Should the Driving Age be Raised to 18?

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Tyler Moran, Staff Writer

The number one killer of teenagers in America has been none other than motor vehicle accidents according to Teen Driver Source. It has been a major problem over the past decade or so, especially with the rapid increase of technology. With friends sending you texts left and right and having a big shiny electronic dashboard in your car, it’s very hard to stay focused on the road. The truth is something needs to change with teenage driving. According to a study from Teen Driver Source from 2017, 1,916 teenage drivers are killed every year and over 300,000 teens are injured on a yearly basis. Families can’t afford to lose their loved ones at a rate this dangerous. 

The problem here lies within a wide variety of issues in teenage driving. Teenagers love to speed wherever they go. That definitely contributes to some accidents. Texting and driving is a major issue, killing almost 11 teens per day according to TeenSafe’s 2017 study. Not knowing how to drive in the winter is possibly the biggest issue, basic human error, and driving under the influence are also major contributors to accidents. Marijuana breathalyzers will be in America within a year or so maximum according to NPR, and they have already been completely developed and manufactured. Bicycle cops are beginning to patrol in lots of towns and cities across the country to further tackle texting and driving, including Manchester and Bedford. The problem is being dealt with in some aspects already, which is great! However, I have an idea for an effective way to keep teenage drivers immediately safer on the roads here in the northeast.

My original position on teenage driving was the age should be raised to 18. However, I conducted a poll within my class and the results were quite clear; 15% thought it was a good idea and 85% thought it was a bad idea. I have changed my mind on my opinion, but I still think there should be more requirements to get your driver’s license. Kids still need to be able to get to work and school on their own schedule. What I think could potentially help this would be making sure all teenagers know how to drive in the winter before getting their driver’s license. Winter driving courses should be a requirement for all new drivers. Another solution that could be utilized could be technology advancements within cars for them to be able to restrict usage of cell phones on the driver side. Maybe a new law to have all U.S registered cars get this part in their car that takes away service on the driver’s side? I think that could really help against texting and driving.