Raising the Driving Age: A Change That Would Save Lives

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driving time before teens are fully licensed, more effort should be put into making a change. The sad statistics about teen driving require change; something needs to be done to help teenagers have a better education and understanding of how to successfully drive a car.
Lets starts with the facts. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 6,000 teens lose their lives on U.S. roads every year, which is more than fifteen a day! An additional 400,000 injured and these numbers are only increasing every year (Triplett). One third of these accidents are alcohol related; the remainder is due to speeding and distractions such as music, passengers, and cell phones. In addition, crash rates are particularly high in the first year that teens are eligible to drive, “nearly one in every five 16 year olds will be involved in a car accident in their first year of driving.” The most recent studies show that teenagers between the ages of sixteen and nineteen are ...

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and the countries listed above; that difference is the minimum driving age. Whereas the United States has a driving age of sixteen years old; all of the following countries have a minimum driving age of eighteen years old. Based off the hard facts, it should appear obvious that an increased driving age would lead to fewer, unnecessary, accidents.
Different surveys and studies have examined driving through the eyes of teenagers, and the results show various factors that relate to the teen’s ability to drive. To start off, many supporters of a higher minimum driving age believe teenagers are too inexperienced and immature to operate motor vehicles without restriction. Because they ...

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