Check out an article written by one of our students, Annisa Firly Ovila, about raising the driving age to 18 from 17.

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Imagine yourself as a sixteen years old. You’ve just got your driver’s license, and are going to go cruising with your friends to celebrate. However, at about ten o’clock, your attention isn’t on the road, and you crash into another vehicle. Two of your friends die on scene, and your other friend is seriously injured. For thousands of teens each year, this is a reality. Sixteen years old drivers are three times more likely to crash than seventeen years old, five times more likely to crash than eighteen years old, and two times more likely than eighty five years old! I think the driving age should be raised to eighteen in order to protect people for many reasons.

Changing the driving age to eighteen is a good idea because fewer deaths and accidents would result. Several countries have done studies on raising the driving age and found that the younger people start driving, the more likely they’ll crash. It also proved that because younger people’s brains haven’t developed completely, and that reduces their capabilities to be a responsible, safe driver. This is one reason to raise the driving age to eighteen.

Raising the driving age to eighteen would make it so that there would be more time to teach teens how to drive. Many countries have employed the usage of the Graduated Drivers’ Licensing System (GDL). The GDL has given very promising results, with a drastic reduction of car accidents. The GDL system works because it first requires that teenagers take both a class based, and road based course with qualified instructors. Then, once teens have passed that portion and get their license, they have many limits and restrictions set.

One final reason to raise the driving age is because sixteen and seventeen years old have little experience driving. It’s been proven over and over that the longer you learn and practice something, the better you’ll be. Lack of experience is the number one reason why teens are in accidents each year. The reason is sixteen and seventeen years old haven’t dealt with weather complications, construction zones, and animals on the road, so they don’t know how to react. Seat belt usage is also lowest with teens, despite the fact that they protect the wearer, and they are required by law in many other states. Sixteen and seventeen years old drivers also haven’t had experience with road rage, which older, more experienced drivers would have learned to deal with. This is a second reason to raise the driving age to eighteen.