Kazmi 1

Syed Kazmi (s.kazmi@csuohio.edu)

Instructor Brentar

ENG 102

18 Sep 2010

16 Year Old driver; A License to Kill:

Driving is one of the biggest charms of United States

teenagers. One can move around and achieve many goals faster by

having a fast ride. Off-course this brought a new wave of life,

and made life easier and faster, which soon brought a notion of

independency.

To promote the importance of one’s driving; recently we

have seen a reduction in the minimum age to drive in many states

of our country. It might be dream come true for many minors, but

I advocate that the law, permitting sixteen years old to drive

should be revisited.

In United States, allowing 16 year old to drive, invokes

many concerns including social, economical, environmental and

safety.

At sixteen, teens are still immature. Indeed they may well

still not be responsible enough at 18. This immaturity means

that they often cause accidents killing either themselves, their

passengers or unlucky bystanders. On the other hand, the common

teenager habits including texting and the involvement in music

could be a cause of distraction behind the wheel.

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Few countries think 16 and 17 years old teens are mature

enough to vote, drink and smoke; and most allow them to get

behind the wheel of a car, even though it is a dangerous weapon

in the wrong hands. However, American society usually sees 18 as

the age at which young people become adults. Why shouldn’t

driving be one of the privileges and responsibilities of

adulthood?

Teenage drivers are particularly dangerous, so delaying

when they get a license will make the roads much safer for

everyone. Young people have a different attitude to driving

compared to older ones. For example, they can be fearless and

thrill-seeking, taking risks that older drivers would not

ordinarily take. They see good driving as the ability to control

their car at high speed. They are also more influenced by peer

pressure and more competitive, both of which make risky behavior

more likely.

Raising the driving age will mean that fewer cars will be

driven. Having fewer vehicles on the road will benefit society

as a whole; first, it will reduce overcrowding on the roads,

easing congestion and allowing the remaining traffic to flow

more freely. Second, cars are a major source of pollution and

especially pump out a lot of carbon dioxide which contributes to

climate change. Any measure which reduces car use should

therefore be supported.
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The proponents of the law that permits sixteen year old to

drive, argue that, young drivers aren't necessarily dangerous;

therefore, by raising the age does not guarantee a reduction in

accidents. The reason why drivers crash is due to a lack of

experience? For example, an eighteen year old with one year

worth of experience is just as likely to crash as a sixteen year

old with one year experience. For that matter, it would be the

same as a 35 year old with one year experience. Therefore, by

raising the age limit would not dramatically reduce accidents,

injuries or fatalities.

As an opponent of the current law permitting sixteen year

old to drive, I believe that, it involves many questions to be

answered including: the maturity factor of the driver? How

responsible one is? And what is the level of his decision

making? Among people, these measurements vary upon their society

they live in, their role in their everyday life and in their

practice in common sense. But the most general and easy way to

determine these factors would be the age factor; which means,

how old one is? That is, it is a common observation that we

notice betterment in all these factors by age.

Other proponents of allowing sixteen year old driver

believe that, many, who go to college will hardly have any time

to learn how to drive, in that case it would be a better idea,

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to learn driving at younger age; that will give them more time

to practice.

As an opponent of the current law of teen to learn how to

drive, I believe that it should be delayed until an adequate

time and attention that is necessary required to learn the skill

to drive. People go to college in various ages, so a person who

is in college would have more developed maturity and decision

making as compared to a student in high school.

In conclusion, allowing 16 year old driver is not in a

favor of any society of United State. Increase in maximum age to

get driving license, will reduce the number of serious/fatal

road accidents. In an effort to find a solution other that

restricting sixteen year old; we can impose certain limitations.

These limitations could restrict teens before they earn a full

license. Ideal laws would set the minimum age, for a permit at

sixteen, limit passengers to one, ban cell phones, prohibit

driving between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., and not allow a full license

until age 18. Such tough phase-in laws could definitely keep our

children safe and will decrease death rate among sixteen years

old.