By Jessica Bizarro
Raising the legal driving age in California from 16 to 21 has been discussed for a long time, and it’s time to raise it.
Young drivers, from ages 16 to 19 years old, are the ones who get killed most often in fatal accidents.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention article Teen Drivers, “Six teens ages 16 to 19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries.”
Many students at ELAC fall into this age range, 16 to 19 years old, that are at rsik of being involed in an umtimely death.
By age 21, people are more mature and are more responsible for their actions.
Less teens would be getting themselves killed. It would also help address obesity among teens in the U.S.
Since there is no more driving for those younger than 21, teens would have to make time going to their universities or colleges on public bus or walking.
In fact, young drivers would be able to observe what they have to do while driving by taking the time to learn from those older than them.
It would help families. The reason being it would save them a lot of money.
The older the driver, the less expensive the car insurance is.
Auto insurance is much more expensive for people who are 16 to 19 years old.
The reason the insurance is expensive because during those ages teens are more likely to get into a car accident.
Most students have problems paying their classes.
By raising the age for driving, college students wouldn’t be worried about getting a job in order to pay their car insurance or the monthly car payments.
By 21 the brain is almost completely developed.
There are many reasons why drivers under 21 get into an accident.Using cellphones is the main cause of accidents.
At East Los Angeles College most students use their phones while going to class, getting lunch or walking to their car, Carl’s Jr, Taco Bell, Panda, crossing the street and Starbucks.
Many drivers under the age of 21 have the mentality that they can use their phone while driving because they think they’re experts in multitasking.
According to The Zebra, “4,637 people died in car crashes in 2018 due to cell phone use.”
That was back in 2018 but now we’re in 2019 the number of deaths have risen.
Not only is using their phone a distraction but so is putting on makeup or fixing one’s hair.
Most ELAC students have phones and use them while they drive their car to their house.
Also, most ELAC students carpool with their friends but that’s a bad thing.
Drivers with a passenger are four times more likely to get into a fatal car accident than when riding alone.
Another reason the driving age should be raised is that young drivers want to speed and sometimes they do it in bad conditions, like horrible weather.
Another, risk factor teenagers have is wanting to go 100 mph.
Young drivers casually drink and drive. Drinking and driving is the worst thing one could possibly do behind the wheel.
The first time someone is charged with a DUI they’ll get two months in jail, have to pay a fine and their license will be suspended for six months.
The second time getting a DUI, the fine will cost $2,000, five year jail, and the license will be suspended for a year.
Young drivers tend to get into car fatal accidents at night rather than during the day.
The reason young drivers get into car accidents is because they don’t get enough sleep.
Most ELAC students take night classes and when they come out, it’s usually 9:30 or later.
When students head home at that time, they might drive home feeling sleepy.
When you are sleepy you can’t focus on the road. You are not able to see what’s in front of you.
Therefore, we need to raise the age of driving to 21 to prevent this from happening.
In case you didn’t know study have found out that nine innocent people get killed and over 1,000 people get injured every day by drivers who are under 21.
Drivers under the age of 21 have the mentality to go to a party and drive back to their house.
It is not possible for a young driver to drive safely, during a party where teens like to drink and, smoke.
This causes them to not focus on the road.
Students at ELAC go to parties and do things they are not supposed to and results in them not being able to focus.
By them causing not to focus on the road, they constantly pass through red lights, violate traffic signals, make illegal turns and speed where they are not supposed to.
Making these mistake can cause your life and the lives of others to be at risk.
Drivers under the age of 21 make the same common mistake: not wearing their seatbelt.
They don’t want to wear their seatbelt because no one else in the car is wearing theirs.
Another reason they don’t wear their seatbelt is because the destination where they have to go is close by.
It’s always safer to wear a seat belt.