Free Consultation: 718-461-6633
Free Consultation: 718-461-6633
Free Consultation: 718-461-6633
Free Consultation: 718-461-6633
One of the exciting ways of being independent is driving. To most adolescents, driving is the word freedom; freedom to do all they want and at any time they feel like doing it. However, there is much responsibility that goes with that freedom. Driving involves judgment, concentration and maturity. Unfortunately, all these are characteristics that are yet to be established in most teenagers.
This is why a lot of scholars and parents consider that the driving age is to be increased to 18. By providing independence that can come with driving at the age of 16, teens will be endangering their lives as well as the lives of others.
This extensive blog post will discuss 3 effective arguments as to why the driving age ought to be restored to 18. Both of the reasons have backed up by research and logic and real life examples that demonstrate how such a change could make the roads safer and the drivers more responsible.
Emotional maturity is probably the first, the most crucial, factor that can justify the increase of the driving age to 18. Driving is not only about driving a car, but also about dealing with stress, being calm and making a smart decision under unplanned circumstances.
The human brain is still immature, particularly in the prefrontal cortex, which is the part that deals with decision-making and impulse control at 16 or 17. This implies that teenagers tend to do things in accordance with emotions instead of being logical. They tend to make risky choices when angry or excited, e.g., to speed up or violate traffic lights.
Studies conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health indicate that the brain development persists until the mid-20s. A teenager who is 16 years may have the theoretical knowledge of the traffic rules but he/she may not be mature enough to adhere to them all the time.
In case a driver of a young age is alone in his car, the wish to impress may easily prevail over safety. Facts Loud music and jokes or dares may distract the driver causing dangerous results.
The AAA Foundation of Traffic safety reports that having a single teenage client in a car raises the risk of a crash in a teen driver by 44 percent. In case of two or more teenage passengers, the risk is doubled.
In case the driving age was increased to 18, there would be less inexperienced drivers to deal with the peer pressure. Teens of older age are more confident and less probably require the validation of friends.
The second critical factor as to why the driving age should be increased to 18 is safety. Statistics of road safety agencies continuously provide statistics of teenage drivers experiencing the most number of accidents among all ages.
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that a driver who is between 16 and 17 years is almost thrice likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a driver aged between 18 and 19 years. The lack of experience and maturity is a dangerous combination.
Teenagers tend to underestimate hazard and overestimate their abilities when they are driving. They may round corners too quickly, disregard speed limits, use phones on the road, and so on, all of them cause accidents.
The other problem is distraction. The teens are the most probable users of their phones whilst driving. Texting, calling, or even visiting social media, distracts on the road. An accident takes only two seconds to happen.
The legal driving age should be set at 18 to reduce the cases of immature drivers who tend to engage in such distractions. It would lead to more accidents being reduced and safer roads that are safer to all drivers, pedestrians, and passengers.
The positive results are already seen in the countries where the driving age is 18. Accident rates among teen drivers are significantly low in Germany, France, and Japan where young people are not allowed to drive on their own until the age of 18.
It is impressive when compared to the countries where driving starts at 16. These statistics confirm that the driving age should be increased to 18 to directly decrease the number of accidents and save lives.
The third argument as to why the driving age should be set to 18 is on responsibility and priorities. Majority of teenagers are in school at the age of 16 and are studying. The issue of driving can be added to the responsibility to then include the cost of insurance, maintenance and social outings that will distract them easily.
Car brings in freedom yet it brings with it temptations. Most teenagers take advantage of their new freedom to skip school, go out late or unnecessary traveling. Academics are usually victims when driving is a priority.
This is because by waiting to turn 18, the youth will receive an opportunity to pursue their education before beginning to drive. After graduation or getting further mature, they would be in a position to think more responsibly about driving.
Driving is expensive. Gas, repairs and insurance are all expenses. When teens are 16 years old, they rely on their parents to meet these costs. They are not aware yet of the entire financial burden of having a car in the possession.
Most of the young adults have jobs or handle money by the time they are 18. They are better placed to spend wisely, know insurance terms as well as manage expenses in a responsible manner.
In brief, the 18 year olds should be made to wait, to get ready to meet the financial requirements of the real world that will accompany them with driving. It transforms driving not only to privilege of convenience but rather an earned responsibility.
Increasing the driving age does not imply that the teens have to wait until their 16th birthday. On the contrary, it allows them to rehearse. They may attend driving classes, road-safety seminars or train under instruction.
This additional time will see them properly educated, confident and cautious on the road once they get their license. The longer period of learning will create skill, patience, and wonderment of the road rules.
Therefore, based on the available facts, it is understandable that driving age should be increased to 18 years because of three major factors maturity, safety and responsibility.
A teenager is not as emotionally stable and experienced as required to deal with the risks of driving. This will allow them to experience life and make good decisions by the age of 18. The result? There will be less accidents, more accountable drivers and safer roads.
It is not only a right but a big responsibility to drive. An increase in the driving age to 18 years will guarantee that all new drivers receive that right on maturity, discipline and awareness.
Since 18-year-olds are more mature, responsible, and experienced, they are safe drivers compared to 16-year-olds.
Yes. Research indicates that drivers who begin driving at 18 years and above are much less likely to be involved in crashes compared to drivers who begin driving at under 18 years.
In most cases, yes. The brain of a teenager is still in the process of development, and it influences the decision-making and the impulse control.
A majority of the European and Asian nations have lowered the legal driving age to 18, and this has resulted in reduced accidents among the youth drivers.
It would decrease the number of accidents, increase the responsibility of drivers, promote educational attention, and make the roads safer.
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