Fixing the Root Cause of the Problem of Teenage Car Accidents

In a world that is constantly changing, new laws can rarely be avoided. Recently, several new laws involving motorized vehicles have been passed. Many of these laws involve the wellbeing of other drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other people who use the road. Roads are becoming unsafe, due to distractions, or, in some cases, inexperience. Laws have already been passed regarding texting while driving, which is now banned, but some states are even beginning to consider stricter laws: raising the age to legally drive.

The leading cause of death among teens involves car crashes, so, perhaps these laws are necessary in reducing this tragic death rate. As a freshman, learning to drive and getting my license is a priority, simply because I feel the need to become more independent, and so that I can chauffeur myself to my extra-curricular activities. Of course, I feel that it is unfair that I should have to wait until I’m eighteen versus sixteen.

Believe it or not, some states, such as New Jersey, have already passed a law raising the legal driving age from sixteen to eighteen.

A few other states are also currently discussing the passing of this law. Statistics are showing that the states who have already raised the ages are having less teen deaths in car wrecks. Studies also show that the human brain isn’t quite developed or mature by the age of sixteen, so reckless or care-free driving can be common among teenagers with a license. According to Adrian Lund of the Governors Highway Safety Association in Arizona, told CBS News that the idea is “a tough sell”.

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While inexperienced drivers are obviously a risk, it seems that he is sympathetic with teenagers waiting an extra two years in order to get their license.

Despite the dangers that green drivers pose, I strongly believe that raising the age of when teenagers can get their license is not necessary. It may not be the fact that the drivers are inexperienced that is causing the accidents; it may just be the fact that they might be careless, tired (a common thing among teenagers), or maybe just stressed out. There are plenty of drivers out there who have been driving for a long time, but are still not very good despite their experience. On the other hand, there are some fairly new drivers who are pretty good out on the road. Perhaps this is a misjudgment on the government’s part, but everyone is different.
On the other side of the story, some teenagers are simply too irresponsible or careless to drive, simply because their parents never bothered teaching them the skills required for having good character. While this is not necessarily the teenagers’ faults, the roads could be so much safer if the only people driving were those who had plenty of experience and had good judgment. As I stated before, after studies were conducted by New Jersey following the change of law (which raised the age), less accidents involving teens were reported. In addition to that, if a driver has their friends with them in the car, then the influence of their peers might cause them to be a little more reckless, possibly even causing a wreck. Maybe the roads would be safer without teen drivers.

Despite the somewhat reasonable claims of the other side of the argument, I firmly believe that the age for obtaining a driving license should stay the same. I don’t think that the problem is in the teenagers, but the parents, simply because they failed in teaching their kids responsibility. We live in a society where people are so sucked into technology that they hardly look up except for work and sleep. Both children and adults are getting addicted to technology, and people are becoming irresponsible and impatient. A child looks up to their parents and learn from their actions, so if parents are becoming irresponsible, then kids are beginning to learn that it’s okay to spend hours at a time staring at a television or phone screen. So maybe instead of looking into fixing the problem by raising the age of drivers, we should look into fixing the problems in our society first.

In conclusion, I think that the age in which teenage drivers can obtain their licenses is perfectly reasonable, because the students are at a point in which they are beginning to become mature and break away. The problem is that parents are beginning to become irresponsible, and it’s greatly affecting the rising generation. If teenagers today are beginning to become irresponsible, then their children will follow their example, and the behavior of future drivers will be transformed. Instead of focusing on the problem, we should target what is causing the problem, and try to change it so that future generations won’t be effected by the rising problems in today’s society.