Should the minimum driving age be raised? That is the question many are asking, yet none have provided compelling evidence. With that being said I put forth the following examples as to why the minimum driving age should be raised.
Spanning the past 5 years an outstanding 37% of all vehicular crashes in the state of Virginia have been caused as a result of teen drivers; teens driving distracted make up 11% of the total. While 11% of these crashes are a result of distracted teens only 4% of all wrecks were caused by distracted adults. If you were to take a look at the crash records in Queensland, Australia, where the driving age is 19 and above, you would observe a significantly lower amount of crashes.
In the opinion of Jim Lahey, Head of Sunnyvale traffic and parking control, the rise in teen related crashes in the past four years is a result of children getting behind the wheel without much training or discipline. As a result 68% of said teens are operating vehicles distracted and even under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Although much of the teens drive distracted, so do adults, meaning our kids need to know how to drive defensively. With this rise in crashes, if we don't take action
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For example, Michael Scott, the father of 16 year old driver Jacob, has stated that his son has a bad habit of speeding. When questioned about the issue Jacob said he does it because it is fun and he likes the rush. Teenagers like Jacob are the reason that a majority of these crashes occur. With this being said, there are a select few teenagers who have it figured out. The YDOA (Young Drivers Of America) is local, youth run, program that offers driving tips and safety precautions to drivers like Jacob. So far the outcome of this program has yielded an amazing 11% decrease in immature teen driver wrecks. In conclusion, I believe the driving age should be raised to counteract these unnecessary