Alyssa Anderson
Composition 101
Professor Luxenberg
3 March 2014
Raise the Driving Age or Continue to Kill Teenagers
Many people say that the driving age should remain at the age of 16 in the state of
Connecticut. It is helpful for teens to be able to drive themselves to school, work and extra
curricular activities, it helps them to learn responsibility, and there are rigorous tests in
order for teens to receive their permits and licenses. But I side with the philosopher
Bentham and I say that the driving age should be raised to 18 to reduce the number of teen
fatalities, allow teens more time for brain development, and also reduce the number of
teens who break the laws. There have been many studies that say 16 year olds have a
higher crash rate than any other motor vehicle operators, raising the driving age would
eliminate this. Also, by raising the driving age to 18 teens would have more time for their
brains to develop and both their hand and eye coordination and reaction times would
improve significantly in these two years. Furthermore, teens are more likely to drive
distracted by cell phones and friends or to drive at high speeds.
They say that by keeping the driving age at 16 teens will be able to help out their
parents by driving to school, work, and extra curricular activities. This is true, but teens
have more of a chance of getting in an accident than adults. Also, by allowing teens to
receive their license at the age of 16 they will learn responsibility and to hopefully make
good decisions behind the wheel. But, studies show that the brain has not developed all of
the required skills to drive a car at the age of 16. Lastly, in the state of Connecticut you are
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required to pass a written test to receive your permit, drivers education classes, on roads
with a driving instructor, and a driving test to receive your license four to six months after
you are given your permit. Although getting your license is a rigorous test in the state of
Connecticut, once teens receive their licenses they still are likely to drive recklessly by
texting and driving, talking to or fooling around with friends, and speeding.
Raising the driving age from 16 to 18 will significantly decrease the number of
motor vehicle accidents involving teenagers. “Statistics have shown one of every five 16-
year-olds will be in a severe motor vehicle crash within two years of getting their license-
and that number is only rising- yet only for drivers 17 years old and younger. At 18, the rate
of crashes drastically declines” (Brandes). When I was in seventh grade I lost one of my best
friends due to a motor vehicle accident. The driver was her brother; 17-year-old Anthony
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