Apparently, people just don't get it. Some "influential auto safety group" wants the driving age mandated to 17, or even 18. They cite the fact that "car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers" as their reason. Well, let's see. If we raise the driving age to 18, then the leading cause of death for those 18-20 would be, um, car crashes? Yeah. It isn't about the age, jackasses. Sure, there is some factor of immaturity that goes into those idiots racing at 120 mph in their new Mustangs (um, first of all, parents, don't buy your dumbass teen a new Mustang), but really, it's the inexperience that contributes so highly to these crashes. They even say in the article that the graduated licensing laws helped decrease the number of teenage deaths. Well, let's see. That makes sense because... Because A) fewer teens are driving at night or with too many distractions (passengers, cell phones, etc) in the vehicle, and B) because they have more EXPERIENCE (Driver's Ed, more driving hours supervised by a parent, etc) by the time they get to drive at night or with too many distractions (passengers, cell phones, etc) in the vehicle. "One study from the 1990s found that the rate of crash-related deaths among 16- and 17-year olds were 18 per 100,000 in New Jersey [a state that issues licenses at 17], compared with 26 per 100,000 in Connecticut [a state that issues licenses at 16]." Now, call me crazy, but if the entire population of 16 year olds is not driving, then how likely are they to be killed in a driving accident? Not nearly as likely, right? Right. So, the numbers actually aren't that great for your argument. I am all for keeping kids alive. I mean, I lost three friends in three years in high school--all to car wrecks. But, unfortunately for these activists, only one of them was under 18. They admit that the graduated licenses have helped, so why can't we keep going down that road? Raising the driving age just puts the inexperienced drivers starting that much older. So, you spare a death for two years, not impressive. Spare a death, period. Then, maybe you will impress me.
I definitely think that 16 is such an immature age to be given that hefty responsibility. I remember all of the stupid things I used to do behind the wheel and I cannot imagine putting my children in that situation. I feel as though parents should be held mainly responsible for throughly educated and practicing with their teen drivers!
ReplyDelete