Should the driving age be changed to 18?

I don't think the driving age should be changed to 18 because I am less than a year away from getting my permit so i wouldn't want to have to wait longer. Also i think that the age limit is perfect the way it is because you have to take a test anyways to be able to get your license to it would make no sense to change the driving age.

There is a reason why you will need to be the age of eighteen to drive if you are born on or after 1995.

I will make this round short just to get a few points across.

The debate should be judged on which decision will save more lives, and not the want for driving. As life should be valued higher than having a good time. So, if I can show that less accidents and deaths occur after the age of 18 than before that age, then I should reasonably be given the vote.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. 16 year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age. 16-year-olds are three times more likely to die in a motor vehicle crash than the average of all drivers. [1]

A recent report by AAA estimates the cost of crashes involving 15-17 year olds to be $34 billion. [1]

Not only do that drivers below the age of 18 get involved in more wrecks, they endanger the lives of others which violates the U.S. constitution that says a person maintain their own right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as long as that person does not take away or attempt to take away another person's.

Additionally, according to the AAA 15-17 year old drivers end up costing us a large sum of money.

According to a 2005 survey of 1,000 people ages 15 and 17, conducted by the Allstate Foundation
* More than half (56 percent) of young drivers use cell phones while driving,
* 69 percent said that they speed to keep up with traffic
* 64 percent said they speed to go through a yellow light.
* 47 percent said that passengers sometimes distract them. [1]

Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry, acknowledged the idea is "a tough sell," but noted that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teenagers.

"The bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives," Lund said. [2]

It's only natural that teenagers would hate the idea of a raised driving age, but that is because these teens have an attitude that they are indestructible and tend to do crazy things in the presence of others. They will never fully understand the hard truth until they actually crash, or sadly die, as many statistics show.

So, we as a people should stop being impatient, it is only a few years, and it is much better to wait than to become another statistic.

=== SOURCES ===

http://www.rmiia.org... [1]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [2]

Extend my arguments.

Con wins. Sorry if something went wrong opponent.