There are arguments that the legal driving age is too low, and this causes an unacceptably high level of traffic accidents. Raising the driving age, would ensure young drivers are more experienced and less prone to rash judgements which can put other road users at risk. Arguments for raising the legal driving age include:
1. Cut the number of deaths
The highest death rate for drivers is amongst the age group 17-25. If the driving age is increased there would a be a fall in fatalities arising from motor car use. This has a significant economic benefit.
2. Cut Congestion.
Fewer drivers on the road will reduce congestion and therefore reduce costs for firms
3. Reduce Obesity
Driving encourages the population to become lazy and obese. If people can’t drive they will be forced to walk, use public transport and cycle. This will help lead to a healthier population, which in turn leads to less strain on the NHS
4. Young drivers overestimate their skill
Young drivers, especially male drivers, are likely to overestimate their ability to drive at speed and in difficult conditions. For people of school age, there is often great peer pressure to drive excessively and in a dangerous way.
However, raising the driving age to 21 is rather a crude mechanism to raise some issues from young drivers.
Disadvantages of Raising Driving Age
- Is public transport good enough to provide an alternative? People in rural areas will be at a disadvantage and struggle to travel to work and visit friends
- Train travel is much more expensive than car use. Young people are already struggling with high rents and cost of education.
- Reduced mobility of young people can have an economic cost; it would lead to geographical immobility and geographical unemployment
- There are much better ways to tackle issues of pollution and congestion than raising the driving age. For example, using electronic-road pricing could better manage demand and congestion levels.
- High traffic accidents amongst young drivers are a problem, however, a better solution may be to improve standards of driving tests and stricter enforcement of speed limits. People have to learn to drive at some time.
- Lower demand for cars and therefore lower output in the car industry.
- It is an arbitrary denial of freedom to choose.
Conclusion
Raising the driving age to 21 is not a good idea. There is a stronger case for raising the driving age to 18 (though as a compromise people could be learner driver from the age of 17.
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I think all of this is “absurd” you dont need to change the driving age because if you do you’ll probably just end up with more teens breaking the law and driving without a lisense. You should just make the tests harder to take so then you can give a lisense to someone that you feel confident will be focused on the road instead of on a cell phone or more concerened about what song is on the radio.
lets just keep at 18 if you people don’t mind
I have to admit that I would like to drive soon as but if they raise the age then I will become more lazy and not feel like there is something to look forward to when am older and in the zone for driving. If they raise the age for driving I will in the future find it harder to attend earning money. Example: A job that pays well but takes energy and getting up in the morning and bussing or walking to where I would work, when I could get up in the morning and want to go to work because I can drive there and it would only take me 5 minutes or so as aposed to 20-30 minutes. What would an 16 year old do without being able to wake up in the morning or afternoon and driving to his mates place or to something social like the movies? Come on… Do we seriously want teens being and getting bored of life and it’s rules? I don’t know about you… but what if that WAS you?
I think that if the driving age is raised a lot of teenagers will become more accelerated to drive under the legal age and if that occures then there is gonna be a lot more people being arrested for driving under age. DONT RAISE THE AGE!!!
Listen yeah the diving age should not be changed to 18 or even to 21. There are going to be big problems and more people being arrested for driving without a license. Teenagers need to travel to college and university so it will be a big problem.
I strongly disagree with raising the driving age to 18, however I believe that other measures should be put in place to reduce the amount of road deaths. For example, people should have to re-take their tests every x number of years in order that crazy drivers are removed from the roads and perhaps other rules such as people under a certain age not being able to carry young passengers or drink any alcohol and drive after a certain time would be appropriate.