Raising The Driving Age Essay
Driving is a daily activity that has been ingrained in the American culture. The anticipated sweet sixteen unleashes a rush of emotions and excitement for many teens, but it releases a completely different rush of emotions for parents and adults. Giving a sixteen-year-old the keys to a car and freedom of the open road can be both convenient and terrifying for parents. If a parent had a choice between their child dying or having an inconvenience of driving them around, hopefully, they would choose to have an inconvenience.
Teenage brain development is at a vulnerable state and is not fully developed causing poor judgment and bad decisions. For example, new findings from brain researchers at the National Institutes of Health explain that the …show more content…
In 2003, there were 937 drivers at the age of sixteen who were involved in fatal crashes. In those wrecks, 411 sixteen-year-old drivers died and 352 of their passengers died (Davis). Raising the legal driving age would lower those numbers of death and create a safer road for those on it. After New Jersey made a graduated licensing law, its fatality rate fell significantly for teens. Among the states seventeen-year-old drivers, the percentage of fatal crashes dropped 33 percent (Gregory). Last year, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety conducted a review of research on the subject of New Jersey raising the driving age, and it indicated that an older driving age would substantially reduce crash rates for young drivers (Lund). If all states made new graduated licensing laws, the road for drivers would be increasingly …show more content…
Sixteen-year-olds are creating a dangerous road environment for themselves, and other drivers. It has been proven that the brain is not fully developed during teenage years, and raising the driving age would allow time for the brain to become more developed, thus creating a better safety for others and making the amount of people dying daily decrease. Parents care more about their children’s safety rather than having an inconvenience of having to drive their children
Teenage brain development is at a vulnerable state and is not fully developed causing poor judgment and bad decisions. For example, new findings from brain researchers at the National Institutes of Health explain that the …show more content…
In 2003, there were 937 drivers at the age of sixteen who were involved in fatal crashes. In those wrecks, 411 sixteen-year-old drivers died and 352 of their passengers died (Davis). Raising the legal driving age would lower those numbers of death and create a safer road for those on it. After New Jersey made a graduated licensing law, its fatality rate fell significantly for teens. Among the states seventeen-year-old drivers, the percentage of fatal crashes dropped 33 percent (Gregory). Last year, the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety conducted a review of research on the subject of New Jersey raising the driving age, and it indicated that an older driving age would substantially reduce crash rates for young drivers (Lund). If all states made new graduated licensing laws, the road for drivers would be increasingly …show more content…
Sixteen-year-olds are creating a dangerous road environment for themselves, and other drivers. It has been proven that the brain is not fully developed during teenage years, and raising the driving age would allow time for the brain to become more developed, thus creating a better safety for others and making the amount of people dying daily decrease. Parents care more about their children’s safety rather than having an inconvenience of having to drive their children