Should Driving Age Be Raised To 21 Essay

Words: 477
Pages: 2

Sixte ten-year-olds are involved in fatal crashes at five times the rate than drivers over the age of twenty(Davis 1). With staggering numbers like that it is amazing the legal driving age has not been raised yet. This has been a hot topic for many years. Is a teenager too young to drive alone and not be reckless. The minimum legal driving age in the United States should be raised to twenty-one years old.
One reason why the driving age should be raised to twenty-one is the brain of a teenager is not developed enough to operate a motor vehicle with safety. Researchers discovered that the area of the brain that peers ahead and considers consequences remains undeveloped. As a result careless attitudes and rash emotions often influence a teens driving decisions(Davis 1). Therefore the decisions made by sixteen-year-old drivers are often poor and thoughtless(Common Driving Mistakes Teens Make 1).
…show more content…
Prolonging the time period required for a person to obtain their driver’s license would reduce the number of fatal crashes. For example, New Jersey is the only US state where the legal driving age is 17 and they’ve had fewer fatal car crashes among teens compared to the surrounding states(Davis 1). Finally teenage drivers are too inexperienced to be driving by themselves. Often times teenage drivers new to driving alone have had up to two year of experience behind the wheel. During that time frame there is not enough experience gained by the average person to be responsible on the road. Most fatal crashes with young drivers involved driving errors, in particular frequent novice errors such as speeding and getting distracted(Davis 1). Not to mention when faced with an unfamiliar situation teenage drivers are more apt to freak out and lose control of their vehicle. Furthermore other common mistakes made amongst teens are, going to fast for conditions and overestimating their