The topic of the legal driving age has sparked debate, as some people believe that it should be raised to improve road safety. In my view, increasing the driving age is not an effective solution; instead, other measures should be taken to enhance road safety and drivers’ awareness.
Firstly, in many nations they rise the licensing age in order to improve road safety, while they totally ignore the quality of driving education, that they provide individuals with. Young learners, particularly teenagers learning driving require intensive lessons, stricter exams, and supervised driving periods in order to guarantee that the information is well delivered. For instance, New Zealand helps young drivers gain experience step-by-step, which provides learners with all the tools they need, including more supervised driving during high-risk periods. Therefore, high-quality driving education is an efficient way to traffic safety.
Secondly, preventing young people from driving may cause some serious social and economic problems. This is mainly because in many countries families prefer to live in quiet areas where the transport is limited. Not allowing teenagers to drive can create transportation issues and can lead also to their absence from school as well as adults from work. For example, in the US, teenagers start driving from the age of 14 since many services like schools and shopping malls are far away from housing areas. This decision encourages young individuals drive alone and reduce their reliance on their parents. As a result, allowing adolescents to drive at a young age promotes self-awareness and a sense of responsibility.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that the legal driving age is not related to road safety since less than the half of accidents each year are caused by young people rather than adults; instead, high quality driving lessons can make a significant difference.