Teenage drivers are known to be some of the most dangerous drivers on the road 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, …show more content…
Driving fast and recklessly stimulates large amounts of adrenaline for teenagers experiencing something that holds more responsibility than they are used to being trusted with. Another risky behavior that teenage drivers participate in is texting while driving. Teenagers are very confident with themselves texting while driving. A study conducted on teens texting and driving found that “45% of all students 16 and older reported that they had texted or e-mailed while driving during the past 30 days” (June’s Pediatrics). A seventeen year old from Allen, Texas named Emily Staumbaugh was in a fatal car crash on November ninth, 2013. She had been texting and driving, and she veered out of the street, spun into a tree, and then crashed into a brick wall. Emily was dead on the spot. This could have easily been prevented if she was not on her phone. Luckily, no one else was injured from the crash. It has been found that this risky behavior leads to many other risky behaviors such as binge drinking and reckless driving. After obtaining the responsibility of a driver’s license, most teens are proud and want to flaunt their success in mastering a driving course, but sometimes that leads to …show more content…
These restrictions usually include passenger limit and curfew in order to try to avoid some of the common risks underage drivers tend to take. Also, cell phone use is usually prohibited while driving during the first year having your driver’s license. Most states also require that drivers go through an instructive and educational course of some sort in order to educate the drivers about the dangers of driving. For example, a defensive driving course instructs drivers how to handle a vehicle properly during hazards, and teaches them driving strategies to reduce the probability of an accident on the road. These states also hope to inform the drivers of the responsibilities they are about to have when taking the road. These are very helpful tactics that should be enforced in every state because they help to save lives daily. However, these tactics are not enough when it comes to teen drivers. Many teen drivers ignore these requirements, which results in