By Brandon D.
Have you ever been driving and have seen some young driver, swerving out of control, texting, or not even following the rules of the road? Well kids that just start driving ( 16-19 ) have the highest fatality rate than any other driving group, elderly and adults. So should the license or permit age be raised past 16-17 to 18-19?
To begin with, maturity behind the wheel can put other drivers, passengers, and the teen themselves at risk because of a area of the brain that isn't fully developed, is the one that predicts risks in the future. This part of the brain isn't fully developed to age 25 on average, but 18 year olds have a much more developed brain ( in that area ) than that of many 16 year olds. For example Jim Larsen in " Teen Brain Development and Impact on Safe Driving" he states "The section of the brain most responsible for driving skills is the frontal lobe, which manages the body’s motor skills, emotional maturity, and aversion to taking risks. A dearth of white matter here explains why teenagers are much more likely to speed, disobey traffic signs, and lose control of their vehicles." So basically, when a 16 year old gets their license they can lose control of their vehicle and put other people at risk. Although, it could e along the lines of inexperience, it also has to do with the frontal lobe which like Jim Larsen states, and predicts future risks. So Finally, one of the reasons why we should raise the age from 16 because of immaturity, because they can be a risk to all other drivers on the road, causing many unnecessary deaths among other teens and drivers.
Furthermore, along with immaturity there's another factor, inexperience, which according to The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in "Why are young drivers at a greater risk?" They state " The majority of novice drivers do not have sufficient practical experience to handle the complex task of driving when they are first licensed. Standard driver education courses are only able to provide a minuscule amount of driving practice – not even enough for novice drivers to become minimally competent, much less proficient." So when a new child goes to get a permit/restricted license they even rarely have to get a drivers ed course, and when they do it's very little experience, and then essentially they are released onto the road with little experience and with that in a giant death machine that could kill many people. Inexperience along with maturity is also a big factor in the deaths of 16 year olds, other teens, and adults. When I asked David Abraham another CSMS student on the subject he said this:
Do you think we should raise the age? "I don't think so because the process is complicated and you would get more complaints then complements."
Do you think it would help at all to raise the age?" It would have its pros and cons such as the kids will be more mature and making better decisions. " - David Abraham CSMS student
To conclude, 16 year olds are a risk to everybody on the road, whether it's adults or other teens, it puts everybody at risk. So, we need to increase the driving age because of the immaturity of their brain and the inexperience that they have when they hit the roads.
Have you ever been driving and have seen some young driver, swerving out of control, texting, or not even following the rules of the road? Well kids that just start driving ( 16-19 ) have the highest fatality rate than any other driving group, elderly and adults. So should the license or permit age be raised past 16-17 to 18-19?
To begin with, maturity behind the wheel can put other drivers, passengers, and the teen themselves at risk because of a area of the brain that isn't fully developed, is the one that predicts risks in the future. This part of the brain isn't fully developed to age 25 on average, but 18 year olds have a much more developed brain ( in that area ) than that of many 16 year olds. For example Jim Larsen in " Teen Brain Development and Impact on Safe Driving" he states "The section of the brain most responsible for driving skills is the frontal lobe, which manages the body’s motor skills, emotional maturity, and aversion to taking risks. A dearth of white matter here explains why teenagers are much more likely to speed, disobey traffic signs, and lose control of their vehicles." So basically, when a 16 year old gets their license they can lose control of their vehicle and put other people at risk. Although, it could e along the lines of inexperience, it also has to do with the frontal lobe which like Jim Larsen states, and predicts future risks. So Finally, one of the reasons why we should raise the age from 16 because of immaturity, because they can be a risk to all other drivers on the road, causing many unnecessary deaths among other teens and drivers.
Furthermore, along with immaturity there's another factor, inexperience, which according to The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in "Why are young drivers at a greater risk?" They state " The majority of novice drivers do not have sufficient practical experience to handle the complex task of driving when they are first licensed. Standard driver education courses are only able to provide a minuscule amount of driving practice – not even enough for novice drivers to become minimally competent, much less proficient." So when a new child goes to get a permit/restricted license they even rarely have to get a drivers ed course, and when they do it's very little experience, and then essentially they are released onto the road with little experience and with that in a giant death machine that could kill many people. Inexperience along with maturity is also a big factor in the deaths of 16 year olds, other teens, and adults. When I asked David Abraham another CSMS student on the subject he said this:
Do you think we should raise the age? "I don't think so because the process is complicated and you would get more complaints then complements."
Do you think it would help at all to raise the age?" It would have its pros and cons such as the kids will be more mature and making better decisions. " - David Abraham CSMS student
To conclude, 16 year olds are a risk to everybody on the road, whether it's adults or other teens, it puts everybody at risk. So, we need to increase the driving age because of the immaturity of their brain and the inexperience that they have when they hit the roads.