POINTS AGAINST

For many young people the ability to travel is essential for their livelihood.
POINT
In our modern society driving is essential mobility has to be regarded as a right you
gain in your mid-teens. 16 and 17 year olds often need to drive to get to school or
work, and many live in rural areas with few buses or trains1. Most of the activities that
teach young people about the world, like sport, school clubs, bands, and part-time jobs,
can only be done if teens can drive themselves. All these things are about gaining
autonomy making personal choices and beginning to find your own way in life as you
become independent from parents. Mobility is needed to make those choices and it is
for these reasons that many parents are just as opposed to raising the driving age as
teenagers are.

1Article Young people and transport in rural areas, Pamela Storey and Julia Brannen
for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 27 July 2000

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COUNTERPOINT
In a world with soaring petrol costs1 and often ridiculously high insurance premiums
for young people2 that argument can no longer be valid. Indeed, the cost of running a
car has gone up so much that there are actually fewer young people choosing to
drive3. In these conditions it is unlikely that a 16 or 17 year old would be able to fund
their own cars anyway, putting increased pressure on parents to pay the difference.
Putting the age restrictions up would not only save parents money, but also increase
the chances of new drivers being able to pay for driving independently.

1 BBC News article "Petrol price hits record average 130p per litre", 1 March 2011(b):
2 BBC News article "Young drivers quoted up to

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Pure statistical analysis and stereotypes of 'reckless boy-racers' should not be blanketly
applied to an age group.
POINT
Many teens are safe and careful drivers, and almost all adult drivers today started
before they were 18. It would be unfair to punish all 16 and 17 year olds for the bad
behaviour of a few. Instead of a blanket measure like raising the driving age, there are
other steps that could be taken to make the roads safer. These include making the
driving test tougher, requiring driving graduate programs and training1 and requiring a
retest and compulsory retraining for any new driver caught driving badly. Parents
could even be brought in to the decision making process as to whether or not their
children are mature enough to learn to drive. These measures would ensure that the
problems young drivers face are dealt with on an individual basis - after all if we relied
solely on statistics one could argue that all men should be banned from driving
because they are 77% more likely to have accidents than women2 according to a study
carried out in the USA.
1 BBC News article "New driver restrictions 'would save lives", Nick Triggle, 21
September 2010:
2 Article "Women drivers? They're safer than men", Seth Borenstein on
www.msnbc.com, 20 January 2010:

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COUNTERPOINT
What other data can we look at in this debate if not the crash statistics? Although it is
not ideal to 'punish' everyone for the mistakes of a few, when it comes down to saving
lives this shouldn't matter. Raising the driving age is a practical means of doing this
which could be implemented with relative ease, cost far less in the long term than
creating extra programmes for young drivers as well as avoid problems of
discrimination along gender lines. "Being young" is not the same as "being male" in
that the former will inevitably change and the latter will not - there is no question of
infringement on rights in this case, it would simply make the roads a safer place.

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Learning to drive is an important point in the social development of children - a

quantifiable point at which they become more like adults. Were this taken further
away, young people would be more frustrated and immature.
POINT
Learning to drive is often considered a 'major milestone'1 in the life of a child. As well
as being economically important to many, the social aspects of the car should also be
considered. Sharing lifts to school or college is not only a good way of making friends,
it also saves fuel and reduces traffic congestion. Being made to wait an extra year or so
would seem a token gesture to most teenagers who might be encouraged to drive
illegally in the interim period. Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety in the USA argues that "teens themselves have been growing up under
a certain set of rules about when they can get their license"2 - it would be unfair and
perhaps unwise to treat an entire generation differently, especially when most of them
will have friends of almost the same age who will be able to drive while they must wait
an extra year.

1 Reference to importance of driving as a young person in "Teen driving safety booklet

for parents" published by New York State Department of Health:
2 Article "Report makes a case for raising driving age", Rita Rubin in USA Today, 9
September 2008:

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COUNTERPOINT
Again this comes down to the distinction between 'treating people unfairly' and saving
lives. Ultimately even if a small improvement is made by changing the age limit so that
fewer people die the move is a good one. Most children around that age will indeed
have friends or relatives that are able to drive them to school, college or to social
events - if anything this will raise the level of responsibility and trust in those who are
old enough to drive. There may be a short period in which young people are more
frustrated about the changes, but very quickly the 'quantifiable point' will simply have
moved to the higher age and will carry exactly the same level of excitement and
responsibility. We must remember that although driving is a step towards adulthood, it
does not grant immediate experience, and as such advances in technology such as
automated speed limiters and stereo volume caps on new cars1 could create a
transitional period in which young drivers are aware of the differences between them
and older, more experienced road users.

1 Article "Ford's new car allows parents to control speed, stereo volume", David Riley in
The Metrowest Daily News, 9 October 2008:

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