Essay On Raising Minimum Driving Age

Raising the Minimum Driving Age in the United States as a National Standard

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death among teenagers in the United States of America. Teenagers have a higher number of fatal and non-fatal accident rates than any other group of drivers. Statistics show that fatal car crash rates for 16 to 17 year olds is two times higher than 18 to 19 year olds. The United States of America should raise the minimum driving age in order to reduce teenage fatal motor vehicle accidents, decrease risky driving behaviors, and deter alcohol/drug impaired driving, thus saving many teenagers lives. By raising the minimum driving age in the United States of America the teenage motor vehicle accident rates would decrease. For 16 year olds, the thought of obtaining a drivers license is exciting. Being able to go shopping, visit with friends, and just drive around town is a major step towards being independent. However, there are risks when driving. In the Havens family, all four teenagers that drive have been in an accidents within the first six months of driving independently. Three of the teenagers totaled the car and were lucky that they were not killed, but they were injured and required medical care. A teenage neighbor was driving home from work when he lost control of his car. His face was removed in the accident and he has

Eric Peters, an automotive columnist, believes that teenagers are not properly instructed on how to drive safely. Improper training and bad habits learned from the parents are responsible for the high teenage motor vehicle accidents. Professional training with hands on experience of handling a vehicle in different situations is need for new drivers. Learning how to properly drive a car when it hits ice, goes into a spin, or swerves out of control are situations recreated by a professional driving