California Should Raise the Minimum Driving Age to 18

Claremont Colleges Debate Outreach –

California should raise the minimum driving age to 18

Key Terms Sources

Graduated licensing National Parent Information Network

Fatalities

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Fact Set

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among U.S. teenagers nationwide, accounting for 36% of all teen deaths.
The crash rate for 16 year old drivers nationwide is almost three times the crash rate for 18 and 19 year old drivers.
Other governmental bodies, including most European governments, have already set the driving age to 18.

Arguments in favor of raising the minimum driving age to 18

Automobile crashes kill teenagers, their teen passengers and other drivers on the road.
Restricting the driving age saves the high cost of insuring teen drivers and the cost of repairing cars after auto accidents.
Transportation exists to get teens to necessary places (ie, buses for school).

Arguments against raising the minimum driving age to 18

California already restricts teen drivers using teen curfews and graduated licensing programs. These phase-in licenses allow responsible teens to drive while others are restricted.
Parents would have to spend more time shuttling teens around-teens would have less ability to join clubs or get jobs. This problem is made worse by the lack of public transportation in many areas.
The problems with young drivers may have more to do with them being new drivers as opposed to their age. Raising the driving age to 18 may not prevent many of the accidents that involve young drivers now – it may just mean that new drivers will get into accidents later in life.