Teenagers and Driving until Eighteen - Essay Example

? Teenagers Should Not Be Allowed to Drive Until Age Eighteen This paper presents discusses whether children should be allowed to drive at early age or not. A thesis statement will be presented and the pros and cons related to this will also be stated. Introduction The topic ‘Teenagers should not be allowed to drive until age eighteen’ is significant in understanding the rules and regulations that have been put forward by law so as to ensure the safety of both the driver and other individuals who can be a victim if the right path is not followed and rules are violated. Thesis Statement Children should not be allowed to drive until they turn eighteen, the obligation of this rule has its significance since young drivers prove to be reckless and thrill seeking as compared to elders. Children Should Not Be Allowed to Drive Until Age Eighteen The legal age at which individuals can drive varies in different countries; in some places teenagers are not allowed to drive until they are 18 while at some countries such as America, 15 or younger is a legal age to drive. It is usually in relevance to the age at which teenagers are allowed to vote or drink alcohol. Previous researches and records have proved that young drivers are reckless and their driving results in majority of road accidents; it is due to this fact that different countries have emphasized on raising the age at which driving should be made legal, the appeal was given regard in some places and in other cases, it was not taken into account. There are various pros and cons which will contribute to better understanding of this argument; they are as discussed below. (Margaret, 250) Benefits of Raising the Legal Age at Which Teenagers Would be Allowed to Drive The life of humans is very precious and to safeguard them and ensure their security is one of the basic responsibilities of any government therefore it should be entailed that all the possible steps be taken to guarantee this. Raising the age of driving will reduce the number of road accidents since teenagers below eighteen are more likely to cause accidents than older drivers. A research report revealed 30,000 deaths in USA in 1995-2004 caused by young drivers; this further emphasizes how dangerous it can be to allow young drivers on the road. 18 years is considered to be the perfect age to grant permission since at this age further freedom such as the right to vote and drink alcohol is permitted. The attitude that is most commonly observed in 16-17 year old teenagers is that they are fearless and do not generally regard the traffic rules that have been put up for their and other individuals’ safety, they are more inclined towards taking risks and seek thrill in driving. They observe good driving as the ability to maneuver the car at high speeds, are more likely to take influence of the peer pressure and join in the competition of rash driving. This behavior makes them risky and unreliable drivers who would add to the number of car crashes and road accidents. Hence granting them license at an older age might prove to solve this problem to some extent thus ensuring road safety. Taking fruitful steps towards this cause can also benefit the society in the longer run; when younger teenagers would not be allowed to drive until they reach the standard age, there would be lesser cars on the road hence less traffic which will ease the traffic flow, preventing congestion ultimately reducing both noise and air pollution. This is also a very challenging issue these days and any step that can be taken towards its resolution should be encouraged and supported. Teenagers generally lack experience and to top it they do not consider it as a big deal which results in non serious behavior. They do not understand rather do not value the consequences that might result from their recklessness. Secondly the driving classes do not benefit them much; either the driving schools are not fully equipped or the classes are not beneficial enough to tech the teenagers about how they should counter emergencies when they are actually driving. Driving schools generally do not provide any help as far as the practical experience is concerned. Due to this, teenagers are not competent enough and lack the ability to cope with chaotic situations since they have not been made aware of the dangers that are regularly faced by the drivers and depict real world. Most of the accidents that occur are the result of high speed, drunk driving or using mobile phone while driving and this trend is most commonly observed in young teenagers and teenagers below eighteen. Today’s young generation is not aware of the above mentioned dangers that are the causal factors of most of the accidents that take place in most countries. Therefore it is highly recommended in some parts of the world to raise the age limit from eighteen to twenty one so that the presence of mature and law abiding drivers is ensured on the road. Secondly most people are of the view that the age limit should not be below eighteen since teenagers below this age do not have a serious job and can hence afford to travel by subways or with their parents without facing much problem. (David, 178) Measures to Ensure Road Safety Without Teenagers Crossing the Age Limit In order to guarantee the quality of driving, the caliber of driving tests can be raised. The driving test can be made tougher so that the drivers know the rules by heart and become perfect in their driving so as to surpass the standard of driving test. Secondly anyone who is caught driving badly can be called for a re-test and the presence of the parents can be made mandatory so that they are fully aware of their child’s performance thus deciding if he is ready to drive on the roads or not. Graduate driver licensing (GDL) should be introduced in all parts of the world; this is a much effective measure as compared to raising the age limit. This law entails that beginners should gain experience under the watchful eye of older driver who is fully experienced, this job can also be served by parents themselves. One segment of this rule also demands that early drivers be limited to drive in the fastest lanes and also during night hours. It is only when the drivers abide by the GDL rules would they be able to attain the driving license. Age eighteen does not guarantee that teenagers will drive safely without getting drunk and reckless; it does not also ensure that all of them will necessarily abide by the rules. Therefore, rather than forcing teenagers not to drive, measures need to be taken to strengthen the rules and make the policies more strict. Through this only careful and well trained drivers will be produced rather than eighteen year old inexperienced drivers. There have been heated arguments among teenagers and their parents as to whether they should be allowed to drive at an early age or not; different governments have put up various policies which sometimes do not go in the favor of teenagers resulting in rule violation and rebel. To put a stop to al this, the above mentioned steps can be taken in which the policies of driving tests can be revised so as to suit and pacify both the parties ultimately making sure that road safety is regulated and maintained. (Rune, 139) Conclusion Driving is not an easy task and it comes with great responsibility not only on the teenage driver but also on the people who are in the car and the ones on the road. It is not possible for the parents or the instructor to be with them all the time therefore it is important for the driver to recognize and realize this responsibility and drive carefully which is only possible if proper driving classes have been taken. Raising the legal age from 16 to 18 years can prevent a lot of accidents and fatalities caused due to automobiles. The rates of insurance policies would decrease and the parents would be able to exercise more control over the children in return granting them more time to mature. Young teenagers usually overestimate their ability to drive and end up driving fast which is dangerous for them and also for the people on the road, this normally happens due to the building peer pressure and the urge to boast around in their car at high speed. This does not only jeopardize the chances of driving for young teenagers who drive carefully but also forces the government to revise the policies making them even more strict which elongates the period of getting driving license. To avoid all these situations, suggestions have been discussed in this paper which will hopefully be helpful in understanding how important this issue is and how it needs to be taken care of with the right set of measures. Works Cited David, Timken. Driving With Care: Education and Treatment of the Underage Impaired Driving Offender. SAGE. 2010. Margaret, Anderson. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. Cengage Learning. 2007. Rune, Elvik. The Handbook of Road Safety Measures. Emerald Group Publishing. 2009. Read More