most kids driving are more likely to test their limitations on the road and are influenced by their peers to try something daring and fun. They tend to have little concern for the road they share with others. They can also be nervous about driving and may focus only on their performance, rather than also looking out for other dangers the drivers around them may be setting. Furthermore, the decision making parts of their brain are still under development, even well after the teenage years, which is likely to impact their behavior on the road.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Lowering The Driving Age

    247 Words  | 1 Pages

    The main reason the driving age should be raised, it will be a decrease in car accidents for 16-18 year-olds. Driving is one of the most dangerous things people do on a day to day basis. Teenagers are at a high risk of being in an accident than an older driver. A study show of car crashes during the past two years found a high proportion of newly licensed drivers have serious accidents. Drivers 16-18 are commonly known for speeding, fatigue, alcohol and not wearing seat belts lead to car crashes. More than 5,000 U.S. teens die each year in car crashes. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59, according to the National Highway Safety Administration.(.2...)

    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

  • Argumentative Essay On Teenage Driving

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional deaths for teens (16-17),” reported The New York State Department of Health. The most exciting thing about being sixteen in the United States is driving. Teenagers can not wait to be sixteen to drive, however, they do not understand the dangers that come with driving at such a young age. Sixteen is the age between child life and adulthood. It is a time when they are not stable and undergoing change, which makes them unsuitable to drive. Many teenagers would say that they need to get to places. In response to that claim, there are public transportation systems and bikes as available alternatives for young drivers. The financial stability and matureness of eighteen year olds proves

    Read More

More about The Driving Age Should Be Increased

Open Document