[Author] [Manager] English Composition I 14 November 2011 Give Them a Brake, Maintaining the Legal Driver’s Licenses at Age Sixteen When you go to the Department of Motor Vehicles the line is inevitably long. As you wait for your number to be called you notice a teenager and his parent in an exchange that brings back fond memories of your own rite of passage into the legal driving world. The teenager, at sixteen, has just received his legal driver’s license and their parent has handed over the keys to the family car.As you watch the exchange do you stop to think “Should sixteen be the right age to acquire a legal license to drive? ” Most people in our society drive a vehicle to get from one point to another.
We never really stop to think about the age of a driver, unless an accident occurs. Studies show that drivers who start their driving career at the age of sixteen have the ability to easily learn and retain the proper information used to operate a motor vehicle. The study also showed that by beginning a driving career at the age of sixteen affords the young driver the ability to acquire valuable driving experience.In today’s hectic life style, where many parents work two jobs or are single parents, having a teenager be self sufficient enough to drive themselves to and from after school activities and part-time jobs is an important factor in keeping the legal driving age at sixteen. Baring this in mind, the legal age to obtain a driving license should be maintained at sixteen.
Taking over the driver’s seat at the age of sixteen, has been a longstanding- rite-of-passage for many sixteen year olds. For teenagers be coming of age and acquiring a legal license to drive is one of the most memorable experiences in their lives.It is a milestone. Being a teen driver is a privilege that should not be taken for granted. Responsibility is one of the many key ingredients in driving; it is a “growing-up experience” (Irvine). “Keeping teens from driving would only make them less responsible” (White).
Issues on teen driving are not about age or maturity, but are about making good choices and exhibiting excellent driving behaviors. In the United States most teens can obtain a restricted permit at age fifteen and a legal driving license at age sixteen.Due to the increase in car accidents and fatalities, licensing at sixteen has caught the attention of legislators, who are increasing reforms and imposing certain guidelines for new drivers. The laws are being created to improve the safety and driving knowledge of teen drivers.
Currently in the legislature, laws are being reviewed and made that are directly aimed at the new teenage driver. Senator Ellen Karcher of New Jersey, knows firsthand what it’s like to worry about the safety of a child, as she has a teenage son herself and finds it hard handing over the keys.She states that, “Legislators need to take a comprehensive approach to teen driver safety by pushing for safer standards and more education for our young drivers” (Savage). Legislative support for programs such as these, are advancing towards the House for approval. New laws regarding the improvement of teen licensure can only be seen as a positive.
It will be a vote to save lives, as the laws will have the advantage of helping decrease the number of teen driving accidents and fatalities. Federal laws indicate that all states must have some type of permit procedure in place for new teen drivers.Many organizations such as the NHTSA or National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, have developed a multi-tiered strategy to prevent motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries among teen drivers. The strategy consists of “increasing the use of seat belts, implementing graduated driving licensure, reducing teenage access to alcohol products, and parental responsibility” (NHTSA). These strategies can only help to increase teenage driving knowledge, experience and an understanding of responsibility.
Learner’s permits are granted at the age of fifteen and include a variety of driving restrictions for teenage drivers. Some limitations that are placed on the teenage driver’s privileges are: daylight driving only, after three months they may drive until 10 p. m. with a licensed driver over twenty-one, no motorcycle or moped operation and they must have their permit license for 12 months before applying for a regular driving license.
In some states, such as Florida, a teenage driver must complete a four hour drug and alcohol class with exam.Also, prerequisites have been made by states and insurance companies for teen drivers to take part in classroom and instructional driving classes. The combination of requirements aide in helping a teen driver acquire the knowledge and experience to help them be responsible drivers. A program that supports maintaining the legal driving age at sixteen is the GDL or Graduated Driver License program. The GDL is a permit licensing program that works on the principal of intermediate phasing of one’s license.Teens gradually phase in driving privileges as they develop mature driving attitudes while acquiring valuable on road driving experience.
Per the GDL, teenagers are required to spend more driving time on the road with a parent or an older experienced driver. The program works in a three phase system: the learner’s license, the operational license and the full license. Studies done by researcher’s pertaining to the use of the Graduated Driver License program show conclusively that, “the States with the most restriction on teen drivers have had the greatest drop in fatalities and injuries for young drivers” (Savage).The introduction of the GDL program helps maintain the legal driving age of teenagers at sixteen by allowing them to gradually attain the knowledge and driving experience they need to become responsible driver’s. Debate over whether the driving age should be raised to the age of eighteen has been an ongoing battle among state lawmakers.
Of course if you were a sixteen year old teenager, who has waited to obtain the privilege to drive or one who due to family circumstances needs to drive in order to get to work, school or after school activities, you would not be overly enthused with the decision to raise the driving age to eighteen.On the other side of the coin, a twenty-five year old seasoned driver can point out the unsafe practices of youthful drivers and have their concerns echoed by a variety of news articles toting the statistics of teenage driving fatalities. These “teenage drivers are particularly dangerous, so delaying when they get a license will make the roads much safer for everyone” (Endersby). Safety experts, who have studied numerous studies of sixteen year-old teens driving habits proclaimed that they are by far at a higher rate for driving accidents than older teens.
Scientific studies at the National Institutional of Health in Bethesda, Maryland show that “the weak link, known as the executive branch, which is the part of the brain that weights risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behaviors has not fully developed and is the reason teenagers do not fully grasp the driving skills, abilities and techniques at an early age” (Davis). They feel sixteen year olds are too immature to handle the multitude of risks that go with being a licensed driver on today’s roadways. Followers of this belief are for raising the legal driving age to eighteen.They feel it can only be beneficial to everyone else driving on the road. State lawmakers are concerned about maintaining the legal driving age at sixteen.
Their primary goal is ensuring that the overall outcome is the safety of our children and those who are driving on the road with them. A myriad of researchers and scientists have performed numerous studies to establish that the age of sixteen is a viable age to obtain a driver’s licenses. There are a plethora of sixteen-year-olds who are safe and careful drivers. They have the knowledge and have acquired the skills to drive responsibly.
Recently, a study from the National Institute of Health stated that “scientists believed that the strong muscles, quick reflexes and enhanced senses of most teen drivers should, hypothetically, make them excellent drivers” (Capriccioso). Each teenager should be analyzed individually, it is not fair to judge one teenager based on the flawed actions of another. Many sixteen year olds can be mature and responsible drivers, who successfully follow the rules of the road. As the seasoned adults that teenagers look to for guidance, we must put in place restrictions and mandate laws to help our teens become safe knowledgeable drivers.
Programs such as the GDL, required driving instruction classes and drug and alcohol classes are all instrumental in providing the new sixteen year old driver with the knowledge, adult guidance and valuable on the road driving experience they need to be responsible drivers. The use of such programs is definitely a step in the right direction that will aide in maintaining the legal driving age at sixteen. In our modern society, driving is an integral part of life. The ability to be mobile without the dependence of public transportation is thought of as a personal right. Adults are not the only ones who have a need or desire to be mobile.
With the onset of hectic life demands parents rely on their child’s ability to be mobile. This would entail that they can get from home to school, to work and to after school activities or to chauffer a sibling from one event to another. Sixteen is an age our society starts to view as the beginning of young adulthood, we entrust more responsibility to our youth and they seek autonomy. By allowing the legal age to drive remain sixteen we are giving teenagers the tools they need to attain autonomy, as well as, becoming responsible experienced drivers. Works Cited Capriccioso, Rob.
"Driving Forces. " Spark Action. Mar 2005. Web. 22 Oct 2011. Davis, Robert.
"Is 16 Too Young to Drive a Car. " USA Today. (2005): 1. Web.
Endersby, Alastair. "Driving Age, Raise to 18. " International Debate Education Association 31 Dec 2008. N. p.
Web. 12 Oct 2011. Irvine, Martha. "Teen Driving Age Should Be Raised Say Auto Safety Group. " Huffington Post. 09 September, 2008.
Early Ed. 1. Web. 16 Oct. 2011.
“National Highway and Safety Administration. ” United States. Teen Drivers. 2011. Print. Savage, Melissa.
"Giving Teens a Brake. " State Legislatures. May 2007. 30.
5: 16-20. Education Research Complete. Web. 3 Oct.
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