Should the Driving age be Increased to 19?

           First, the question that needs to be asked is, are we, the youth of this country, responsible drivers? Lots of people have no idea how to drive a car properly, but they think they do, they get others and themselves injured or killed in car accidents. Whose fault is that? We could increase the age for driving, and we wouldn't have as many accidents caused by young drivers because they would get more experience behind the wheel before they can drive by themselves.

            

      Most teens below the age of 20 are more likely to speed and very few wear seat belts  Teens below the age of 20 are more likely to speed and be distracted and show off to friend and are there for more likely to get into car crashes that can injure themselves and other people or even kill themselves or other drivers.  For every mile driven, 16-19 year old drivers are four times more likely to get into a car crash then older, more experienced drivers. Young drivers are four times more likely to get into a car crash for every mile driven because they are inexperienced, immature and try to impress friends which cause them to do stupid things. Teen drivers put other drivers on the road at danger. Out of the fatal crashes caused by teen drivers 36% are the teen drivers and the other 64% are other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians that die each year.

           

       Teen drivers cause more fatal accidents each year than there are fully licensed. Teenager drivers caused 14% of fatal crashes in 2010 but they only make up 6% of the total population who have car licenses. That is bad because it is more than double the total licensed teen drivers. There are more drunk drivers, and then there are teenagers because they don’t think about what would happen if they drive when there drunk. There are more drunk teen driver causing accidents, than any other age group because they don’t think about the consequences of what can happen if they do get in a crash and someone is fatally injured or killed.  In addition, if the driving age is increased to 19, there will be fewer cars on the road which will speed up traffic and have less congestion of vehicles.

       If the driving age is increased to 19, it will force people to walk when they are young, which will help with obesity problems. Driving encourages the population to become lazy and obese. if people can’t drive, they will be forced to walk, use public transportation, and bikes. This will help make a healthier population. In addition some people mature quicker than other people and can be responsible on the road well others are not.

      Having said that, I believe it should be made flexible and the driver's test should include an aptitude test as well, to see how the candidate responds to certain hazardous situations, and see if those reactions are rooted in responsibility, not to mention a concern for the people on the road who may be involved. Driver's tests need to be more situation oriented rather than about knowing all the symbols and passing a written exam. Also, while there should be a fixed age to learn, there shouldn't be a fixed age to a license. Different people mature at different ages, some can earlier, some later. Which is why the legal driving age can be flexible depending on the person.