Why Should The Driving Age Be Raised Essay

Ever since parents knew they were going to have a baby they started being more careful and trying to protect them. When the baby was born they bought car seats and a crib. Then when they could ride a bike they would have a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads to save them from getting hurt. However at age 16 they let their kid jump in a car and drive when they can get themselves killed by reckless driving. That is why the driving age needs to be raised so parents can protect their kids for a little longer. Rising the legal driving age would save teenagers lives. More than 5,000 teenagers die each year in car accidents (Lund).That is too many minors dying each year in crashes. In 2008 there were 5,864 minor died in car crashes which is 864 more than the average. In addition more than 4,000 teens died as occupants of passenger vehicles; 61
percent of them were in vehicles driven by teens (Lund). One of those kids could have been the one to do something that no one else could do. As well as a new 17 or 18 year old driver is considered safer than a new 16 year old driver (Davis). If the driving age is raised to 17 or 18 more minor lives would be saved. A 16 year old driver’s brain is not fully developed.
Scientists at NIH campus in Bethesda, Md, have found that this vital area develops through the teenagers years and is not fully mature until age 25 (Davis). The teenagers brain also is particularly vulnerable to distraction and peer pressure, and is undergoing explosive development (Gregory). Some driving environments would be distracting to the teen and might feel the pressure to do something stupid to prove themselves to their friends. The brain that is not fully development should not be driving by themselves and putting people's lives in danger. Critics may say that having the driving age at 18 is an inconvenience to parents. “Raising the driving age from 16 to 17 would benefit society as a whole,” says Liza Darwin 17, of Nashville.Though many parents would be inconvenienced and teens would be frustrated, she says, ”It makes sense to raise the driving age to save more lives (Davis). The teenager’s parents would rather drive their teenager around the having the teen pass away in a fatal car crash. The teenagers life means to the parents than the parents
convenience. On account of all the evidence that too many teenagers die each year because of car crashes and their brain is not fully developed the driving age should be raised. It would protect our future generations to live past their teen years. Parents should not let their kids make life or death choices that are not ready to make the choices. Parents need to still try to save their kids lives because no parent should go to their kids funeral. Therefore the driving age of The United States should be raised to 18 years old for the reasons above .