There has been a noticeable increase in the number of accidents and mishaps on roads over the last few years. Governments all around the world have been looking at various measures that can be taken to reduce these numbers. Two contrasting opinions have emerged regarding this as some have suggested that the legal driving age needs to be increased while other argue that this would not have a considerable effect.
Increasing the legal age of driving can be beneficial as many times accidents happen due to young people driving rashly and irresponsibly. Young people are known to drive fast because it gives them thrill and joy. But, it increases the probability of an accident occuring. They also do not follow the traffic rules like jumping traffic signals because they are always in a hurry. There might also be arguments regarding the temper of young people as there have been instances of road rages involving teenagers as they are known to lose their temper easily.
However, there are some arguments that are feel that there will be no impact of increasing the legal driving age. A majority of the accidents happen due to being intoxicated while driving. This is a larger issue as the person loses control over the vehicle and is like a loose weapon. Increasing the age limit will have negligible effect on the drink and drive cases as this issue is prevalent among all age classes. Even with the current regulations, underage driving is a major issue and this will only increase if the age limit increases from 18 to say 21. More people between 18 and 21 will try to drive thus, increasing the load on traffic police.
I feel that the driving age should not be increased as drinking and driving will persist even then and the problem of underage driving will increase manifolds. The governments should start a campaign on awareness about the harms of driving under influence and make current regulations stricter. Traffic rules need to be implemented more strictly and people also have to become more responsible to not break the rules.