The Pros and Cons of Raising the Driving Age to 18

There is controversy on whether to raise the driving age to 18 in the United States. Both sides have good reasons for their position.

On the side that the driving age should be raised:

16 and 17 year olds are proven by numerous studies to get into way more accidents than 18 and 19 year olds. This is because their brains are not yet developed. They often make rash decisions and are not to be trusted. Human life is precious, so we must do everything possible to save it. Not only are teens getting themselves and their friends killed in car accidents, but the people in the other car as well.

Although some people against raising the driving age may say that a teen having a car can take stress of of parents because they won't need to drive their child everywhere, what about the stress of knowing their son and daughter has a high chance of being killed? Also, is this a wise decision, giving kids the freedom of being able to access anywhere they want? How do we know that suddenly, with this newly gained access to anywhere within reason, kids won't go and get drugs and alcohol?

On the side that the driving age should not be raised to 18:

The driving age currently varies from state to state, but the average driving age, meaning the age when you are permitted to get your driver's license, is 16. Although some people may think that 16 and 17 year olds get into more car accidents than 18 and 19 year olds, their age has nothing to do with it. The brain is not fully developed until a person is about 24 years old therefore 16 and 18 year olds are in a similar state of mind. The reason that 16 and 17 year olds get into more accidents could be that they don't have the experience that 18 year olds have. Since minors are permitted to apply for a learner's permit at age 15.5, they have only had about 6 months of experience.

People against our opinion may say that parents may be stressed that their kids are at high risk. First of all, a kid with a car can help their parents. If their parents trusts them, they can drive younger siblings and themselves to and from school, they can pick up groceries on the way home, they can even get jobs that will bring in money for the family or for them, and be a good thing to have done when applying for college. If a parent is too scared that their child will get themselves killed, the parent should simply not let their child get a car in the first place.