Teanage Driving Essay Example for Free

Teanage Driving Essay Imagine you just hit a car head-on. It’s probably because you are under the influence. This is why experts say the driving age should be raised to age 18. The minimum driving age differs from state to state. The lowest driving age in the United States is 13. That is in the state of Nebraska. You have to be thirteen years old qualify for a â€Å"farm husbandry permit.† The 13 year old can operate off-road vehicles used in farming. The government is considering raising the legal driving age. It should be raised because most of the teens who will or are driving will be doing things they know they should not do. They do things like texting on their cell phone and speeding over the limit. It is also because they are under peer pressure. Car accidents are mostly caused be teenagers. They take their own lives when they don’t wear their seat belts or are out past their curfews. The law keeps the voting age at 18 and buying alcohol at 21 but let a 16 years old have the responsibility of taking the busy streets. The legal driving age should be raised to age 18 because most teenagers are not responsible, most teens text while driving, and lives can be saved. First, the driving age should be raised because most teens are not responsible. Car crashes that are caused by teenage drivers are the number one killer of teens in America today. They kill most between 15 and 21 year old. 13% of teens said that they have been in a car with the driver had drunk alcohol before driving. 14% of teens say that they drive after drinking. 36% of teens say that they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking. Motor vehicle crashes kill between 5,000 to 6,000 people every year. Driving is something that requires focus and decision making. Teenagers are still developing self-control and appropriate emotional responses to a situation that might be going on. â€Å"Road rage† is used to describe the emotional response of something like anger or frustration that teens can experience while behind the wheel. Some teenagers’ get hurt just because they know that they should put on their seat belt and they don’t. Also, it is because the teenager doesn’t go home at their curfew. If a teenager wears his seat belt; it reduces the risk of dying by 45%. Teenagers are the youngest people to not wear their seat belt. Teenage drivers are more likely to have a car accident since they’re under the influence of alcohol. A driver’s license provides privileges other than driving. Four out of six teens that drinks and drive kill drivers 20 or younger that result in a fatal crash. One out of three teens will have a car accident within the first two years of driving. Secondly, the driving age should be raised because teens are texting while driving. 56% of teenagers answer and make phone calls while they are driving. 13% of teens say that they have sent and responded to text messages while driving. 45% of teens said that they would speak up if someone else was driving in a way that scared them. Texting while driving gives you a four times of a chance to having a car accident. Distracted drivers account for 80% of crashes that was from 18 to 20 year old. If we get teenagers off of the roads, then there would be fewer car crashes. Next, if teenagers don’t drive, lives can be saved. Allison Reboratti was a 19 year old. She had boyfriend named Steven Filipak. They both are in the state of Pennsylvania. Steven had driven them to Steven’s friend’s house. Steven got drunk and passed out. When he got conscious the both of them left. He got conscious on the early morning of May 9, 2001. Allison had let Steven drive the car home. Neither of them had their seat belt on when Steven had lost control of the car. He had hit a sign post, a fence, and an evergreen tree. Someone had called the paramedics. When the paramedics arrived, Allison was found dead lying across Steven’s lap. Steven was breathing, but unconscious. He was taken to the hospital. He had broken bones and brain damage. He had to stay in the hospital for five months. This story proves that the driving age should be raised. Male drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in fatal crashes. 37% were speeding and 26% were dri nking. Five percent of teenagers admit to driving a car after drinking alcohol. Eight hundredths percent of drivers have alcohol in their blood. Almost three out of four teen drivers were killed in a crash after drinking and driving and they wasn’t wearing a seat belt. 56% of teen’s deaths occur on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Fatal crashes rate from 16 to 19 year old. Teenage drivers are more likely to get into a car accident than older drivers. 55% of teens said that they go over ten miles per hour the limit. Some teens even go over 80 miles per hour while driving. 17% of teens say that they think that speeding is fun. 44% of teen’s said that they would drive more safely if their friends were not in the car. 67% of teens said that they felt unsafe would when someone else was driving. 37% of teens say that they would ride with one or more friends who speed in the coming year. Over 40% of teen crashes deaths occur between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. 60% of teens’ auto deat hs occur before midnight. Therefore, the driving age should be raised to age 18. It should be raised because most teenagers are not responsible, text while driving, and lives can be saved. Also, it should be raised because most teenagers under age drink and their drinking leads to them having car accidents. Teenagers kill thousands of people every year. Lots of teenagers make and answer phone calls while they are driving. In addition, teens kill more people than mid-aged adults. That concludes the reasons why the driving age should be raised to age 18.