Why The Driving Age Should Not Be Raised

Is it right to limit a teenager's opportunities in life? If the minimum driving age is raised, teens will not learn vital skills that could benefit them later, such as independent living. Keeping the driving age lower allows teenagers to get job experiences that can benefit them throughout their whole lives. The minimum driving age in the United States is 16. This is because 16 years old is the age when most businesses start hiring workers. However, in other countries such as France, the minimum driving age is 17(ETSC,2023,p.1). This brings up the question of whether the United States should raise the minimum driving age. While raising the minimum driving age could prevent teen car crashes, the minimum driving age should not be raised because it allows more teenagers to get into the workforce and have better social lives, it is the experience level of the drivers that causes car crashes, and the Drivers Ed program …show more content…
Nelson, a father of a teenage daughter, explained to the Tribune-Review how raising the driving age could affect teens by saying “that when his 16-year-old daughter was signing up for lifeguard classes, her 15-year-old friend was considering the same move but noted she wouldn't be able to drive herself there”(Signorini, 2023, p.1). He then proceeded to mention that "For families who wanted to be able to do that, it's a really big opportunity that the state is taking away from a person who wants to work in the summer”(Signorini, 2023, p.1). This quote reveals how raising the driving age even higher could be detrimental to teen employment and businesses that rely on teenagers to work at their businesses. As said in the quote, the minimum driving age is already keeping teenagers out of the workforce, so if it is raised even higher there will be even fewer teens employed, which could be a disaster for businesses and teens