Allowing Teenage Driving before the Age of Eighteen Years - Essay Example

? Allowing Teenage Driving before the Age of Eighteen Years I pledge that this is entirely my own work. (Your Signature) Outline: I.Introduction and thesis statement Introduction and Thesis: While some people argue that teenagers below the age of eighteen years should drive since some are mature, this essay posits that teenagers below eighteen years should not drive since they are vulnerable to risks associated with driving. II. Teenagers below the age of eighteen years old are prone to making mistakes while driving and accidents are a major source of death in this age group A. In the United States, 36% of deaths in the age group below eighteen years were due to accidents. B. Accidents due to teenage driving in this group are more in comparison to accidents from other age groups. III. Teenage drivers below the age of eighteen years have very poor driving skills, which disregard all the rules. A. Drunk driving is a major issue associated with teenagers below the age of eighteen years. It is crucial to note that alcohol impairs once mind affecting their coordination and thinking. B. Parents’ failure to be strict on the rules made teenagers below the age of eighteen years fail to observe even the most of basic rules like using the seatbelts. IV. Most teenagers in this age group do not understand the complexity involved in driving. A. Teenagers’ social and emotional development of their minds is immature in comparison with that of an adult. B. They are vulnerable to distraction and peer influence. V. Teenagers below the age of eighteen years should drive. A. Some members of this group are mature, responsible, and dependable. In effect, locking prohibiting them from driving is discriminatory. VI. No teenager should drive. B. The dependable and responsible teenagers in this group are a minority. In effect, none should drive. VII. In conclusion, accidents resulting from teenage driving result to half of the causes of the deaths in this group. In effect, none should drive since allowing them to drive puts them at a risk of vulnerabilities. Allowing Teenage Driving before the Age of Eighteen Years In the current world, characterized by the information and the knowledge economy, the debate about the right age to drive has remained in the public domain for a period. In fact, different countries have enacted different legislation regarding the right, or rather the legal, age for driving. Indeed, most people agree that the art of driving does not require the skills learned in a driving school only. Rather, one of the most important requirements of a skilled driver is good decision-making at all times, and in other cases within a split of a second. However, good decision-making skills are not skills that an individual learns in a driving school. In fact, good decision-making skills are inherent in an individual with the maturity level being a significant determinant. While some people argue that teenagers below the age of eighteen years should drive since some are mature, this essay posits that teenagers below eighteen years should not drive since they are vulnerable to risks associated with driving. A 1983 study by Karpf and Williams observed, “Nearly half the deaths of male and female 16–18 year olds in the United States resulted from motor vehicle use” (as cited in William & Lund, 1986). However, recent research by Chen, Baker, Braver, and Li (2000), noted that the deaths of this age group due to accidents stood at 36% towards the end of the last century. Nevertheless, this percentage is a manifestation of a grim scenario concerning licensing of teenage driving below the age of eighteen years. Therefore, prohibiting driving amongst this group would help reduce the number of deaths by a big percentage in this vital group. While observing that the statistics were from a developed country and their application to other countries may differ, it is essential to note that these dynamics may apply to any nation regardless of its development. In this regard, teenagers' dynamics are common or typical behavior, amongst teenagers in different countries. Thus, a teenager in the United States will behave in a similar way with another in any country regardless of the country's level of development. In effect, the causes of deaths attributed to driving will vary by a modest degree. Accidents resulting from teenagers, below the age of eighteen years old, are relatively more in comparison to those in other age groups (William & Lund, 1986). Therefore, these statistics are an indication of the benefits in prohibiting teenage driving below the age of eighteen years. In addition, the statistics signifies poor driving skills amongst teenagers below the age of eighteen years. Such poor driving tactics include failure to observe basic of driving tips like the use of seatbelts and driving at high speeds in comparison to elderly drivers (Gregory, 2008). In effect, allowing teenagers to drive at this age is akin to sending them to their deaths and may even cause deaths in others. In addition, the economic losses resulting from these deaths are many and prohibiting teenage driving below the age of eighteen years prevents such losses. Besides, it is important to guard the future of the world in the best way possible. Thus, one way of guarding the future is protecting teenagers from any causes of deaths. Effectively, prohibiting them from driving becomes a crucial way of protecting their future. Legally, teenagers below the age of eighteen years should not drink in most, if not all, nations in the world. However, it is evident that teenagers have access to alcohol and some even drive while under the influence of alcohol. William and Lund (1986) supports this by noting that most fatal crashes resulting to alcohol are a significant problem amongst this age group. Although this age group should not have any access to alcohol, it is crucial to note that they still get access to alcohol despite the laws outlawing their access in most countries. We all know that alcohol affects an individual’s reasoning and judgment. In effect, poor judgment will effectively make teenagers prone to making poor decisions and risk to accidents. It is crucial to point out that the limitation of poor driving tactics is not the use of alcohol only. In addition to alcohol use, other risky behaviors include use of cell phones to texting and chat while driving. However, a study by State Farm Insurance and Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia found that most teenagers habitually drove with their friends, which put them at a risk of accidents while on the road (Provano, 2012). In this case, the study findings observed that multiple passengers in the vehicle made teenagers consider themselves as thrill seekers, felt that their parents were not strict with the rules, and most importantly failed to observe the risks associated with driving (Provano, 2012. In this case, thrill seeking will eventually make such teenagers drive at very high speeds in order to impress their passengers. On the other hand, the feeling that their parents were not strict on the rules made these teenagers disregard the driving rules and effectively cause accidents while driving. However, it is crucial to point out that these teenagers are a minority (Provano, 2012). Nevertheless, being in the minority does not mean that this group should have permission to drive. In fact, it is crucial to prevent all risks associated with teenage driving and the best way to do this is by ensuring that teenagers below the age of eighteen do not drive. As earlier indicated, teenage drivers are the most poor in driving with various factors attributed to their quality of driving. However, the complexity of driving makes teenagers the poorest drivers. While experts point out that fifteen and sixteen year olds have an almost equal reasoning with that of an adult, they also indicate that teenagers’ social and emotional development of their minds is immature in comparison with that of an adult (Gregory, 2008). In this regard, teenagers will tend to seek sensual arousal, risks, and uniqueness due to their immature minds. As a result, these teenage drivers will drive at high speeds due to their immature brains and risk their lives and those of their passengers. Furthermore, the lives of other road users will be at risk and the economic losses resulting from the fatalities are enormous. In effect, this factor of immature brains emphasizes on the need to prohibit teenagers below the age of eighteen years from driving. While the brain of a teenager is not fully developed and thus immature, the brain of a teenager is also vulnerable to distraction and influence from their friends (Gregory, 2008). In this regard, the explosive and the developing brain of a teenager make teenagers vulnerable to these two risks. According to experts' research, the brain's front part--which is responsible for coordination of multi-tasking, making reasonable decisions, proper judgment, and controlling impulses--develops at the age of 20s in human beings (Gregory, 2008). In effect, a teenage driver is not capable of making the right decisions, coordinating multiple tasks effectively, and control impulses in the right way while driving. On the other hand, studies indicate these risks increases in instances where teenagers drive with passengers. According to Chen et al. (2000), drivers involved in fatal crashes while aged between 16 and 19 years made more errors while in the company of their passengers rather than when driving alone. In this case, this factor may be a result of the risky behaviors that these drivers will engage in while driving with their passengers. Besides, the immaturity of their brains makes the teenage drivers fail to make the right decisions in case of an emergency. Consequently, we cannot be oblivious of the fact that there are mature teenagers who will practice sensible driving. In fact, according to Gregory (2008), some driving instructors pointed out that issues related to teenage driving do not revolve around age and maturity only, but also there should be a consideration of making exemplary choices and exceptional behavior. In this regard, the instructor noted that some teenagers below the age of eighteen years showed exemplary sound judgment and made the right decisions when driving. In effect, prohibiting these teenagers from driving locks out a dependable group, and classifies the group with the irresponsible ones who are not able to make sound judgments while driving. In addition, the experiences of modern day world indicate that some teenagers start earning their first paycheck well below the age of eighteen years. In effect, they are independent, and a vehicle becomes a necessity to take them to work and back. Furthermore, Shellenberger (2011) noted that some parents found it convenient to have their teenage children drive themselves to school and other places. In this case, these groups of people indicate that teenagers below the age of eighteen should drive. While it is evident that there are mature teenagers below the age of eighteen years, it is crucial to point out the number of teenagers in this group are a minority. In effect, the majority of teenagers in this age group will end up making irrational decisions while driving. Furthermore, a majority of teenage drivers below eighteen years do not have proper skills important during coordination of multiple tasks, making reasonable decisions, proper judgment, and controlling impulses, which full develops at the age of 20s in human beings (Gregory, 2008). As a result, allowing teenagers below eighteen years to drive will result to fatalities and economic losses due to loss of lives, injuries to individuals, and damages on motor vehicles. Besides, the fact that most teenagers are thrill seekers is a crucial point towards prohibiting them from driving. In addition, the process of judging responsibility in teenagers will be a long one and may appear discriminative to many people, but specifically to the teenagers. In effect, the best option would be to prohibit all teenagers below the age of eighteen years from drive until they attained the appropriate age. At the age of eighteen years, teenagers will be responsible individuals, which will enable them make reasonable decisions and judgments necessary for a driver. In conclusion, it is evident that most evidence is against allowing teenagers below the age of eighteen years from driving. Although there is a minority of teenagers below the age of eighteen years who are mature in thought and judgment, it is evident that most of them lack these essential qualities to make sound decisions necessary for driving. In this regard, the number of deaths resulting from teenagers below the age of eighteen years accounted to 36% at the end of the last century, which are preventable. In effect, one precise way of preventing such deaths is to ensure that this group of teenagers does not drive. Besides the immature mind, which makes them more of thrill seekers, is a fundamental reason to ensure that the teenagers in this age group do not drive. While some people argue that locking responsible teenagers in this age group from driving due to the irresponsible ones is not appropriate, it is evident that a majority of teenagers in this group are not mature. Hence, no teenagers below the age of eighteen years should drive. References Chen, L. H., Baker, S. P., Braver, E. R., & Li, G. (2000). Carrying Passengers as a Risk Factor for Crashes Fatal to 16- and 17-Year-Old Driver. JAMA, 283(12), 1578-1582. Gregory, T. (2008, Sep. 9). Should 16-year-olds drive? Report says raising age would save lives. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-teen-driving- study_09sep09,0,1775625.story Shellenbarger, S. (2011, Feb. 14). Why Teen Drivers are Dangerous. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/02/14/why-teen-drivers-are-dangerous/ Provano, J. Risky business: Teens driving with other teens. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.ajc.com/news/risky-business-teens-driving-1314975.html William, A. F., & Lund, A. K. (1986). Adults' Views of Laws That Limit Teenagers' Driving and Access to Alcohol. Journal of Public Health Policy, 7(2),190-197. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/3342256 Read More