What Is Increasing The Driving Age Essay

Let's be honest, teenage accident rates and mortality rates have increased dramatically over the years. No matter how much they try, parents and law enforcers cannot protect teens all the time, especially from themselves. As a result, the legislature has proposed an increased driving age from sixteen to eighteen to try to alleviate these issues. I believe increasing the minimum driving age will help protect our citizens by better preparing drivers, increasing safety for motorists, and setting a higher level of maturity on the road.
Although it may seem cruel to teens, raising the minimum driving age will allow drivers to become better prepared. In school drivers education classes are wonderful, but I do not believe it should just be crammed
into one semester. By exposing teens to drivers education classes from the age of fifteen to eighteen, they will retain more of the information. For example, a student that as skimmed by in drivers education for one semester may encounter an unfamiliar road sign or may not pay attention to posted road aids, which can result in a fatal crash. On the other hand, a student who has been familiarized with different road signs and their meanings over several years will be more likely to be ready to follow their specific instructions. Increased safety is another major concern that can be addressed with an increased minimum driving age. The older teens become the more they realize that they are not going to live forever. A younger driver is more likely to take risks that endanger, not only their own life, but the lives of their passengers. Whereas an older driver will understand and appreciate life more and not risk the emotional, physical, and legal ramifications of a reckless accident.
A younger driver just does not understand how precious life is; they can hurt or kill someone else.
Most importantly, increasing the minimum driving age will ensure more maturity on the road. It is undeniable that an eighteen year old is much more mature than a sixteen year old. Therefore, the older driver will be ready to handle any situation that could happen while driving. For example, if a sixteen year old driver was in a minor accident, first, they would overreact and it would take time for the police officer to calm them down. Secondly, if the officer did not call the driver's parents, the teen is likely to lie about the situation to prevent being in trouble. However, an older driver in the same scenario would remain calm and be responsible about the accident. They would tell the truth to their parents, knowing that honesty really is the best policy.
There is no disputing that safety on the roads needs to be a priority. Our young citizens are hurting and killing themselves on the road. I support our legislatures consideration of an increased driving age. I truly believe that it would allow drivers to be better prepared, increase motorists' safety, and set a higher maturity level
on the road. We have to try to protect the future of America, even if it is from
themselves