Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Teen Driving Age Should be Raised, Says Auto Safety Group

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/teen-driving-age-should-b_n_125010.html

Article includes statements such as “the bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives” by Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety. Contains research information from New Jersey, the only state that issues license at 17. In New Jersey, various studies have been shown that the overall rate of teens killed in crashes has been consistently lower. Example one study found that crash related deaths among 16 and 7 ear old were 18 per 100,000 in New Jersey compared with 26 per 10,000 in Connecticut. The rate of crashes, fatal and nonfatal, per mile driven for 16-year-old drivers is almost 10 times the rate for drivers ages 30 to 59 according to the National Highway Safety Administration. Uses other credible sources such as Dr. Barbara Gaines, who is the trauma director at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg.

Irvine , Martha. "Teen Driving Age Should Be Raised, Says Auto Safety Group." Huffington Post 09

Sep 2008, n. pag. Web. 26 Feb. 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/teen-

driving-age-should-b_n_125010.html>.

Should we Raise the Legal Driving Age?

http://www.drive-safely.net/driving-age.html

Auto accidents are the leading causes of death among teenagers. A 16 year old is almost twice as likely to die in a car crash than a 30 year old. New distractions such as cell phones while driving; therefore, if we take the most dangerous drivers off the road, we will not only save their lives but we will also make the roadways safer for everyone else. However, people argue that is age really the biggest factor to consider? If the legal age is raised to 17 wouldn’t they now just have the highest accident rate due to lack of experience? Many argue that our decision-making skills aren’t fully developed at 16. Some argue that we have to let our children go because it is a right of passage. However, people need to consider what is important.

Jones, Mike. "Should We Raise the Legal Driving Age?." Drive-Safely . n. page. Web. 26 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.drive-safely.net/driving-age.html>.

Driving Age, Raised to 18

This website lists all of the different pros and cons of increasing the driving age. Some pros include teenage drivers are particularly dangerous. Example, they are fearless and thrill seeking, taking risks that older drivers would not do and they are more influenced by peer pressure and competitiveness. Another strong pro is that rising the driving age will mean that fewer cars will be driven. Thus, fewer vehicles (about 2%) on the road, which will benefit society as a whole. The article argues that an increase in the driving age can also help tackle obesity.

Endersby, Alastair. "Driving Age, Raised to 18."International Debate Education Association. N.p., 31Dec 2008.
         Web. 26 Feb 2012.<http://www.idebate.org/debatabase/topic_details.php?topicID=838>.

driving age

The topic that I am most interested in researching is should the legal driving age be raised to 18. Every year there are tragic car accident deaths, the leading death cause for teenagers, and I would hope that if the legal driving age were raised that many of these accidents could be avoided. A fifteen year old or sixteen year old is simply not ready to take on all of the responsibilities of driving. Even though many laws have been initiated to keep people from texting and driving or even having too many people in the car, teenagers are still loosing their lives everyday due to car accidents.  Also, even though these laws exist there is no way for police officers to catch every driver who violates them. Younger drivers are more likely to violate these laws or not take them seriously because a lot of teenagers don’t think that it can happen to them, until it is too late. Also, an issue with teens driving is the numerous amounts of accidents due to drinking and driving. Teenagers comprise the bulk of America that binge drinks and with the access to a car many will leave a party and try to drive to another one or home thinking that they are okay to drive. This not only puts the teen in a serious amount of danger, but there are simply too many stories of other people and entire families dying because of a drunk driver when they weren’t drinking themselves. Dealing with this issue, there will be two opposing sides of parents. One side will say that the driving age needs to be raised for their protection, their kid’s protection, and protection for the other kids on the road.  On the other side, many parents will argue that the driving age shouldn’t be raised because of the convenience of having a child that can drive. But, they have to take into consideration what is important here, having to leave work early or their child’s life? 

1. Is college education worth the cost or is real world experience more beneficial?

2. Should the legal driving age be raised?

3.  Does the welfare system work or create dependency?