Requirements for a License Should Be Changed - Essay Example

The driving age should be raised or requirements for a license should be changed Based on statistics, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), motor vehicle crashes are the leading causes of death in the US, which led to 2.3 million of listed incidents of drivers and passengers hospitalized due to motor vehicle crashes in 2009 alone. Furthermore, CDC reported that motor vehicle crashes are also the leading cause of death for US Teens ranging from15-24 years old, and it also accounted 30 or $19 billion of total cost of motor vehicle crashes among males and 28 percent or $7 billion among females. CDC added that the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher in 16 to 19-year-old teens than drivers 20 years old and older. The above figures reveal that the accident due to motor vehicle crashes is age related. It happened that teens were more likely susceptible to incur this kind of accident. The reasons could be quite intuitive in a sense. It is without question that teens are strongly influenced by peer pressures. Study reveals that peer pressures have relevant influence on the young male drivers’ speeding, as those18 years old are more likely to be under peer pressures influence than those 28 years old who are influenced by the perceived level of their friends’speeding (Moller and Haustein 92). Speeding is known to be one of the primarily causes of motor vehicle accidents on the street, which must reasonably be also an age-related issue, at some point. In addition, due to the fact that teens can be highly under the influence of peer pressures, it is reasonable to think of the idea that these individuals are more likely to engage in drugs and alcohol too. To be in or be part of the group is reasonably one important point why a teen might be enticed to use prohibited drugs or drink alcohol. Drugs and alcohol are important factors or concerned usually taken into account when there are vehicular accidents. These factors can also be age-related, because as stated, teens are more vulnerable to be influenced by peer pressures at certain age, leading them to drug or alcohol abuse. The entire idea of the argument so far reveals that car accidents can be generally or clearly considered as age-related issue. Since this is age-related, other important points like sociological and psychological factors are included, because teens are expected to be in the peril of peer pressures if it has to be viewed from the point of view of the disadvantageous side. In other words, the evidences so far suggest that teens are more vulnerable to car accidents and it is without question that the reason can be due to their age level or their prevailing sociological views in life or even psychological development. Due to the concerns and information about vehicular accidents that are linked to teens, the driving age should be raised or even the requirements for a license should be changed due to the following reasons linking to the stated statistics above. – [This is the topic sentence]. First, considering the percentage of the costs of vehicular accidents incurred by teens, it is reasonable to take it into account that the motor vehicle crash is a big problem. When it is considered a big problem it means that it affects the society or even results to certain hazards that will cause more lives at present and in the future. This problem therefore has a relevant link to the welfare of everyone, and so the right course of action must necessarily be implemented the soonest possible time before more hazards, costs and lives will be further incurred. This is a remarkable justification of having to put the driving age into consideration in driving. Age therefore is expected to be a significant requirement for a driver’s license. The proposal should be in line with what is the appropriate age that should be given a driver’s license. The proposal should also be based on the prevailing statistics pointing to the age groups that are vulnerable to be involved in a motor vehicle crash. Second, it is expected that when it comes to maturity level of observing safety on the road, teens, based on the statistics and on the given study about peer pressures, are observed to be less mature in implementing the appropriate traffic rules. For this reason, it is quite important that if ever teens will be allowed to drive, the requirements should involve more intensive testing of their psychological advancement and the level of impact of peer pressures in their lives. In this way, it will be at least easy to alleviate the number of car accidents every year on the road by which most of the time teens are involved. This might be a very intensive requirement at some point, but if the safety is the primary concern and if this mentioned requirement could be one of the best options to take, there is no way that it should not be implemented in the first place as one the best choices to choose. Third, teens are to be trained more when it comes to taking their responsibility. It will be hard to maintain this level of responsibility when they are still vulnerable to influence by their friends. In the same way, it will be hard for them to be given the appropriate responsibility on the road while driving a car, especially in the presence of friends. For this reason, rules or requirements must also be enhanced further if ever teens are to be allowed to drive. One of the requirements should be that teens should not drive in the presence of friends, or parental or guardian consent should be brought by them whenever they drive. This will ensure that they have the valid reasons to drive as approved by their parents. This at some point will help minimize the number of vehicular accidents on the road. Finally, another requirement is to include the parents or guardians in the approval process of the licensing. Furthermore, the involvement of the parents will provide the opportunity for the traffic law to include them in the penalty in the event when their children are engaged in vehicular accidents that are caused or influenced by drugs, alcohol and peer pressures. At some point, this scenario will eventually discourage some parents or guardians to provide the opportunity for their teens to drive a unit, unless if it is really necessary in some special cases as specified by the prevailing law. In a nutshell, the entire argument of the work at hand proposes that the driving age should be raised or the requirements for a license should be changed. The justification of this stand is strengthened by the prevailing statistics of motor vehicle crashes and the idea of peer pressures that could be under the issue of sociological and psychological context. It is found that teens can be easily swayed by peer pressures. In addition, their maturity level in ensuring the public safety in the road might need to be enhanced further. Supporting this, their maturity level needs to be tested in order to find out how stable are they to take their responsibility on the road. However, one essential requirement that needs to be promoted is to include the parents in the penalty in the event of accident that might be due to the case that they have failed to establish the other necessary requirements for allowing their teens to drive. Thus, as a whole, regulatory control will be one of the most essential actions in order to alleviate motor vehicle accidents and minimize those that are incurred by teens. Works Cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. WISQARS (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System. US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, 2010. Web. 12 April, 2014. . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer), 2012. Web. 12 April, 2014. . Moller, Mette and Sonja Haustein. “Peer influence on speeding behaviour among male drivers aged 18 and 28.” Accident Analysis & Prevention 64 (2014): 92-99. Print. Read More