Teenage Driving
One of the greatest accomplishments in a teenager's life is receiving their driver's license. Obtaining a license gives a teenager freedom; a newfound sense of independence. It is exciting to know that you are not at your parent's mercy to drive you to school, meet friends, or to work. Unfortunately, the State of New Jersey's Department of Motor Vehicle is trying diligently to take this freedom away from seventeen year olds. This decisive will not be very effective, nor is it logical. By waiting an extra year to obtain a driver's license a teenager will not gain much more experience behind the wheel. From the ages of seventeen to eighteen, there is not much of a difference, if any, responsibility or maturity wise. A teen will gain more experience by taking more in depth lessons at school and spending more time on the road with a qualified driver, not by sitting at home and being forbad from driving for an extra year. The New Jersey government has decided upon this decision, because they think that it will alleviate two major problems, traffic and accidents. With less driver's on the road, there is sure to be much less traffic, and with a minimal amount of less experienced driver's on the road, there should be a decreas
Another excellent way to decrease the amount of unqualified drivers on the road is by having a mandatory retest when a person becomes a certain age. Senior citizens account for 13% of all traffic fatalities ("Senior Drivers", 1). Seniors who have lost their ability to properly drive are a major problem on the roadways. Statistics show that in two vehicle fatal crashes involving an older and a younger driver, it is 3.1 times as likely that the vehicle driven by the older person will be struck ("Senior Drivers", 1). Glaucoma, cataracts, or macular degeneration may impair the ability to read signs or gauge distances (Allen, 2). Esther Joffe, 90 years old, has not driven after dark since she turned 85. She states, "I do not drive after dark because I am not positive about my vision, although it's okay. I think discretion was the better part of valor here" (Allen, 3). Unfortunately not everyone uses as much discretion as Esther, so he advantages of having a mandatory retest are superb. Less qualified drivers, who are dangerous, will be eliminated from the road, causing a decrease in accidents and traffic. This proves that the repercussions for driving recklessly are not enforced. There should be laws that are stricter and are enforced. Driving is a privilege and should not be taken lightly, so the laws should reflect that. The driving test at New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicle can barely be called a test. It does examine a person on the basics- parking, turning, braking, etc, but it really requires a minimal amount of skill to pass. The test is done on a closed course, which does not illustrate everyday driving situations and is not a measure of one's driving ability. The test should be performed on an actual street, with actual drive
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Approximate Word count = 1189
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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