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Raising the driving age from 16 to 18
In my opinion, eighteen years is the best age to grant citizens of any state the right to own a driver’s license. Most accidents that occur in most states are due to the 16-year old drivers. Raising the driving age to eighteen would, therefore, reduce the occurrences of such accidents. Driving comes with significant responsibilities (Baker et al., 2019, p.231). A 16-year old driver is not responsible enough to make sound decisions during the driving process. The most significant mistakes that 16-year old drivers make are trying to multitask during driving. Young souls think that driving is an easy task, and they can, therefore, use technology and drive at the same time. These drivers end up using phones to either text or play video games or drive at the same time.
By raising the driving age to eighteen, states will ensure that every driver’s mind is well developed, and they will, therefore, ensure safety during driving without taking anything for granted. Immaturity in the sixteen-year-old drivers also leads them to make mistakes during driving. Indeed, teenage drivers face distractions of what is happening on the road quick, which may interfere with their ability to concentrate. Increasing the driving age to eighteen will lead to alertness as well as the responsiveness of the drivers (Sanchez et al., 2019, p.140). It may also reduce the dangers of inexperienced driving. If the driving age rises from sixteen to eighteen, the sixteen-year-olds will have more time to practice driving and learn all the dos and the don’ts. By the time they acquire the licenses, the experience would not be an issue, and there would be fewer occurrences of accidents.
With eighteen years of age, a driver can respond well to challenges on the road during driving. Some of the challenges include animals crossing the road, driving through construction sites as well as dangerous weather conditions. Besides, the drivers would be in a better position to comprehend the traffic rules, for example, using seat belts, responsibly. Sixteen years of age is the age that most people face changes while developing from childhood to adulthood. With this age come anxiety and the urge to try to experience new things (Sanchez et al., 2019, p.146). When such a person acquires a driver’s license, the first thing that comes to mind is the fun and new experience they expect while driving. The young drivers, therefore, drive as a way of having fun, and they end up ignoring the driving rules. Increasing the driving age to eighteen will reduce such cases.
Most people who start driving at the age of sixteen get addicted, and they no longer walk even for short distances. Increasing the driving age would help teenagers to be more physically active by, for example, walking and cycling. This implementation would reduce the chances of overweight and obesity in teenagers. Besides, it is a way of improving their health and giving them more time to practice for their driving tests, which would eventually allow them to own a driver’s license (Baker et al.,2019, p.232). Raising the driver’s age to eighteen would also reduce the cost of automotive insurance for parents. At eighteen, a person is likely to be responsible enough to pay his/her insurance costs. Raising the driver’s age would also reduce congestion of traffic. The reduced congestion may lead to efficiency in most roads, which is a significant step to improved economic development.
References
Baker, J. M., Drews-Botsch, C., Pfeiffer, M. R., & Curry, A. E. (2019). Driver licensing and motor vehicle crash rates among young adults with amblyopia and unilateral vision impairment. Journal of American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, 23(4), 230-232.
Sánchez, J. S., Ortiz, J. S., Mayorga, O. A., Sánchez, C. R., Andaluz, G. M., Bonilla, E. L., & Andaluz, V. H. (2019, June). Virtual Simulator for the Taking and Evaluation of Psychometric Tests to Obtain a Driver’s License. In International Conference on Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and Computer Graphics (pp. 138-149). Springer, Cham.