Should the driving age be raised to 18

            The question of raising the driving age has been around for a few years now. Some people think the age of sixteen is not the best age for teenagers to start learning to drive simply because they are not mature enough for the responsibility. They think the age of eighteen, when people are considered to be an adult, is a better age. At eighteen people are more mature and are more capable of making better decisions, whereas sixteen year olds are not.

            Raising the driving age needs to be done so that the roads will be safe and filled with responsible drivers. Sixteen is not a good age to have teenagers learn to drive. People argue that all ages have car accidents but “16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age” ("RMIIA"). This shows that they are not ready to be driving yet. A sixteen year-olds brain is not mature enough and “a crucial part of the teen's brain — the area that peers ahead and considers consequences — remains undeveloped” (DeBarros, Hansen, and O’Donnell). Teenager’s brains are just not developed enough for them to understand the consequences on their actions. When they drive recklessly they don’t realize and are incapable of thinking enough ahead to see that what they are doing will have dire consequences on themselves and the others in the car or on the road.

            Other arguments against raising the age are that teens have jobs and need to get to work. There are plenty of other ways they can get to their jobs that doesn’t involve them driving themselves. They can get rides from their parents, take a bus or train, and they could walk if the job is no too far. This argument also goes toward teen driving themselves to school.

            Raising the driving age will make the roads safer. Getting rid of the younger, immature sixteen year-old drivers will only help save the lives of those teenagers and the others on the road. If the states agree to raise the age, they will be lowering the amount of deaths and car accidents that are caused young drivers.

 

. "Teen Driving Statistics." RMIIA. Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, n.d. Web. 9 Dec 2012. <http://www.rmiia.org/auto/teens/Teen_Driving_Statistics.asp>.

DeBarros, Anthony, Barbara Hansen, and Jayne O'Donnell . "Is 16 too young to drive a car?." usatoday. USA TODAY, 02 2005. Web. 9 Dec 2012. <http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-03-02-teens-cars-main-usat_x.htm>.