The legal driving age should be raised to 18
Eagle Hunt, Abby Sutton, and The Civil Discourse Program
The fatal crash rate per mile driven for youth ages 16-19 is nearly three times more than drivers 20 and older. These numbers are alarming and highlight the critical need for intervention. A vehicle is powerful and can be just as dangerous as a gun. The consequences of inexperienced and reckless behavior behind the wheel threaten the safety of everyone on the road. This is why the minimum age to receive a driver’s license should be raised to 18.
Distracted driving is a major issue that all age groups face. However, teens are especially susceptible to this type of behavior due to their emotional maturity and lack of experience on the road. According to the CDC, in 2019, a higher percentage of drivers ages 15–20 were distracted during fatal crashes than drivers age 21 and older in the U.S. Distractions include texting, smoking weed, and goofing off with friends while driving. It’s not uncommon now to see young people scrolling TikTok while driving. These behaviors are dangerous and stupid. Driving under the influence is another risk factor for teens. The US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism cites that 15.1% of youth ages 12-20 drank alcohol within the past month. When Eagle went to high school In 2019, he knew someone who got into a major car crash while driving under the influence. They attempted to make a 25 mph turn while driving over 100 mph and nearly died. At the time, there were a lot of people who thought that type of behavior was cool. None of them considered the possibility that this behavior could have led to another driving fatality statistic. This highlights the next reason to increase the driving age to 18: emotional maturity.
Emotional maturity is another factor to consider when discussing whether the driving age should be raised. The teenage brain is a work in progress. The prefrontal cortex of the brain doesn’t fully develop for most people until around the age of 25. This means that although teens exhibit some logical reasoning, they may struggle with poor judgment, impulsive decision-making, and managing their emotions. Teens seek adrenaline rushes and excitement. This can lead to risky behaviors behind the wheel, including recklessness. When Abby was 16, she and many of her friends made poor decisions behind the wheel due to emotional immaturity. Abby knows a number of peers from high school who got in serious auto accidents where cars were totaled, and life-altering injuries occurred, including broken necks. She also recalls many close incidents where something could’ve gone very wrong. Now that she’s, Abby can’t imagine driving the way she used to, or getting in the car and being a passenger of anyone who makes horrible decisions behind the wheel.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. The government is not obligated to grant driver’s licenses to teenagers. However, it is obligated to ensure that roads are safe. Increasing the driver’s age is a sensible step for saving lives.
The legal driving age should not be raised to 18
Ryland Bickley, Clayton Lynch, and The Civil Discourse Program
Those advocating for raising the driving age have good intentions. However, this change will likely have a negligible effect on safety. It will also stifle young people’s development.
While younger drivers are overrepresented in car crash statistics, there’s reason to believe that age is not the biggest factor at play. A 2020 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that crash rates were highest for drivers with less than one year of experience, “regardless of age.” The study even found that for drivers with only seven months to one year of experience, those aged 55 and over actually had worse crash rates than younger drivers. The study did acknowledge that age does seem to have an effect on the statistics, but showed the biggest issue is inexperience – something that all drivers will deal with at some point, regardless of when they begin. As a result, it’s clear that we should place more emphasis on training younger drivers in a better way.
A 2023 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that around 55% of young people (age group 16-24) were employed in July of 2023, a number that’s actually been low post-pandemic. The majority of young Americans are working – and many have to – making driving a skill many have to acquire as soon as possible. Pushing the driving age back will not only greatly inconvenience a number of 16 and 17-year-olds who desperately need jobs, but it will also require them to master driving in a dangerously short timeframe once they turn 18 as they scramble to find employment.
Under the current proposition, teens would still likely be able to practice with their permit at a younger age. However, supervised driving is a completely different beast than driving alone. Ryland didn’t feel completely comfortable driving all by himself for a few months after he got his license, lacking the confidence to drive in traffic or outside his small town. Learning still takes place after young people pass the driving test, and by compressing that process, crash data will still heavily overrepresent inexperienced drivers, perhaps at an even greater rate.
Raising the driving age would hinder our youth’s ability to transform into responsible young adults. It’s understandable that people may want to raise the driving age due to younger drivers causing accidents and acting irresponsibly on the road. However, raising it would not be an effective method to combat this claim as people of various ages can be a danger on the roadway. The responsibility of driving was one of the biggest factors that improved Clayton’s maturity and understanding of responsibility when he was sixteen. The fact that he knew he was allowed to operate a machine that could very easily cause harm to one or multiple people really helped him come to understand the real weight and influence his actions have on the people around him.
While raising the driving age may seem like a good way to prevent crashes for young drivers, the truth is that this method is the “easy way out.” What example is being set for future generations when we decide to hinder the very few privileges they get at that age?
Ultimately, we have a responsibility to explore other means of resolution before imposing heavier restrictions on our youth.
