Introduction
Motor vehicle crashes are responsible for the death of many teens in the US. Many of these are between the ages of 15 and 20 years. The minimum age of acquiring a driver’s license in Alabama is 16 years. This means that any person who is under the age of 16 years cannot be issued with a driver’s license. With more teenage drivers getting involved in car crashes, more teens perish in these crashes than people in other age groups. With the rising number of deaths and injuries that results from these accidents, programs such as Graduated Driver Licensing programs have been developed with the aim of reducing the number of car crashes. However, sixteen years is still a very young age. The age is even labeled as “sweet 16” whereby it is thought that the teenager is young and naïve. There is a need to reduce fatalities and injuries that result from teen car crashes. The state of Alabama is not an exception. Alabama should raise the minimum age for drivers’ licenses to 17 years.
Alabama Should Increase Minimum Legal Driving Age
At 17 years, teens are more mature and can thus drive with more maturity. Young people are emotionally and physically less mature. This means that they cannot assess risk as older drivers can. This affects them when it comes to making judgments and decisions. When it comes to the skills and responsibility of operating a motor vehicle, teen drivers who are under the age of 17 cannot match up these skills and responsibilities. Human beings develop both emotionally and physically with age. At the very tender age, children interact with their environments and learn the basics of life. This is in terms of both cognitive and physical development. The most critical stage of human development is adolescence. These are the years between 12 years and 18 or 19 years. Adolescents tend to have quite a lot of energy. They reach puberty and their bodies start developing physically. At this stage, adolescents are emotionally reliant on many things and people including parents, mass media, and their peers. As such, it is a stage of adventure for many teachers.
This stage of adventure in adolescence leads to risk-taking. Teenagers tend to drive too fast and at times under the influence of alcohol. This risk-taking behavior is greatly influenced by mass media. Television shows such as Top Gear and movies such as Too Fast Furious always make teens to want to try the stunts they see on TV. Events such as small time street racing crop up and they mainly occur during the night. This risk-taking behavior and emotional and physical immaturity can be solved by increasing the minimum age of acquiring a driver’s license to 17 years. At 17 years, a teenager is more mature because he or she has encountered a number of experiences. A 17-year old teenager has been an adolescent for about 4 years. This means that he or she has developed physically and mentally. As such, he or she is able to make sound decisions and judgment when it comes to issues such as driving.
Teenagers are at an age of asserting their independence and testing boundaries. This also comes at an age where they get to enjoy an intense social life. Common characteristics include hanging out together, trying new things, daring to do new things and influencing each other. Before teenagers reach the age of 17 years, peer pressure is a common characteristic for them. With peer pressure, teenagers will tend to show off so that they can assert their superiority over their peers. It is a stage whereby their self-esteem is of great importance. Teenagers treasure a high self-esteem. This is why they try to gain audience with their fellow peers. Therefore, it is at this age that teenagers start using drugs and alcohol. The result is that they drive or even race under the influence. Worse off, they engage in parties and activities whereby they carry passengers that are their peers or of a similar age. Therefore, when these teens drive while under the influence, they might be involved in car crashes and these crashes not only injure or kill the driver but also the passengers.
This can only be checked if the minimum legal driving age is increased to about 17 years. At 17 years, teenagers have explored their teenage years. For example, a 17-year old teenager might already have engaged in activities such as drinking and drug abuse. They have also been party to incidences of peer pressure. Therefore, such people have learnt from mistakes that might result from such activities. As such, drivers at the age of 17 years are less likely to engage in any dangerous behavior while driving because they are aware of the consequences. This means that a 17-year old driver is less likely to drive while under the influence, or bow to peer pressure that incites him or her to speed.
Increasing the minimum legal drinking age to 17 years would lead to a reduction in the number of crashes. In most European countries, the minimum legal drinking age is about 18 years. In these countries, the numbers of crashes that occur as a result of teen driving are way less than those in the United States of America. In many African countries, the number of car crashes that result from young drivers are almost zero because many young people do not own a vehicle until they are about 24 years. This means that the higher the minimum legal driving age, the lower the crash rate among young drivers. On the other hand, the lower the minimum legal driving age, the higher the crash rate among young drivers.
Conclusion
Higher crash rates translate to more fatalities and injuries. Fatalities and injuries mean that some families are robbed of their loved ones while others end up with lifelong scars. The death of young people is a blow to the economy of any nation since it robs it of the enormous potential that young people have. By increasing the legal minimum driving age to 17 years, all these negatives can be averted. This is because the people using automobiles on the roads will be more emotionally and physically mature. It means that they can make sound judgments and decisions in critical times so as to avoid any accidents. In addition to this, rules need to put in place to check driving among teens. For example, teens found driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, or speeding should have their licenses revoked. This can go a long way in discouraging any driving tendency that is dangerous. Also, teens should not carry passengers for quite some time after acquiring their licenses, until they have the adequate experience. Therefore, the state of Alabama should increase the minimum legal driving age to 17 years.
- Introduction
- Many teens die from motor crashes
- The minimum age for acquiring a driver’s license is 16 years
- There is a need to reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from teen car crashes
- The state of Alabama should raise the minimum age for drivers’ licenses to 17 years.
- Alabama should increase the minimum legal driving age
- 17-year olds are more mature while they young drivers are physically and emotionally immature
- Young teens cannot make adequate judgments and decisions
- Adolescents love risk-taking and thus engage in behaviors such as driving fast and trying stunts
- However, 17-year olds have quite some experience and are mature enough to make sound decisions and avoid engaging in risky behaviors
- Teenagers are at an age of asserting their independence and testing boundaries
- Increasing the minimum legal drinking age to 17 years would lead to a reduction in the number of crashes
- Conclusion
- There is a need to reduce fatalities and injuries resulting from teen car crashes
- Increasing minimum legal driving age means giving more mature people the responsibilities of operating motor vehicles
- Therefore, the state of Alabama should increase the minimum legal driving age to 17 years.
