Brian+K.

= Teen Driving Age = Imagine that you are driving. Now imagine that you are fighting for your life in the hospital. These two imaginations can become reality before you have time to react. Car crashes are very real, and very dangerous. Why is this a teen issue? "For decades, traffic accidents have been the leading cause of teenage deaths nationwide (Update: Teen Driving, 1)." The problem with teen driving is not that teens don't know how to drive safely, the problem is that teens are simply too young to drive. To reduce the amount of fatal crashes, and save teens lives, the driving age should be increased. So, why should the age at which driving is legal be increased?

One reason that supports raising the driving age is the same reason teens are not allowed to have alcohol. Teen brains are simply not fully developed, leaving teens unfit for driving. If we were born with fully developed brains, then why not let ten year olds drive? You may argue that 16 year olds are far more developed than 10 year olds, and that is true, but that does not make teens fit to drive. The National Institute of Health explains why teens should not drive. In a teenage brain, the section of the brain that ways risks, makes judgments, and controls impulsive behavior, the executive branch, is underdeveloped, while the section of a teens brain that seeks thrill is fully developed (Davis, 1). If this is the case, then at what age should a person be legally allowed to drive? "Scientists at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., have found that this vital area develops through the teenage years and isn't fully mature until age 25 (Davis, 1)." One common misunderstanding is that only trouble-makers get into crashes. It is a generalizations that only teens that illegally consume alcohol, speed, and drift get into crashes. This is not the case. "Only 10% of the 16 year-old drivers killed in 2003 had blood-alcohol concentrations of .10 or higher, compared with 43% of 20-49 year old drivers killed, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (Davis, 3)." So what is being done to prevent teenagers from putting themselves at risk on the roads?

Most states have programs to educate teenage drivers. The programs are called GDLs, graduated driver's license programs. These programs set restrictions on drivers. For example, drivers will have to pass a drivers education class, and have a restricted amount of people in their cars. "After conducting a decade-long study between 1993 and 2003, the IIHS revealed that there had been a 26% drop in the number of deadly teen traffic accidents (Update: Teen Driving, 3)." Though this reduces the amount of deaths, this does not fix the problem entirely. Though drivers education programs do a good job of helping teens understand the laws, they do little to help in execution. A teenager might be able to recite laws of the rode flawlessly at the dinner table, but when making an impulse decision on the road, their brain is not functioning as an adults would (Davis, 4). When this idea is scrutenized it seems too true. Even if teens know the laws, they still won't be any better at making impulse decisions to avoid a crash. Drivers education coursed don't put kids in crashing situations and force them to react quickly, therefore teens are not prepared. "It may be that the courses are more designed to teach people the rules of the road and how to pass their driver's exam than how to reduce their risk of crash (Teen Driving, 4)." This is why the driving age should be raised, instead of having extensive GDL programs.

There are problems with raising the driving age. Many 16 year olds with jobs would not be able to keep their job without a driving license. This is understandable, with1,262,899 teens that got a license in 2003, 937 of them died in a crash (Robinson, 2). When used in this context, it is true and seems unfair to all of the other drivers. This does not account for injuries or 15, 17 and 18 year olds with a lisence. Though those teens would have a hard time getting to their jobs, it is more important to save teens lives. Many people believe that the majority of people do not want the driving age to be raised. This is wrong, it is just that many people do not have outspoken opinions. "Nearly two-thirds, 61%, say that they think a 16-year-old is too young to have a driver's license (Davis, 2)." Other people say that to adress the teen driving fatality problem, more extensive GDL programs should be used. More extensive programs do not prepare teens for avoiding crashes, they only teach the rules of the road. Many arguments against raising the driving age lack good reasoning, or have a bias. The driving age should be raised dispite the arguments against it.

"The Census Bureau predicts that the number of teenagers in the country will increase by 26% between 1996 and 2010 (Teen Driving, 2)." With a record number of teens about to get behind the wheel, the number of casualties will rise significantly as well. The time to increase the driving age is now so more lives can be saved. With an undeveloped brain and false security from GDL programs, teens need to wait longer before they are allowed to drive. If the leading cause of teenage death is preventable, woudn't you try to prevent it?

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Statistics about teenage driving: >
 * "Americans increasingly favor raising the driving age, a USA TODAY /CNN/Gallup Poll has found. Nearly two-thirds—61%—say they think a 16-year-old is too young to have a driver's license. Only 37% of those polled thought it was OK to license 16-year-olds, compared with 50% who thought so in 1995 (Davis, 2)."
 * "Already, on average, two people die every day across the USA in vehicles driven by 16-year-old drivers. One in five 16-year-olds will have a reportable car crash within the first year (Davis, 2)."
 * "In 2003, there were 937 drivers age 16 who were involved in fatal crashes. In those wrecks, 411 of the 16-year-old drivers died and 352 of their passengers were killed. Sixteen-year-old drivers are involved in fatal crashes at a rate nearly five times the rate of drivers 20 or older (Davis, 3)."
 * "Among the general public, majorities in both suburbs (65%) and urban areas (60%) favor licensing ages above 16 (Davis, 3)."
 * "Only about 10% of the 16-year-old drivers killed in 2003 had blood-alcohol concentrations of 0.10 or higher, compared with 43% of 20- to 49-year-old drivers killed, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (Davis, 3)."
 * "Instead, most fatal crashes with 16-year-old drivers (77%) involved driver errors, especially the kind most common among novices (Davis, 4)."
 * "The NIH brain research suggests that the problem is human biology. A crucial part of the teen 's brain—the area that peers ahead and considers consequences—remains undeveloped (Davis, 4)."
 * "For decades, traffic accidents have been the leading cause of teenage deaths nationwide (Update: Teen Driving, 1)."
 * "On an average day, some 10 teen s are killed in accidents involving teenage drivers (Update: Teen Driving, 1)."
 *  "According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), several thousand teen s lose their lives on U.S. roads every year, with an additional 300,000 injured (Update: Teen Driving, 2)."
 * "In 2002, for example, the IIHS reported that 41% of teen traffic deaths took place between sunset and dawn (Update: Teen Driving, 3)."
 * "In 2003, according to USA Today, 3,500 American teen s between the age s of 16 and 19 were killed in accidents involving cars driven by teenage rs (Update: Teen Driving, 3)."
 *  "The statistics most often quoted to show the 'positive' effect of [GDL] programs look at the period between 1993 and 2003. During that decade, the number of 16-year-olds who died in automobile crashes fell by 13%. At the same time, the number of 16-year-olds who were licensed to drive also fell by 26%. If licensing rates had remained the same, fatalities would have increased substantially (Update: Teen Driving, 4)."
 * "Indeed, Jay Giedd, chief of brain imaging in the child psychiatric unit at the Bethesda, Md.-based National Institute of Mental Health, says that the part of the brain that recognizes and deals with risk does not fully develop until around age 25 (Update: Teen Driving, 5)."
 * "It is a fact that a disproportionate number of teen s die in motor-vehicle accidents each year. Although they make up just under 7% of Americans who drive, teen s account for 14% of all driving fatalities. In 1998, about 5,600 people between the age s of 15 and 20 died in crashes--about 15 a day. Indeed, motor-vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teenage rs (Teen Driving, 1)."
 * "Crash statistics also show that while overall motor-vehicle deaths have been steadily declining over the past several decades, the rate at which 16-year-olds die in accidents nearly doubled between 1975 and 1996--to 35 deaths per 100,000 licensed drivers (Teen Driving, 2)."
 * "Between 1988 and 1998, more than 65,000 teenage rs died in automobile accidents. Teen driving deaths are of growing concern, many observers say, because the U.S.'s teenage population is soaring. The Census Bureau predicts that the number of teenage rs in the country will increase by 26% between 1996 and 2010 (Teen Driving, 3)."
 * "16-year-olds who carry one passenger die in fatal accidents 39% more often than do single drivers; those who carry three or more passengers are 182% more likely to die (Teen Driving, 4)."

For more info, go to: [] For information about teenager insurance. [] For facts about teen drivers from a government agency. [] For a USA today article about teens and auto safety. [] For a USA today article about the current driving age. [] For a Chicago Tribune article about teenage driving fatalities and their prevention.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">Works Cited

Davis, Robert. "The Driving Age Should Be Increased." //At Issue: Teen Driving//. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Gale. 4 Feb. 2010. Robinson, Allen. "The Driving Age Should Not Be Increased." //At Issue: Teen Driving//. Ed. Louise Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. //Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center//. Gale. 4 Feb. 2010. "Teen Driving." //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; font-style: normal;">Issues ////<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> & Controversies On File: // n. pag. //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Issues & Controversies //. Facts On File News Services, 23 June 2000. Web. 4 Feb. 2010. "Update: Teen Driving." //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Issues & Controversies On File: // n. pag. //<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">Issues & Controversies //. Facts On File News Services, 22 Sept. 2006. Web. 4 Feb. 2010.