Raising the driving age to 18
Posted: Sunday, September 25, 2005
by smartfindsmarketing
SmartFinds Internet Marketing
This article is designed to raise the concern about teen driving fatalities and what can be done to drastically reduce this alarming statistic. While this article may be sensitive to some readers in certain industries, we would like to raise the question as to what can be done to make our teens better drivers and how to alert others on the road that a new driver is behind the wheel.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 3,657 drivers aged 15 to 20 years killed in 2003. In 2002, the number killed in the same age range was 3,827. While one would never make light of 9/11, let us consider the amount of energy, government changes, money, war - to name just a few - put forth after 9/11. If only a fraction of this energy had been given to the teen driving problem, perhaps we could have reduced teen driving related deaths in 2002 and 2003 – a staggering total of 7,484.
Following is a combined statement from
- Gordon Booth, Chief Instructor of Drivetrain, Inc. in California, and
- Eddie Wren of Drive and Stay Alive in New York, regarding our teen driving problem:
“Research in several countries has shown not only that the younger people are when they start to drive the higher the chances of having a serious or fatal crash within the first year of driving, but also that a young person's brain is not fully developed until after the teenage years have passed, and that this, in turn, also reduces a young person's abilities as a safe driver.
Wisdom and any genuine desire to protect young people both undeniably dictate that it is better if teenagers do not start to drive until they are at least 17 or preferably 18 years old.
It is noticeable that if parents can hold back a female for 6 months or more, so they do not start driving until 17 or 18, then one sees them mature at least 12 months. With males a hold back of about a year equals a maturity increase of about 6 months."
Inexperience, risk taking behavior, and immaturity are cited as primary reasons for these accidents. Increasing the driving age to 18 would not necessarily change all three primary reasons. Therefore, we must consider other possible solutions as well, such as the driving education process itself.
Driver Education Comparison
Comparing our driver education process with other countries is an important step in exploring possible solutions. Using Germany as an example, we were able to obtain the following information directly from the German driving school online at http://www.fahrschule.de
- First you must be at least 18 years of age.
- After you have completed the driver education course and school you are on probation for 2 years. During these 2 years a lesser driving violation would require you to re-take the driver education course. A more serious driving violation would call for your driver’s license to be revoked. In either case when your driver’s license has been granted once again you will be on probation for 4 years.
- The driver training course covers almost 28 hours of classroom education followed by 35 hours of driving school on the road to cover varying conditions of day, night and autobahn experience with an instructor.
The above only covers a small portion of the driving laws in Germany. It is evident, however, that the United States does not have these requirements.
How to drive a car?
Teen driver’s aside, it is reasonable to suggest that many adults who have had their driver’s license for years are not knowledgeable enough on how to drive a car. They may be traffic regulation experienced, but what about actually using the vehicle? During the driver education process we should include how to handle a car under different conditions -- road conditions for rain, snow, ice, what to do if you have to slam on the brakes at higher speeds, sudden unexpected responses requiring split second decisions, how to handle the automatic and manual transmissions – to name just a few.
This type of training can be performed in driver simulation courses that are currently available from RoadSafety.Com (http://www.roadsafety.com). Larry Selditz, President of RoadSafety.Com had this to tell us:
“For the past 18 months we have been involved in a research and development project to bring effective vehicle simulation to novice drivers and others. While simulators have been around for years, the operative word here is “effective", science-based simulation. We recently completed the Research and Development phase of this project and are now in the process of helping to develop a cost effective commercially viable simulation product. One of our Vice Presidents, Mr. Fred Craft, is forming a new company utilizing the technology we helped develop. Fred is an industry expert in advanced vehicle simulation and I believe he would be an ideal contact for input for your article. I have forwarded a copy of your email to Fred.
I have always been a strong advocate of training and believe it is a key component to developing safe driving SKILLS. That is exactly what a simulator can help achieve. Our vehicle and driver monitoring system, a “black box", is the key to developing safe driving HABITS. As my friend Ron Thackery, Vice President of Risk and Safety for American Medical Response, once told me “what you monitor you can control – what you don’t, you won’t". That applies to teenagers as well as paramedics. American Medical response operates the largest fleet of ambulances in the world and uses our black box to control and improve driver performance. The same principles that have reduced the number of ambulance crashes by more than 90% are used in the “black box" we developed for teenage drivers."
Economic Implications
The primary industries affected by increasing the driving age to 18 are the automotive manufacturers, auto insurance, gas and driving education companies. This basically covers the largest firms within the auto industry.
The automotive manufacturers would only see a delay in purchases by a factor of three years and only for the first three years that the driving age was raised to 18. Most 18 year olds would receive their driver’s licenses during the summer after graduating from high school.
The auto insurance companies would hopefully gain revenues by not having to pay out insurance claims due to car accidents created by the 15 – 18 old teens. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicates approximately 300,000 motor vehicle crashes resulting in injuries for this age group per year, which is above the figures for the fatalities mentioned earlier in this article. Therefore, auto insurance industry would have a gain from raising the age limit and not having to pay out 900,000 claims from car accidents over a three year period from age 15 to 18.
Gasoline companies would see a reduction in their revenues with the reduction of gasoline usage. Whether 15 – 18 year old drivers generate a significant impact upon the revenues of gasoline companies is unsubstantiated as of this writing. However, it would be safe to surmise some level of reduction would be apparent. The reduction of emissions would indeed benefit our planet.
Driving schools would see the most significant impact. Short term they would lose business for the first 3 years. Those three years could be used, however, to help provide them support by both State and Federal governments. The amount of financial effort that has been put forth after 9/11 against terrorist continues to question if only a fraction could be used in this effort to help save our teenagers. During these three years, assisting them to prepare courses should be considered. Long term the driving schools would actually fair better as they would have more hours per student to charge.
Affects upon the Family
For parents with new teen drivers with permit licenses going through a state Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program, there will be no affect in the initial implementation of changing the driving age to 18. Parents with teens that have their operators license and who have allowed their teens to drive on their own will most likely find themselves having to continue to “chauffeur" their 16 – 18 year old teens to their various activities. While precious time would be encumbered, you can get comfort from the fact that your teen is still alive, your car is not damaged from an auto accident and your insurance has not doubled because of a teen driver on the policy.
What if we do not change the driving age?
I have a philosophy that the difference between utopia and reality is a choice. A choice by an individual or a group to make a change or move in a different direction. The statistics about teen driving require a change. If changing the driving age to 18 is too big of a leap today, then we can take smaller steps to help teens have better education and understand how to drive a car instead of blindly using a deadly weapon.
We need to review what the driving schools are asked to teach the students. The requirements need to include not only traffic safety, but car driving training under differing conditions. The number of hours required behind the wheel should equal the number of hours required for the course, which is currently around 30 hours. Parents would spend more money to achieve this, but the additional cost is insignificant compared to the lives of their loved ones.
Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) should be a requirement nationwide and include a probationary period for all new drivers to last through age 18. Traffic violations during the probationary period should require re-taking the driver education course -not with adults that are in a defensive driving course, but with other teens. Asking the teen to re-take driver education through the same school they received their initial education would be a consideration. Tracking the teens that re-take driver education and the driving schools they attend would also help understand if there is a driving school that may not be properly educating the teens.
Driving school vehicles are always well marked while students are driving on the main roads. Unfortunately, that requirement does not extend to the family vehicle for new drivers in a GDL program. All family vehicles with a new teen driver should be required to have at least one label on the back of the car while the teen is driving and through age 18.
Bumper stickers are not always practical when a teen is occasionally driving the car and stick-on vinyl to the window does not address night-time driving issues. The technology exists today to use car magnets that are thick, reflective for the night and are durable. These types of car magnets can be found at Auto Safety Magnets. http://www.autosafetymagnets.com Identifying these almost 2 million vehicles on the road should be a requirement on a national level.
In Conclusion
We hope the above information was helpful to address the problems, the need, and identify options if the driving age remained status quo or if it were raised. We hope the information was comprehensive to show the economic implications and the hindrances to raising the driving age. With these alarming statistics why have state and federal governments, as well as, the automotive industry jumped to the rescue? Have financial issues during hard economic times been put ahead of our youth? We have to "cowboy-up" to a resolution about this national problem.
Melih Oztalay, CEO
Auto Safety Magnets
http://www.autosafetymagnets.com
This Article has been viewed 140,200 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsWell I'm about to turn 16 and I think it would be ridiculous to change the age. Yes there are bad teen drivers; however, there are also many bad adult drivers and by changing the rules there will probably just be bad 17 or 18 year old drivers. I plan on being a very dligent and careful driver as I know many others are planning on being to. It would be very disadvantagous if I were unable to drive due to school and early pratices so I really hope they will not change the age on account of some dumb teenagersthats wat ive seen to teens drive like u saidExactly! Just because there are some armature drivers doesn't mean ALL drivers are! That is why there is Drivers Ed. and other driving schools! If you don't feel ready then don't drive people! Yes there has been accidents with teens, but come on, you can't tell me that these people making this bill never drove recklessly before either! There are so many things people (teenagers) need cars and driver's license! Family emergencies, jobs, what IF you know like " 16 and pregnant"/"Teen Mom" people need these things, yes they where stupid for becoming pregnant but in that situation teen's WOULD NEED a license! What parent would want to drive there child around to everthing until they are 18? Like seriously!? What parent would want to drive there kids to dates, doctors, you know teen's need privacy too! Doing this will just make teen's rebell even more!Exactly! Just because there are some armature drivers doesn't mean ALL drivers are! That is why there is Drivers Ed. and other driving schools! If you don't feel ready then don't drive people! Yes there has been accidents with teens, but come on, you can't tell me that these people making this bill never drove recklessly before either! There are so many things people (teenagers) need cars and driver's license! Family emergencies, jobs, what IF you know like " 16 and pregnant"/"Teen Mom" people need these things, yes they where stupid for becoming pregnant but in that situation teen's WOULD NEED a license! What parent would want to drive there child around to everthing until they are 18? Like seriously!? What parent would want to drive there kids to dates, doctors, you know teen's need privacy too! Doing this will just make teen's rebell even more!
Yes
why do people try to not raise the age to 18 ?
hi well my name is sam im turning 15 1/2 and im starting driving ed soon. to me this change is definitly wrong. when has the age limit to drive ever change? the age limit has been the same for decades but all of a sudden we want to change it?... woow yes tenagers are in crashes more than adults but not by much there are some good teen drivers out there who drive better than their own parents! i remember when i was 10, 12 thinking omg i cant wait to drive at 15, 16 being so excited. where i come from (small town in texas) everyone knows how to drive and when you mess with that your going to get ALOT of angry people. so save yourself the trouble and keep the tradition going. we dont deserve this at all just because of other peoples mistakes thats why we have a test!!! a driving test!!!
I'm fourteen years old, changing the age to 18 is the stupidest thing u could ever do, i turn sixteen i will get a job and how am i supposed to drive to my job?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! This is stupid and my junior year i will be driving my sister to high school with me, i willl not be a senoir taking the bus and having my mom driving me around!!!!!!!!
Great statistics! Although raising the driving age to 18 might be a little drastic, I can understand why some people think it would be the right thing to do.
they should left it as it is
the driving age should be lowerd at least 1 or 2 years its there falt if they die
I am a mother of 2 sons, and the information in this article is very interesting. Not only do I think that raising the age to 18 is wrong, but ridiculous. How do my children get a job, make it to sports practise. If they Graduate earlier than 18 I am the one that will have to drive them to job interviews, back and forth to college, take them on dates, and even more interesting is that they can enlist in the service to protect our country but can't get a license to drive themselves to boot camp. Things that make you go hhhhmmmm.Are you truly that ignorant? Let's see what tune your singing when one of your sons die in a car accident on their way to sports practice. Do a little bit of research on brain development of your child at 16. The executive branch, which weighs risks, makes judgements, and controls impulse behavior, is the most underdeveloped part of the brain at 16 years old. Sounds like a smart idea to me! Let me send my clearly underdeveloped son out on the road even though research shows that he's extremely likely to get into a car accident before he turns 17. Your sons may even be quite mature kids, but that has no bearing on what they are biologically capable of. Do all of us a favor and stop whining about having to drive your children around for 2 more years. They're your children and you should care MORE about their safety. By driving them around until they are mentally capable of controlling those impulse behaviors, you are increasing their chances of living past the age of 18, dramatically!unfortunately your brain is not developed until you are in your mid twenties. im 18 and i can tell from experience that quick judgments will not help. i recently got in an accident ( the fault was of the SOLDIER driving the other vehicle) while yes i did manage to prevent injury due to quick thinking this twenty something year old male had poor judgment. everyone makes mistakes. you cant punish others for the extreme mistakes of another. otherwise when you hit 60, they will try take your ability to drive away. as well as that is a statistic. there are outliers among other things. you can have a perfectly mature child of 16 who is more mentally and biologically capable than an 18 year old.
This is a good article. You should make a new article.
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