FREE ESSAY ON DRIVING AGE

DRIVING AGE

Turning the age of sixteen is a huge step in the life of a teen. When becoming the age of
sixteen a new challenge is brought into a person's life, the task of driving a car. But
are sixteen year olds ready for this for this task. Driving a car is a task that should
only be taken on by teens over the age of eighteen year olds because they are more
responsible and understand the risk involved, there brain is underdeveloped and most of
the driving they do is unnecessary. 
In today's society the idea of sixteen and seventeen year olds operating cars has become
a way of life. But if one stop's to think about it there is no need for these drivers to
be on the road. Most of these drivers still live at home and have no job because they're
still in school. So they have no job to drive to or from. To go to school they can take
the bus or be dropped off by their parents. From past experiences when I was this age I
know how much useless driving I use to do. In Atlanta there is a huge problem with smog
that is caused by to many cars on the road. The Department of transportation is always
thinking up new ways to resolve this problem. The months when school is in session is
when smog is at it's highest. By taking these drivers off the road it would cut down on
smog because they would be forced to ride the bus. When I was sixteen me and my friends
use to load up in a car and just drive around town all night. Most of the time we would
end up doing stuff to get in trouble. 
Another problem with these drivers is they are very irresponsible and put other drivers
in danger on the road in danger. Recent statistics show that most drivers who are caught
speeding or involved in automobile accidents are under the age of eighteen. This is
because the drivers have no responsibility and cannot handle the task of driving a car.
In Georgia congress members have noticed this problem and are working on an amendment
that would raise the driving age to eighteen. By raising the driving age to eighteen it
would give these teens more time to mature before getting behind the wheel of a car.
Sixteen and seventeen year old are still going through puberty and learning more about
what the real world is like. During these extra two years there is a lot that can be
learned about responsibility. When driving a car irresponsibly it puts the person behind
the wheel and others people on the road at risk. During my senior year in in high school
there were five people killed in car accidents that went to my school. Four of these five
people were under the age of eighteen. One person who was killed was a good friend of
mine. She was driving on a road one night that had very sharp curves. When she came up on
a sharp curve she lost control of the car and ran off the road striking a tree. She was
rushed to the hospital but died later on that night. The speed limit on this road was
thirty-five. Investigators of the accident said she was going at least seventy when she
ran of the road. A responsible driver would realize the risk involved in driving this
fast and would more than likely slow down. If only she was a little older and faced with
this situation she would have slowed down. 
From the age of sixteen to eighteen there is a lot of development going on in the brain.
A major part of the brain that is developing is the part that deals with judgement.
Judgement is used in many different ways when driving a car. When driving on the
interstate you use judgement to decide how closely to follow the car in front of you or
when do begin to stop when coming up on a red light. Sometimes these situations require
spur of the moment decisions that a fully developed mind cannot handle. A person under
the age of eighteen may not be able to decide as quickly and make the wrong decision. A
study was down on brain development that showed that during the teenage years the brain
is developing very rapidly. The study was down by monitoring the growth of a group of
teens throughout there teenage years. The study shows that two extra years can lead to a
large amount of brain development. So by keeping teens off the road for another two years
will cause them to have better judgement which makes them better drivers in decision
making in situations that happen very quickly.
The idea of sixteen year old drivers has always been accepted in the United States. A lot
of these drivers are do not belong on the road . Some states have realized that these
drivers are unsafe and have either passed or are working on amendments to raise the
driving age. People must come to realize the problems with underage drivers, some have
learned the hard way by having accidents with these drivers.