Why should the driving age be lowerd?

Question

should the driving age be lowerd? i am in middle school debate class and i need to know what people think! are kids to imiture to start driving or is it good for them to have freedom?

Answer 1

If anything it should be highered. When you get the idiots who pass there tests and the same day start rallying round with the music blaring thinking they are some kinda gangster really aggravates me. They spoil it for everyone else it the sense of insurance. Its only a matter of time before the age is higher.

Answer 2

People younger than 20 don't have their good senses matured yet.  All too often they find it more important to text on their phones or carry on conversations with friends in the back seat instead of watching out for which pedestrians they are about to kill.  I know this happens with people of many ages but much more often with teenagers.

Answer 3

It shouldn't be lowered at all.  At one time it was possible to get a driver's license at 14 in some states; having it at all gave young people the privilege of driving in any state.  No state does that anymore - the accident rate was too high.

Several states have gone to "graduated" licenses, which permit limited driving to the youngest licensed drivers, with greater privileges granted as the driver ages.

Long experience has shown that 16 is about as young as the average driver can be and be expected to handle the responsibilities of handling a large, powerful device that requires constant attention, constant correction, and can kill or injure many people at once.  And even then, the insurance companies aren't completely convinced: families with young drivers pay more.  Insurance premiums go down as drivers age.  They wouldn't do that if younger drivers weren't a greater risk on average.

Too much freedom is a bad thing.  Consider kids you know: the ones who have the most "freedom," the ones who are least encumbered by any family rules, have little supervision, are they really happy?  Do they get into a lot of trouble, test limits all the time, step on other people's toes?  Freedom is one of those things that isn't respected unless it's earned and retained by understanding that too much freedom is anarchy - an utter disregard for the rights and needs of others.

Answer 4

Kids still play video games.  Don't seem to know physics - or pain -.  Should not be lowered because they will off the legal  responsibilities onto their parents.      Not good.   They need to go to jail.  They need to repay society.      They can only do that when they become an independent adult who pays taxes, medical, insurances and has to work for a living.    Driving is not a game.

Answer 5

The driving age should not be lowered, and it should not be raised. The problem isn't the age of drivers on the road. If the legal age was raised to 18, then the 18 year olds would be the irresponsible ones. Maybe the problem wouldn't be quite as severe as it is with younger drivers, but the problem of inexperienced drivers cannot be eliminated no matter what  you set as a legal driving age.

The solution needs to be more proactive. Driving schools and supervised learning needs to have a larger emphasis on it. You can't blame kids for what they were never taught.

Answer 6

I think it should be highered to 21. 17 - are far too immature and irresponsible to be in charge of a car.

Answer 7

stay the same. anything below 15 1/2 is too young.

Answer 8

no we are not to immature to be driving. I think it should be lowered but with the exceptions of there parents because if they think there own children are old enough than we shoul believe them

Answer 9

Absolutely not...If anything it should be raised to 18 for a learner's permit...Although there aren't any special physical skills required to operate a motor vehicle, it demands 100% mental focus because it is so easy to do...Failure to concentrate on every aspect of driving can ruin one's life (and perhaps the lives of several others) in the blink of an eye.

Answer 10

No.it should not be lowered at all, it should be raised..........

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 11

I think the laws should stay the same.

Answer 12

for now it should stay like it is,its low enough right now,if we lower it it will only cause more deaths and injury you need to be a certain age to handle the responsibility of owing and driving a car,its more than just getting in one and driving it,its like driving a 4 thousand pound bullet every time you hit the roads in a car,you can potentially do harm to yourself and others,i think the driving age is low enough for now,good luck