Raising The Driving Age Essay
Should U.S. States Raise the Driving Age?
Teenagers worldwide view the privilege of driving as a coming of age ritual. Recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has called upon states to raise the driving age from sixteen to seventeen, or possibly even eighteen years old. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is a research group funded by the auto insurance industry. Research by the IIHS has shown that car crashes are the leading cause of death amongst teenagers. This group firmly believes that their evidence proves that raising the driving age will save many young lives. The statistics are alarming. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Traffic Safety Association, approximately one-third of all deaths for people fifteen to twenty years old have occurred from motor vehicle crashes. The vehicle crash rate for sixteen year old drivers is fifteen times that of drivers ages twenty to twenty-four. In 2007 alone, over six thousand young people, ages fifteen to twenty, died in motor vehicle related crashes (“The Facts: Graduated Licensing”). In the U.S., state licensing ages were established long ago. Many state’s laws …show more content…
There are mixed reactions from teenagers and parents alike. Most teens that have been posed with this possibility have had the same reaction as a whole. They are against it. By the age of sixteen, every teenager looks forward to being able to drive. Such a privilege is a milestone in a young person’s life. Driving a car seems to represent freedom and a new sense of responsibility. It is the view of these teenagers that age does not matter as much as practice and experience. Teens say that they need their own way to get around. They no longer want to have to rely on their busy parents for a ride to or from a job or school activity (“Auto Safety Group: States Should Raise Driving
Teenagers worldwide view the privilege of driving as a coming of age ritual. Recently, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has called upon states to raise the driving age from sixteen to seventeen, or possibly even eighteen years old. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, or IIHS, is a research group funded by the auto insurance industry. Research by the IIHS has shown that car crashes are the leading cause of death amongst teenagers. This group firmly believes that their evidence proves that raising the driving age will save many young lives. The statistics are alarming. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Traffic Safety Association, approximately one-third of all deaths for people fifteen to twenty years old have occurred from motor vehicle crashes. The vehicle crash rate for sixteen year old drivers is fifteen times that of drivers ages twenty to twenty-four. In 2007 alone, over six thousand young people, ages fifteen to twenty, died in motor vehicle related crashes (“The Facts: Graduated Licensing”). In the U.S., state licensing ages were established long ago. Many state’s laws …show more content…
There are mixed reactions from teenagers and parents alike. Most teens that have been posed with this possibility have had the same reaction as a whole. They are against it. By the age of sixteen, every teenager looks forward to being able to drive. Such a privilege is a milestone in a young person’s life. Driving a car seems to represent freedom and a new sense of responsibility. It is the view of these teenagers that age does not matter as much as practice and experience. Teens say that they need their own way to get around. They no longer want to have to rely on their busy parents for a ride to or from a job or school activity (“Auto Safety Group: States Should Raise Driving