The Minimum Driving Age

Everyone has felt that feeling where they cannot wait to learn how to drive and to get behind the wheel. Little do they know, driving causes a number of deaths every year. Teen drivers are involved in more car-related accidents than any other drivers. The minimum driving age should be raised from 16 to 18 because 16 year olds are more accident prone, 18 year olds are more experienced, and a 16 year old’s brain is not as developed as it is at 18 years old.

Every day teens are given access to automobiles. Every day these young people go to their jobs, classes, and athletic practices. Do they all abuse their driving privileges? No. Then why restrict all teens, including the law-abiding and mature, by raising the driving age? This debate reaches all across the nation, to all levels of government, and many related laws and propositions can be found. If the driving age is increased, teenagers will have more difficulty getting jobs and gaining experience. On the other hand, if the driving age is 18, new drivers will have more maturity. So the question remains, should the legal driving age be 18 years old? No, the current driving age

Firstly, studies have shown that many of the crashes recent regulations for 16 year olds have prevented actually only happen two years later when there are no restrictions. As stated in the article Teenage Driving Laws May Just Delay Deadly Crashes by Anahad O’Connor, “there have been 1348 fewer deadly crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. But at the same time, there have been 1,086 more fatal crashes that involved 18-year-olds. The net difference is still an improvement, Dr. Masten said, but not quite the effect that many had assumed.” This shows that drivers are simply waiting to become 18 in order to skip the restrictions placed on the younger drivers. Knowing this, we ought to make regulations that encourage drivers to learn to drive while under these heavier regulations, so that they can get real on-the-road experience while not being in as much risk of

Maturity and rationalization is not yet achieved or experienced by teenagers. In the era of technology there are several distractions for drivers of any age to maneuver. Parents can play an educational role by enrolling their teen into a driver’s educational program. Some states require students to complete a comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program prior to receiving their license. The brain function is still developing in teenagers and may impede the quick thinking process necessary to become a responsible driver. For the safety and welfare of teenagers the age requirement in Arizona for a driver’s license should be increased from 16 to 18 years of age.

Putting teens on the road at a young age as low as 15-16-years-old allows them to gain experience that will help them become more accustomed to the road when they get their driving licences at 18. As stated in the article, Teenage Driving Laws May Just Delay Deadly Crashes, it says “Many teenagers, rather than deal with the extra restrictions for 16-17 -year-olds, are simply waiting until they turn 18, and skipping the restrictions altogether. As a result, a greater proportion of inexperienced drivers hit the road” (40). This proves that teens who do not drive at 16 are more likely to get into car crashes, because they wait til 18 to avoid being restricted like the 16- 17- year-olds. Teens who skip the 16 -17-year-old restrictions are just starving themselves from gaining the early knowledge on driving that is needed to prevent fatal crashes. The same article also says that, “There have been 1,348 fewer deadly crashes involving 16-year-old

In 2013, more than 2,500 teenagers died in the United States from motor vehicle crash injuries. Such injuries are by far the leading public health problem for young people 13-19 years old (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [IIHS], 2014). Drivers are not the only ones at risk. Teenagers who are passengers in others vehicles make up a startling 87% of the fatality statistic. Lack of driving experience, disregard for traffic laws, and quick access to full driving privileges contribute to teen death. To reduce teen driving fatalities, successful completion of driver education classes provided by public and private schools should be mandatory for all teenagers prior to receiving their driving permit.

The proposed alternative to raising the driving age is a GDL. A GDL, or a graduated driver’s license, gives teens more freedoms depending on how much they have driven. Advocates say that it gives teens the time they need to practice before having complete freedom. The opponents say it limits the time they have to practice due to restrictions on when teens can drive. Another reason opponents give for not having a GDL is that it makes it harder for teens to get jobs because they have limited hours when they can drive. The argument for “for” and “against” are similar to the arguments for a higher driving

Due to state safety concerns many states have raised the minimum legal age to drive. The state of Virginia, which is where I live, is now thinking of doing the same. This state should be looked at with careful consideration. The state of Virginia will look at all reasons why it should not be raised before coming to a conclusion. The driving age should not be raised because it would be much harder to get a job, having another driver in a large family can help with day to day tasks, and social freedom and growing up.

Evidence from the personal experience of teenagers is used (“…young drivers, only half said they had seen a peer drive after drinking…nearly all, however, said they had witnessed speeding…”); collective evidence (“It’s become a sad rite of passage in many American communities”); statistics (“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that neophyte drivers of 17 have about a third as many accidents as their counterparts only a year younger”) and (“Between July 2004 and November 2006, only 12 provisional drivers were tickets for carrying too many passengers”). The author also used common mores on teen safety; (“…parents will tell you that raising the driving age is untenable, that kids need their freedom…perhaps the only ones who won’t make a fuss are those parents who have accepted diplomas at graduation because their children were no longer alive to do

A variety of activities improve upon hours of practice, whether it be a hobby or a sport; this principle can be applied to driving because teenagers need at least 45 hours of driving practice before getting their driving license in the state of Virginia. If the Virginia standards require practice before approving teen drivers of being safe for the public, then two years worth of practice before the age of 18, when most teens leave home for college, will only polish their driving further to become more responsible drivers. More experience can lead to fewer traffic accidents among young adults and teenagers, which is one of the reasons why some people are against 16 year olds driving. Furthermore, if teenagers learn about the dangers of driving when they are 16, they are more likely to apply that on the road soon after they have learned it rather than two years later, when they have most likely forgotten about it. In short, being able to drive at 16 can give young drivers experience to improve their driving and prevent traffic accidents, as well as building their experience from what they remember from their Drivers' Ed class, making the roads safer from the

As teenagers are leaving their homes, cities, and in many cases, states, to attend colleges, driving has become an integral part in a teen’s life. However, many states are putting heavy restrictions on teen drivers to keep not only them safe, but the rest of the community as well. But that has not been enough- teen drivers still are a major problem on the road due partly to their lack of mental development. This has pushed some states to consider raising minimum driving age, eliminating the whole problem of inexperience in drivers. The minimum age should not raised, however, because it will not help the issue of road safety.

Statistics show that ‘in 2011, about 2,650 teens in the United States aged 16-19 were killed’ and almost 300,000 teens were severely injured from fatal crashes. Every day, 7 teens die from car crashes/injuries. Newly licensed drivers who are aged 16-19 are at a higher risk of fatal crashes than drivers aged 20 and over. As well, many of these crashes are caused by teens that text, talk, or drink and drive. Inexperienced drivers, who are many 16 -19 year olds in the United States cause higher insurance, accidents and crashes, and so, the legal driving age should be increased to 18.

Some might say that raising the driving age wouldn’t allow teens to get the experience they need to become better drivers. However, co-driving and graduated driving programs both give teens experience without compromising the safety of others. In fact, since the first graduated driver programs were instituted, there has been 1,348 fewer deadly crashes involving drivers ages 16-19. Some states have strict driving laws that require at least 70 hours of supervised driving, a minimum intermediate license age of 17, driving after 8 p.m. or a ban driving on with other teens in the vehicle. Graduated licensing programs restrict these actions until teen drivers have more experience because teens in the first few months of licensure have a high risk of crashing.

In 2014, 2,270 teens in the U.S. ages 16-19 were killed and 221,313 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes. State legislature should raise minimum driving age from 16 to 18 because of the immaturity level of 16 year olds, responsibility, and they would be older and have more experience. If driving age was moved up it would make the roads a much safer place to be.

At the age of sixteen, most teens already know how to drive, but they have a higher crash rate than any other age. “In 2012, 60 percent of deaths among passengers vehicles occupants ages 16-19 were drivers”. This is very important because people at at this age are young and they have a long way to go before they pass, but instead some die at an early age. Teenagers are the future, to make life better, improving and carrying work that has been around for many years. Letting them do something that can or is dangerous at a younger age is huge risk that can soon cause consequences to life. Raising the age can prevent deaths from many teen drivers.