Driving Age Essay, Research Paper

Turning the age of sixteen is a huge step in the life of a teen. When becoming the age of sixteen a new challenge is brought into a person?s life, the task of driving a car. But are sixteen year olds ready for this for this task. Driving a car is a task that should only be taken on by teens over the age of eighteen year olds because they are more responsible and understand the risk involved, there brain is underdeveloped and most of the driving they do is unnecessary.

In today?s society the idea of sixteen and seventeen year olds operating cars has become a way of life. But if one stop?s to think about it there is no need for these drivers to be on the road. Most of these drivers still live at home and have no job because they?re still in school. So they have no job to drive to or from. To go to school they can take the bus or be dropped off by their parents. From past experiences when I was this age I know how much useless driving I use to do. In Atlanta there is a huge problem with smog that is caused by to many cars on the road. The Department of transportation is always thinking up new ways to resolve this problem. The months when school is in session is when smog is at it?s highest. By taking these drivers off the road it would cut down on smog because they would be forced to ride the bus. When I was sixteen me and my friends use to load up in a car and just drive around town all night. Most of the time we would end up doing stuff to get in trouble.

Another problem with these drivers is they are very irresponsible and put other drivers in danger on the road in danger. Recent statistics show that most drivers who are caught speeding or involved in automobile accidents are under the age of eighteen. This is because the drivers have no responsibility and cannot handle the task of driving a car. In Georgia congress members have noticed this problem and are working on an amendment that would raise the driving age to eighteen. By raising the driving age to eighteen it would give these teens more time to mature before getting behind the wheel of a car. Sixteen and seventeen year old are still going through puberty and learning more about what the real world is like. During these extra two years there is a lot that can be learned about responsibility. When driving a car irresponsibly it puts the person behind the wheel and others people on the road at risk. During my senior year in in high school there were five people killed in car accidents that went to my school. Four of these five people were under the age of eighteen. One person who was killed was a good friend of mine. She was driving on a road one night that had very sharp curves. When she came up on a sharp curve she lost control of the car and ran off the road striking a tree. She was rushed to the hospital but died later on that night. The speed limit on this road was thirty-five. Investigators of the accident said she was going at least seventy when she ran of the road. A responsible driver would realize the risk involved in driving this fast and would more than likely slow down. If only she was a little older and faced with this situation she would have slowed down.

From the age of sixteen to eighteen there is a lot of development going on in the brain. A major part of the brain that is developing is the part that deals with judgement. Judgement is used in many different ways when driving a car. When driving on the interstate you use judgement to decide how closely to follow the car in front of you or when do begin to stop when coming up on a red light. Sometimes these situations require spur of the moment decisions that a fully developed mind cannot handle. A person under the age of eighteen may not be able to decide as quickly and make the wrong decision. A study was down on brain development that showed that during the teenage years the brain is developing very rapidly. The study was down by monitoring the growth of a group of teens throughout there teenage years. The study shows that two extra years can lead to a large amount of brain development. So by keeping teens off the road for another two years will cause them to have better judgement which makes them better drivers in decision making in situations that happen very quickly.

The idea of sixteen year old drivers has always been accepted in the United States. A lot of these drivers are do not belong on the road . Some states have realized that these drivers are unsafe and have either passed or are working on amendments to raise the driving age. People must come to realize the problems with underage drivers, some have learned the hard way by having accidents with these drivers.

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