Picture this. You’re a 16-year-old driving down the highway. You feel liberated, sitting in the driver's seat, holding the leather covered steering wheel of your grandma's Prius. You are just cruising along, listening to your favorite Taylor Swift song while singing along with your buddies. You are having the time of your life, until you start pointing out clouds that look like cats and get T-boned by a semi-truck. And that’s just the problem. Every year, thousands of teens are killed due to car crashes, many of which were caused by distraction. So here is my simple proposition to the American people and government; raise the legal driving age to 18 as it could save hundreds, if not thousands of lives.

According to the CDC, in the year 2015 alone, there were 2,333 deaths among teens between the ages of 16 to 19 and over 220,000 others were injured (CDC). This number is outrageous and could easily be changed. Compare this to drivers ages 21-24 who have more drivers on the road, yet a much lower amount involved in crashes (iii). The amount in the United States for teenagers alone is more than double that. According to Do Something, 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than any other age and that one in every five 16-year-olds is involved in a car accident within their first year of having a driver's license (DOS). They also claimed that in a survey, they found that 56 percent of teens admitted to talking on the phone while driving which lowers their reaction time to that of a 70-year-old.

You may be wondering, “well, if I can’t drive, how can I get around?” My answer to you would be this ancient piece of machinery called a bus. It is a big, rectangular object with chairs and a driver that takes you virtually everywhere. Another option is this thing called the metro, which is similar to a bus except it is underground, seats more people, and travels below the miserable city traffic. Fascinating, right? But wait, there’s more. According to the American Public Transportation Association, people who take public transportation instead of driving can save on average $9,238 per year (APTA). If that is not convincing, I don’t know what is.

I understand that most of you teenagers disagree with me because you think that you have waited a really long time to get your driver's license and you don’t want to wait any longer. My response to you would be stop complaining and be patient. You have already waited 16 years, what’s two more gonna do. Do your really want to put your life on the line just to be able to drive to pick up a box of donuts at your local grocery store? I didn’t think so.

Here’s the thing; just look at the facts. If the legal driving age were to be raised to 18, thousands of lives could be saved, one of which could be your own. And just think about it; do you REALLY need to know how to drive when you are 16 years old and risk becoming part of a statistic? So there you have it, my proposition to the American people and government which if implemented, could prevent thousands of deaths. 

                                        Works Cited
"11 Facts About Teen Driving | Dosomething | Volunteer For Social Change." Dosomething. N.p.,   2018. Web. 15 Feb. 2018.

Chittwood, Chad. "February Transit Savings Report:." Apta.com. N.p., 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2018.

"Facts + Statistics: Highway Safety | III." Iii. N.p., 2018. Web. 26 Feb. 2018.

"Spain DGT Report On 2016 Road Fatalities | Tumbit News Story." Tumbit.com - Spain. N.p., 2009. Web.    15 Feb. 2018.

"Teen Drivers: Get The Facts | Motor Vehicle Safety | CDC Injury Center." Cdc.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 15    Feb. 2018.