Road safety is the growing concern as many countries are reporting increasing level of traffic accidents. Some people believe the problem can be addressed by implementing higher age of minimum legal driver license for cars and motorbikes, while other think this may not be enough. A closer look at the problem will help in assessing these views.
Increasing the minimum legel age would certainly be an attractive idea to some. However, this proposal assumes that young drivers are responsible for most car accidents. In reality, majority of traffic collisions occur due to a combination of factors, and inexperienced drivers are only one of these. Among other key factors are inadequate road infrastructure and the lack of pedastrial awereness of traffic rules. Furtheremore, enacting new law about minimum driver age is not essential for prevent accidents; limiting the vehicle production would also achieve this. Thus, if legal age threshold is not responsible for current traffic problems, simply changing it will not solve them.
Clearly, other measures are required to decrease the range of car accidents. If the road network is not sufficient, then governments need to find a way to address this. It may require investmants and changes in planning attitudes. If more money is disbursed, not only would accidents happen less, but cities would also have sustainable pavement and road facilities. The issue, lack of knowladge about traffic regulations among road users on foot, could be tackled by additional road safety subject hours in schools. Nevertheless, these solutions will take time and, for countries those which cannot spent large amount of money to enhance highway infrastructures in urban areas, are likely to be ineffective. Seemingly, when it comes to mitigating complex road safety, there is no simple solution.
In conclusion, in my view, raising lowest age requirements in countries with squalid road systems will not be effective and is an extremly simplistic solution. Other measures are clearly required, but any action taken to improve road safety requires a great funding, and this needs the buttressing of governmen
t.