Imagine Yourself as a Sixteen Yea

Imagine yourself as a sixteen year-old. You just got your driver's license, and are going to go cruising with your friends to celebrate. However, at about ten o'clock, your attention isn't on the road, and you crash into another vehicle. Two of your friends die on scene, and your other friend is seriously injured. For thousands of teens each year, this is a reality. Sixteen year-old drivers are three times more likely to crash than seventeen year olds, five times more likely to crash than eighteen year olds, and two times more likely than eighty five year olds! I think the driving age should be raised to eighteen in order to protect people for many reasons.

Changing the driving age to eighteen is a good idea because fewer deaths and accidents would result. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,827 drivers in the 15-20 age bracket died in 2002. One hundred eighty fewer died in the same age bracket in 2003. Several countries have done studies on raising the driving age and found that the younger people start driving, the more likely they'll crash. It also proved that because younger people's brains haven't developed completely, and that reduces their capabilities to be a responsible, safe driver. This is one reason to raise the driving age to eighteen.

Raising the driving age to eighteen would make it so that there would be more time to teach teens how to drive. Many countries have employed the usage of the Graduated Drivers' Licensing System (GDL). The GDL has given very promising results, with a drastic reduction of car accidents. The GDL system works because it first requires that teenagers take both a class based and road based course with qualified instructors. Then, once teens have passed that portion and get their license, they have many limits and restrictions set. Some include the times you are allowed to drive, maintaining a BAC (blood alcohol content) of less than .01%, and the number of passengers under