Policy Paper
SHOULD THE DRIVING AGE BE INCREASED?
SHOULD THE DRIVING AGE BE INCREASED?
By: Aaron Keilman
By: Aaron Keilman
DRIVING AGE Over the past decade, the legal driving age has been a hotly debated topic around the US. Most teen drivers nowadays believe that they are immune to the dangers of driving. Sadly, the numbers prove otherwise. The number of accidents per year by teens statistically, is a lot more than the number of accidents involving adults. For a decade now, teen driving accidents have been the leading cause of death for teenagers nationwide. Because of the amount of deaths of teenage drivers, some states have started to delay the age at which people are allowed to have full driving privileges. But the real question is; will increasing the driving age decrease the amount of deaths involving new drivers? Some people believe that it won’t help at all. Others believe increasing the legal age will reduce the amount of deaths dramatically. According to the article “Update: Teen Driving”, “Since 1996, every state has adopted some type of “graduated driver’s license” program”. The article says that Florida was the first implement the GDL program by placing a number of restrictions on teen drivers such as night driving, limiting the number of passengers they can transport at a time, and requiring them to log the amount of hours they spend behind the wheel with adult supervision before they gain full legal driving privileges. Almost all states have implemented this kind of program for beginner drivers. Depending on the state, teens are also required to complete some sort of extra driving education or additional tests before being legally licensed. Government policies such as these GDL programs are designed to help reduce the amount of accidents involving teenage drivers and to prevent increasing deaths. However, some people still believe these programs are not enough to lower the fatalities of teenage drivers. There are many arguments
SHOULD THE DRIVING AGE BE INCREASED?
By: Aaron Keilman
By: Aaron Keilman
DRIVING AGE Over the past decade, the legal driving age has been a hotly debated topic around the US. Most teen drivers nowadays believe that they are immune to the dangers of driving. Sadly, the numbers prove otherwise. The number of accidents per year by teens statistically, is a lot more than the number of accidents involving adults. For a decade now, teen driving accidents have been the leading cause of death for teenagers nationwide. Because of the amount of deaths of teenage drivers, some states have started to delay the age at which people are allowed to have full driving privileges. But the real question is; will increasing the driving age decrease the amount of deaths involving new drivers? Some people believe that it won’t help at all. Others believe increasing the legal age will reduce the amount of deaths dramatically. According to the article “Update: Teen Driving”, “Since 1996, every state has adopted some type of “graduated driver’s license” program”. The article says that Florida was the first implement the GDL program by placing a number of restrictions on teen drivers such as night driving, limiting the number of passengers they can transport at a time, and requiring them to log the amount of hours they spend behind the wheel with adult supervision before they gain full legal driving privileges. Almost all states have implemented this kind of program for beginner drivers. Depending on the state, teens are also required to complete some sort of extra driving education or additional tests before being legally licensed. Government policies such as these GDL programs are designed to help reduce the amount of accidents involving teenage drivers and to prevent increasing deaths. However, some people still believe these programs are not enough to lower the fatalities of teenage drivers. There are many arguments