The Driving Age In Tennessee Essay Research

Paper

The Driving Age in Tennessee

The driving age should be raised to the age of eighteen for many reasons. The group of people at highest risk for having an automobile accident are those who are sixteen years of age. Many accidents within this age group can be attributed to

immaturity, ignorance, and lack of experience. Problems such as these can only be corrected by time and better education.

First, most sixteen-year-olds lack the maturity to have a life-threatening responsibility such as driving. Although some teenagers are perfectly capable of assuming

the responsibility of driving at sixteen, one must take into account the entire age group in order to make a good decision. Maturity evolves with aging. Unfortunately, most sixteen-year-olds have not yet acquired the maturity necessary to responsibly drive an

automobile.

Second, ignorance causes many sixteen-year-olds to be unprepared for driving. The test given in order to receive a driver s license is inadequate. Even so, it is the teenagers responsibility to educate himself on how to properly share the road with others. Again, most sixteen-year-olds lack the mental determination to fully educate themselves and understand the responsibility of driving.

Third, sixteen-year-olds lack a sufficient amount of experience to drive without assistance. Most teenagers have been driving only a limited time before they receive their

license. More practice is needed for sixteen-year-olds to be comfortable with everything that driving an automobile encompasses. Experience is the most important aspect of driving, and it can only be obtained through time and practice.

Sixteen-year-olds, on the whole, should not be allowed to drive an automobile under the current rules and guidelines set forth to receive a license. They are not mature or educated enough and lack the necessary experience to drive responsibly in our society

today. Many other countries have set their driving ages to eighteen, yet the proud American society of today has chosen to ignore the countless problems with its new drivers. If the driving age was raised to eighteen, and new rules and regulations were enacted, many of the problems associated with young drivers would surely vanish.