...question the ability to drive legally at age 16; in some states even younger. There are many reasons why many individuals question the legal driving age such as how will impact society? If the legal driving age in the United States is raised to 18 will there be a decrease of accidents? In the United States most states allow teenagers to have a learner’s permit and a driver’s license at age 16. Rising the legal driving age would cut down on car accidents and associated damages, cut down on teen deaths from traffic accidents and allow for teens to gain more experience before driving on their own. Let’s take a look at the reasons these changes should be made, as they are very eye opening and show some very disturbing statistics involving teen driving. Teenage driving has cost more than 81,000 people lives since the year 2000 as a result of motor vehicle accidents (SafeRoads, 2009). Teen drivers are not always attentive and responsible; many times the drivers can be easily distracted by friends, music, and cell phone. Although not all accidents can be prevented, if there is a possibility that rising the legal driving age to 18 can potentially decrease the number of individuals killed in motor vehicle accidents than it can only have a positive outcome. There are many individuals that have received their driver’s license at an older age and are very responsible drivers. 81,000 lost lives are a massive number of deaths that involve teen driving. While the amount of lives lost are a...
Words: 1636 - Pages: 7
...Should the legal driving age be raised to 18? The age at which you can legally drive varies from country to country, but in many places it is lower than 18, but the states are determined to change this. The driving age should not be increased to a minimum of 18. The driving age should stay where it currently is (between the ages 16 and 17) because it would allow young adults to gain independence and responsibility, it provides an early start for becoming better drivers, and allows young adults to have jobs and participate in after school activities such as sports, clubs, and community service. Keeping the driving age to where it is currently set would benefit both young adults and their parents. It gives young adults the chance to gain independence and responsibility by taking care of a car...
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
...Turning the age of sixteen is a huge step in the life of a teen. When becoming the age of sixteen a new challenge is brought into a person's life, the task of driving a car. But are sixteen year olds ready for this task. Driving a car is a task that should only be taken on by teenagers over the age of eighteen, because they are more responsible and understand the risk involved. Sixteen-year-olds brains are underdeveloped and most of the driving they do is unnecessary. I don't think the driving age should change. Its worked for so long, why change it now? In today's society the idea of sixteen and seventeen year olds operating cars has become a way of life. But if one stops to think about it, there is no need for these drivers to be on the road. Most of these drivers still live at home and have no job because they're still in school. So they have no job to drive to or from. To go to school they can take the bus or be dropped off by their parents. I know there's so many times when I want to drive somewhere because my parents aren't home or I just want to be by myself outside of the house. I'm sure a lot of teenagers that are younger than sixteen can't wait to be able to get on the road. Maybe they aren't responsible enough, but then they shouldn't be driving. Another problem with these drivers is they are very irresponsible and put other drivers in danger on the road. Recent statistics show that most drivers who are caught speeding or involved in automobile accidents are under...
Words: 1397 - Pages: 6
...First and foremost, the minimum driving age must be raise from 16 to 18 years old because this will save families money. For instance, by extending the driving age parents are able to better control where their gas money goes. To clarify, every Friday night a teen comes to his parents and insists e needs forty dollars for gas;however, he only puts twenty dollars in the car and uses te other twenty dollars for pizza and the movies. In addition, when teenagers have to wait an extra two years to receive their license, parents are saving money by not paying the exorbitant insurance prices. Clearly, when the driving age is changed to 18, families are able to save a large amount of money by taking away teens excuses for “gas funds” and not having...
Words: 936 - Pages: 4
...Do we need to raise the driving age or should we have the GDL program? The GDL Program would save teen lives because they are gradually learning how to drive the proper way. Raising the driving age wouldn’t help at all. Study shows that most teen accidents are caused by inexperience, not age. Raising the age would just change the age that teens are getting into accidents. The GDL Program actually works. I’ve seen it happen. It is a step-by-step process that teaches you how to drive gradually. For example, a little bit into the program, you can only drive certain daylight hours. As they gain experience, more privileges they can have. You have to drive with an adult. From state to state, the restrictions and rules vary. Teens need time to...
Words: 281 - Pages: 2
...know the worries parents go through when their teens reach the driving age. In California the legal driving age is 16 years old at age 16 teenagers are not fully developed and not able to make the right decisions and safe choices while driving. Teens driving at an early age is a convenience for parents and teens alike; however, the dangers distracted, irresponsible, and reckless driving, and the poor decisions teens make are enough reason to raise the legal driving age to at least 18. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 16% of car crashes are due to distracted driving. Car accidents are the number one killer of teens in the United States. The way teenagers rely on their mobile devices today increases the risk of accidents due to distracted driving hugely. Whether they are checking a text or taking a call any time that teens have their eyes off the road it is a potentially life threatening situation. Teenagers around the age of 16 do not fully understand the danger they are creating by driving distracted they see it as just catching up with their friends or updating Facebook. Raising the driving age to at least 18 will decrease the number of accidents caused each year by distracted driving. Allowing more time for a teen to develop the skills necessary to decide to leave the phone alone will be beneficial to society, making the roads a safer place for everyone. Raising the driving age the idea is gaining momentum in the fight to save lives of teenage...
Words: 580 - Pages: 3
...Leaving the driving age does not seem to have very many beneficial outcomes because we (teenage drivers) are the most dangerous drivers on the roads. The crash rate for 16 to 19-year-olds is 2.7 times higher than drivers of all ages. But I believe that the 2.7 times more is just the inexperience of the new drivers. There is no avoiding inexperienced driving, unless the government decides to do schooling and training for the US teen drivers but that is a whole other matter. Another thing that is learned by experience is how to detect problems in the driving environment and be able to obtain information from it. You learn how to react in classes, but in real life your first panicked response is based on experience and logic.Of more than 800 crashes involving teen drivers,...
Words: 613 - Pages: 3
...ATLANTA, March 13 Whatever the statutes may say, the real driving age in the peanut and cotton fields of rural Georgia is whenever a teenager can see over the steering wheel. ''In all honesty, the kids start driving around age 14 in a lot of farm families,'' said Bobby Eugene Parham, a state representative with a voice like the gravel roads of his home county, Baldwin, in central Georgia. ''For families who have trouble finding labor to move their crops, or pick up supplies, it's a necessity to have every kid drive.'' And so Mr. Parham, chairman of the House Motor Vehicles Committee, and many of his colleagues were not pleased when Gov. Roy Barnes recently proposed raising the legal driving age to 17 from 16. It did not matter that the change would affect only a few counties around the Atlanta area, or that the newspapers seem increasingly full of stories about young drivers dying in high-speed crashes. For the rural counties that surround Atlanta's urban island, teenage driving is too fundamental to permit any erosion. The governor's proposal is not quite dead yet, and on Monday, a Senate committee agreed to raise the driving age in five counties around Atlanta. Many legislators, however, predict that the proposal will end his remarkable winning streak with the Georgia Legislature. Over the last three years, he has pushed through changes in education, transportation and even the state flag that few people thought possible. But this issue, more than most, affects the...
Words: 1278 - Pages: 6
...today, causing an uncanny amount of accidents and deaths each year with the decisions they carelessly make. Premature decisions have caused many preventable deaths. The driving age should be raised to 18 because teenagers today have caused more problems on the road than thought before with their lack of experience and rebellious nature, the influence of drugs or alcohol, and rule breaking. Teenagers are known to be some of the most spontaneous and indecisive of the general population, and that aspect does not change when they step behind the wheel of a car. There are many factors contributing to teenagers making risky decisions. According to the California DMV,...
Words: 1517 - Pages: 7
...With the driving age at 16 there are a lot more accidents. The amount of accidents with teenage drivers is more than triple that of drivers who are older and have had more experience. If the driving age was higher this would lessen the number of accidents more because people would have a better understanding of what they are doing. People should not be able to start drivers Ed until they are 18 or older. This would maximize the understanding of what driving is and would permit people to spend more time learning. At the age of 15 when students are permitted to take drivers Ed and at 16 when they can first obtain a drivers’ license it is too soon. With only a year of practice and with not a lot of understanding about driving it is a main factor in the amount of accidents occurring. If drivers training started at 18 and went on for two years instead of a max of six months and we got our licenses at 20 it would increase understanding and in turn reduce accidents. On Dec. 29, 2005, four teenage boys from Chicago went out for a late-night drive and had a terrible accident. The car spun out of control and struck several objects, including a giant light pole. Two of the boys—a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old—were killed. The driver of the car was just 16. After this tragic accident, thousands of people began asking what could be done to prevent this from happening again. The answer is raising the driving age. That's why legislation has introduced an increase to the driving age in Illinois...
Words: 914 - Pages: 4
...the biggest one of all, having too many peers as passengers. Insufficient amounts of behind-the-wheel experience and the immaturity of young drivers are factors that contribute to unsafe driving. Too many young drivers are involved in serious accidents because of poor decisions made behind...
Words: 1561 - Pages: 7
...DRINKING AGE LIMITS INTRODUCTION Drinking age laws cover a broad spectrum of behaviors concerned with where, when and under what circumstances beverage alcohol can be purchased and consumed. The minimum legal drinking age refers to the minimum age at which beverage alcohol can be consumed. This may be different from the minimum age at which beverage alcohol can be purchased. Some countries, including Greece and Indonesia, focus their legislation solely on the legal age of purchase of beverage alcohol, and do not address a minimum age for consumption. Legislation for the minimum drinking age in United States varied from state to state over a decade ago, ranging from 18 to 21. Driven largely by the desire to curb traffic fatalities associated with alcohol consumption, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21, or risk losing federal highway funds under the Federal Highway Aid Act. By 1987 all states had complied with the 21 minimum age law. A large body of research exists regarding the impact of raising the minimum drinking age to 21 in the United States. Some of the research focuses specifically on whether the new law has had the desired effect of lowering traffic fatalities. Other studies have looked at the law’s impact on patterns of youth drinking especially at the college level and specifically binge drinking. This should be seen in context of a 28% drop in alcohol...
Words: 638 - Pages: 3
...related to alcohol consumption. Fellow year 12 and Mrs Thomas there is much research showing the benefits of raising the legal drinking age in Australia from 18 to 21. I believe it is the right thing to do for the good of our health and the good of our futures. Young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heavy drinking. Excessive alcohol consumption affects how our young brains develop. Studies have shown that alcohol consumption negatively affects academic performance and can impair judgement resulting in risk taking behaviours, unsafe or unwanted sex or injury. Our brains continue to develop into our 20’s. Areas of the brain that undergo the most dramatic changes during adolescence are the frontal lobe and the hippocampus.These are areas of the brain that are associated with motivation,planning,judgement, decision making, language, impulse control and addiction. Aspects that heavily affect people of our age. Alcohol is a neurotoxin. Neurotoxins are substances that are poisonous or destructive to nerve tissue. In simple terms, alcohol poisons the brain. Excessive alcohol consumption at a young age interferes with vitamin B absorption; this prevents the brain from working properly. Professor John Toumbourou of the Deakin University School of Psychology says that ‘Alcohol causes permanent brain damage in young people, and raising the legal age will reduce not only youth alcohol problems but also other forms of drug use.’ P-Plate drivers are 3 times more...
Words: 1147 - Pages: 5
...Driving is a part of life. People need to learn how to drive as soon as possible. People in this world want the law of what age you can drive to be raised to 18 from 16. What these people don’t realise about raising the age limit for driving is that there would be several complications. These complications are the reason why, 16 is not too young to drive. Driving develops skills. People need to learn these skills at a younger age, 16 is the perfect age for that. Driving helps with hand-eye coordination which is a very important skill to have in life. Driving also helps with quick reaction that can be useful in life as well. On the website debate.com, an anonymous author states that kids don’t want to die so they will be very careful. On...
Words: 319 - Pages: 2
...someone is intoxicated when a person smells of alcohol, glazed or bloodshot eyes, the person is passive or argumentative, and a deterioration of the persons appearance. It is basically an obvious problem. This essay will try to prove that alcohol is poisonous substance that should be highly monitored and the drinking age being raised as a result. Have you ever been pressured into doing something you would rather not do? many people have been in many different ways. It seems that teens are being pressured more and more into drinking than anything else. if you choose to drink it is he or she's choice but are you doing it to fit in? or just because you want to? there are many different ways an adolescent might take a drink even if they know it is wrong. Some reasons are the risk taking, the expectancies, how sensitive and how they tolerate the alcohol, hereditary factors, personality characteristics, and psychological thoughts. Some people say that we should change our drinking ages to 16, like in Europe, where they do not have a problem with underage drinking. And because of this reason there has been many people thinking that the United States should change the drinking age to 16. Saleh...
Words: 1381 - Pages: 6
