Who thinks the driving age should be raised?

Question

It's heart breaking to hear about the young teenagers killed in car accidents. When I was 18 (now 24) there were 3 people killed in car accidents that attended my school. 2 of the accidents were just weeks apart. The accidents could have been prevented. If one would have just waited a minute before he pulled out he would still be here today. The other didn't wear his seat belt and the last was speeding. I wasn't a very safe drive at 16 either. How many of you were really "safe" drivers? I never took anything seriously because I honestly thought nothing would ever happen to me. But now that I am "mature" and a mother of two, I take driving very seriously and I don't care who passes me or if I'm only dong 40 in a 55!! I have my life and my childrens life to think about. When I was 16 my friends and I were just careless and never thought about the lives of others. I think SOME teenagers just want to be cool and aren't mature enough to drive @ 16. I know some teenages are responsible tho!

Answer 1

Mother of two at 24? Good luck with that... Kids are a handful!

I think the driving age should actually be reduced, but the restrictions should be increased. Let a kid get her/his learner's permit at 14-15, but s/he must be supervised by a fully licensed driver for 2-3 years instead of only 8 months. Driving school should be mandatory. That would let people get more experience before they start driving on their own.

The problem with upping the age limit, is that new drivers will go to college before having their license... and a car is a huge part of college life (everyone knows a guy/girl with a car in college). Then after college, its off to the work world. Not having a license at this point will be very restrictive on career options, especially with so little work experience having only just graduated.

Answer 2

I think the driving age should be raised to 17 or 18. A lot of teenagers are too immature to be driving a car at 16. My parents made me wait until I was almost 17 before I got my license. When I was in high school we lost at least one student every year in a traffic accident. A lot of times I think parents let their kids get their license before they are ready. I have a teenage girl that lives next door to me and I don't think she should have a license. She speeds through our subdivision all the time in the middle of the road. Her parents stay gone all the time and she pretty much comes and goes as she pleases. I think if parents would keep better tabs on their kids and also make them wait until they are ready to get a driver license maybe we would have less accidents.

Answer 3

I do..................

MARCH 2008

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year olds.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,490 drivers in this age group died in motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and an additional 272,000 were injured.

Drivers age 15- to 20-years old accounted for 12.9 percent of all the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 16 percent of all the drivers involved in police-reported crashes.

Twenty-five percent of teen drivers killed were intoxicated. In 2002 (latest data available) the estimated economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 was $40.8 billion, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov ).

Among licensed drivers, young people between the ages of 15 and 20 have the highest rate of fatal crashes relative to other age groups, including the elderly. In fact, the risk of being involved in a fatal crash for teens is three times greater than for drivers age 65 to 69.

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens.

Answer 4

"Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens."    from the post of UCANTSEEME above.

If not raising the driving age,  we need to be more restrictive of teen licenses,   violations should lead to suspension of privileges.     Too many teens are not learning responsible behavior,   are spoiled and think they can do what they wish without consequences.

Answer 5

no it shouldn't

if the idiot was driving like a idiot they deserve everything they get

ive been driving since i was 17 and i never broke the law in my car, i am a cautious driver.

no one never matures, they get more sense but someone with a new toy will lose that sense its human nature to show off

Answer 6

Although I'm 26 and it wouldn't affect me, I would say not to raise the age limit, but to have certain reasonable restrictions on teen drivers.  This is why:

When I was in driver's ed, they played an episode of Oprah on this very subject.  There was a motor vehicle accident expert who said that a 40 year old just learning how to drive is just as likely to get in a car accident as a 16 year old learning how to drive, because a lot of it has to do with driving experience.  The expert on Oprah then said that the difference is that a 16 year old can be give adult supervision, while the 40 year old can't be given much supervision.  

I've always remembered that Oprah episode that we were shown in driver's ed, and so my opinion has always been similar to that.  Of course, that doesn't mean that there can't be certain restrictions on teen drivers, like passengers they can carry unless they have someone 21 or older in the vehicle, etc (adds to the supervision part of it).  Although motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers, it's also the leading number one cause of death for people ages 4 through 33.  Part of that is also because people in that age group are less likely to die from health complications, even if car accidents are among the leading causes of death in the U.S as a whole.  We don't need to raise the driving age to 33, and make it so those who are older than 4 can't be in a motor vehicle.



Also, when I was 18, I was in a car accident where I was broadsided on my driver's door; luckily I was the only one in my car (actually my parents car, it was a cheap one that they bought at an auction).  It crushed in the car quite a bit on my driver's side.  They had to use the jaws of life to get me out, I was also going in and out of consciousness, mostly unconscious at that time.  I went to the ER, then I went to the Intensive Care Unit.  I had a half week before college was starting for me, and the doctor said if I left then I would die!  I have to admit, that did sound kind of freaky!  The car insurance I had only covers medial bills up to $3,000, which the medical expenses quickly went up to around $20,000.  Luckily I was on my parents health insurance, which picked up for medical expenses after that.  Besides that, the social support system probably was better than it would have been if I would have been 22 or so.  I would rather have "learning accidents" when a teenager than when much older.

Answer 7

Yes i think that would be grand and next to get all those old geezers off who drive about 5 mph on interstate 75