Raise The United States Licensing Age

to 18By Emily Munns

16-17 year olds are not mature enough to drive unsupervised

“Executive Branch” of the brain isn’t fully developed at 16

Results in dangerous impulsive driving Underdeveloped hand eye coordination and

reflexes Risky driving moves

◦ Speeding◦ Following too closely◦ Risky passing

Teens Lack Maturity

55% don’t wear a seatbelt

43% report using cell phones while driving

One in ten high school students reported having driven after drinking within the last 30 days

Teens Make Bad Decisions

Recent study by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety of 1,700 teen accidents showed 58% were caused by distracted driving◦ looking at something in the vehicle◦ looking at something out of the vehicle besides

the road◦ Singing or paying

attention to music◦ Grooming ◦ Looking at cell phones

Teens Are Distracted Drivers

30%

28%

42%

Accident Cost Per Year

16-19 year old boys 16-19 year old girlsRest of the population

Young teens account for more than 50% of accident related injury expenses

Spend over 26 Billion dollars per year on accident injuries caused by young teens

Teen Accidents Are Expensive

Young teens are three times more likely to be in a fatal car crash

Roughly 3000 teens are killed per year in a car accident

292,000 teens wereinjured in a car accident

Car Accidents Kill The Most Teens

Average driving age around the world is 18 The United States has the highest number

of teen deaths per 100,000 people Higher driving age mean fewer accident fatalities

◦ Sweden: 5.2 (2007)◦ U.K.: 5.4 (2006)◦ Ireland: 8.5 (2006)◦ Germany: 6 (2007)◦ United States: 13.9 (2006)

Other Countries Have Better Teen Driving Laws

The United States should raise the licensing age to18 ◦ Teens brains aren’t developed enough to drive◦ 16-17 year olds make bad driving decisions ◦ Young teens cost the country billions of dollars a

year because of accident injuries◦ Car accidents are the number one killer of teens◦ Other countries have better policies with lower

rates of fatalities

Conclusion

Adeola, Ruth, and Mallory Gibbons. "Get The Message: Distracted Driving And Teens." Journal Of Trauma Nursing 20.3 (2013): 146-149. CINAHL Complete. Web. 3 July 2015

Brophy, Beth. "Give Your Teen More Driving Time." U.S. News & World Report 141.24 (2006): 71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 2 July 2015

Davis, Robert. "USATODAY.com - Is 16 Too Young to Drive a Car?" USATODAY.com - Is 16 Too Young to Drive a Car? 2 Mar. 2005. Web. 13 July 2015.

Neff, Cody. "Distracted driving a major factor in teen crashes." Register-Herald (Beckly, WV) 25 Mar. 2015: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 12 July 2015.

"Rethinking the Minimum Driving Age - Allstate Blog." The Allstate Blog. 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 13 July 2015.

Teen Driver Car Accident Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/who-was-injured/teen/teen-driving-statistics.html

"Teen Drivers: Get the Facts." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 07 Oct. 2014. Web. 03 July 2015.

Works Cited