...I agree that the legal driving age should change to 18. The legal age now is sixteen and 16-year-olds are still learning and are pretty reckless. We get our permits at 15 and get our license at 16. I don’t believe that one year is enough time to learn all the rules of the road and how to avoid certain things. Any age under 18 should not be able to drive because they are simply too careless. Some 16-year-olds may be responsible but not all of them. Teens are still tied to their phones and once they hear a buzz or a ding they are just so eager to look. Once they look it puts them and others in danger. I have discovered a lot of people on their phones when driving. That's a big safety hazard. Phones are a big problem with younger drivers. There...
Words: 379 - Pages: 2
...question the ability to drive legally at age 16; in some states even younger. There are many reasons why many individuals question the legal driving age such as how will impact society? If the legal driving age in the United States is raised to 18 will there be a decrease of accidents? In the United States most states allow teenagers to have a learner’s permit and a driver’s license at age 16. Rising the legal driving age would cut down on car accidents and associated damages, cut down on teen deaths from traffic accidents and allow for teens to gain more experience before driving on their own. Let’s take a look at the reasons these changes should be made, as they are very eye opening and show some very disturbing statistics involving teen driving. Teenage driving has cost more than 81,000 people lives since the year 2000 as a result of motor vehicle accidents (SafeRoads, 2009). Teen drivers are not always attentive and responsible; many times the drivers can be easily distracted by friends, music, and cell phone. Although not all accidents can be prevented, if there is a possibility that rising the legal driving age to 18 can potentially decrease the number of individuals killed in motor vehicle accidents than it can only have a positive outcome. There are many individuals that have received their driver’s license at an older age and are very responsible drivers. 81,000 lost lives are a massive number of deaths that involve teen driving. While the amount of lives lost are a...
Words: 1636 - Pages: 7
...Should the legal driving age be raised to 18? The age at which you can legally drive varies from country to country, but in many places it is lower than 18, but the states are determined to change this. The driving age should not be increased to a minimum of 18. The driving age should stay where it currently is (between the ages 16 and 17) because it would allow young adults to gain independence and responsibility, it provides an early start for becoming better drivers, and allows young adults to have jobs and participate in after school activities such as sports, clubs, and community service. Keeping the driving age to where it is currently set would benefit both young adults and their parents. It gives young adults the chance to gain independence and responsibility by taking care of a car...
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
...Drunk Driving has changed the laws regarding drinking and driving throughout the United States. MADD changed the legal age for drinking and purchasing alcohol. MADD has made the laws stricter; including more fines and punishment for breaking the laws. MADD has become one of the nation’s largest agencies to help improve assistance for families that have lost loved ones to drunk drivers. The organization has made historical changes in laws and legislature. MADD, Impact on Social Policy Mothers Against Drunk Drivers has made a significant impact on our society today by bringing changes in our drinking and driving laws. MADD, more commonly referred to, has implemented a change in drinking age and mandated strict laws for people who break these laws. From a simple outcry by the founder of MADD, this organization has grown to service millions. MADD was originally founded by Candy Lightner in 1980 after her 13 year old daughter, Cari was struck from behind and killed by a drunk driver. The driver had three previous drunk driving violations and had been involved in a hit-and-run accident and arrest two days before the incident involving Cari. One of the most effective leaders was Rebecca (Beckie) Brown from New Port, Florida. Rebecca became involved in MADD after her son Marcus died at the age of 18 from an accident involving a 19-year old drunk driver. She created the first MADD in Florida and “was instrumental in passing legislation to raise the minimum legal drinking age to 21...
Words: 951 - Pages: 4
...According to procon.org, 77% of americans believe that we should keep the legal drinking age at 21, but is that opinion correct? Adults should be able own make their own decisions, teens drink anyways, and It would create less unsupervised drinking situations to lower the the legal drinking age. That’s why I believe that the US should change the legal drinking age from 21 to 18 years old. Some would argue that we should keep the legal drinking age at 21 in the US because it is medically irresponsible and could lead to more drunk driving accidents. They’re wrong because according to procon/org the decrease in drunk driving accidents does not correlate to the legal drinking age. Also in countries with a drinking age of 18 there were less drunk...
Words: 421 - Pages: 2
...The laws regulating the legal drinking age of 21 have saved nearly 900 lives in traffic accidents alone. Personally, I believe that the law should continue throughout the United States. Since 1988 all 50 states have a minimum age of 21. In “Keeping Legal Drinking Age at 21 Saves 900 Lives Yearly: Study,” Bahar Gholipour argues that the legal drinking age should remain at 21. As a contrasting opinion, in “The Drinking Age Is Past Its Prime,” Camille Pagila states that the drinking age of 21 has pushed young adults down the path of using pills and other drugs. She also claims that setting the drinking age at 21 makes the United States different from other Western Nations. Pagila also debates the decrease in drunk-driving deaths and argues that there are other reasons for the decrease in fatal accidents, such as the use of seatbelts and higher DWI penalties. Pagila declares, “Today, furthermore, there are many other causes of traffic accidents, such as the careless use of cell phones or...
Words: 591 - Pages: 3
...Lower the Legal Drinking Age to 18 Danielle Gonzales The government can trust those between the age of 18 and 20 to do many things, but they cannot treat them like full adults and allow them to drink alcohol. You will find that many Colleges and Universities disagree with the legal drinking age. In fact, they believe that rising the drinking age has increased the amount of ‘binge’ drinkers and only made our countries drinking problems worse. Eighty-five percent of twenty year old Americans reported that they had used alcohol. (Johnson) Two out of five said they had binged within the previous month. To ‘binge,’ is to consume five or more drinks at one time. (Engs) “The period since the twenty-one minimum drinking age took affect has been marked by a shift from beer to hard liquor,” Seaman wrote in Time “consumed not in large social settings, since that is now illegal, but furtively and dangerously in students residences. In my reporting at colleges around the country, I did not meet any presidents or deans who felt the twenty-one year age minimum helps their efforts to curb the abuse of alcohol on their campuses.” (Balk) A kid is going to drink if he or she wants to regardless whether the law says eighteen or twenty-one. In an alcohol related situation you are more likely going to hear “I don’t drink, thank you,” than “I better not, I’m not 21 yet.” When colleges and University presidents disagree with the drinking age, something has got to be done. If the drinking age were...
Words: 1760 - Pages: 8
...Countless other misleading statistics are being called “scientific facts” to try to support the increased legal minimum drinking age. For example, one common statistic that is being used is that with the higher legal drinking age alcohol-related car accidents among sixteen to twenty-year-olds decreases. Supporters of the twenty-one minimum legal drinking age are leaving out the most important part of the study. A “drastic increase” for alcohol-related car accidents occurs in the twenty-one to twenty-four-year-old age group (Minimum). The problem is not being fixed or reduced. The problem is still present just not in the same age group. The information being shared is unreliable because the supporters of the higher legal drinking age are not giving all the details of the study. Only facts that support their cause are being used....
Words: 612 - Pages: 3
...Today, the consumption of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21 is generally illegal across the United States; however, there are some states that have exceptions allowing underage consumption of alcohol in certain circumstances. Underage drinking is allowed if done on private premises with parental consent or for religious purposes. In Ruth Engs’ opinion, based upon her research, “as a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems. This was during National Prohibition in the 1920’s and State Prohibition during the 1850’s. These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now” (Engs). On many campuses around the country, led by the so-called Amethyst Initiative, the legal drinking age continues to be a controversial issue since it is believed that “twenty-one is not working” (Sanghavi). The old familiar argument is that turning 18 bestows the rights and responsibilities of adulthood such as voting, serving on juries, getting married, signing contracts, joining the military, buying cigarettes, watching porn and upon prosecution, trial as an adult. If adults from the age of 18 are trusted to do all of these things, they should also be trusted...
Words: 1770 - Pages: 8
...3/24/2013 Argumentative research paper Why Not Change the Drinking Age Back to 18? In the United States of America you are considered a legal adult at the age of 18 years old. You have all the major rights of a fully grown adult, voting, enlisting in the military, buying a house, buying tobacco products and many more. However there is one right that was taken away from the 18 year old adult back in 1984. In 1984 the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was put into place which changed the legal minimum drinking age from 18 years old to 21. Does this law mean that you are not really a mature adult until you are 21 or should the drinking age be brought back down to 18 when you receive all the other rights of a mature adult. It makes perfect sense that this right should be returned to young adults for plenty of reasons and also holds potential solutions to one of the nation’s biggest alcohol related problems. What does it mean to be an adult? United States law states that you are legally considered an adult at the age of 18. It makes sense right? You can buy a house, enlist in the U.S. military, get married and loads of other rights you don’t have until the age of 18. But United States law also states that all states must enforce a legal minimum drinking age of 21. We are the only major nation to have such a high drinking age. The drinking age wasn’t always this high though. On July 17th 1984 the national minimum drinking age act was passed which meant that 18 year old young adults could...
Words: 2220 - Pages: 9
... Amethyst Initiative is a proposal to consider lowering legal drinking age to 18. Some 130 universities have signed on to the initiative. UVa has not. “The initiative has triggered a backlash of criticism from health experts, transportation officials, government leaders, and opponents of drunken driving.” (Nancy) I think lowering drinking age will cause more problems. Because Lowering-drinking age to 18 not only let teenagers even younger than 18 will get alcohol, but also raises the number of drunk-driving accidents. We also cannot ignore this action will increase the number of problem cause by alcohol. All those things happen in our daily life and warning us that drinking age should not be lowered to 18. Lower drinking age is just like give the group of underage drinking teenagers official IDs instead of fake ones. And they will become much more reckless, even those one who used to care about the law so didn’t drink will soon become drunk. “A study done in 2003-4 at Johns Hopkins tested the incidence of binge drinking (as that term is defined in the Wechsler studies) in the age group just below the legal age in various countries. David Jernigan, who directed the study, used Wechsler’s survey methods to quantify the percentage of 16-18 year-olds who reported having become seriously drunk during the 30 days prior to their taking the survey. The evidence is being construed as proof that no matter what the legal age, persons just below it are disposed to drink to excess.” (Nancy)...
Words: 1290 - Pages: 6
...because you're an adult you can do anything you want... except buy alcohol. By current law, to buy and drink alcohol legally one must be at least 21 years of age. But why is this magical number 21? As a legal adult, I do not understand the reason behind not allowing me to drink. President Ronald Reagan passed the national minimum drink age law in 1984. The act stipulates a minimum legal age of 21 for the purchase or public possession of any alcoholic beverage, and incorporates sanctions against states whose laws are not in compliance (Daniloff). Many argue that the age was changed to 21 because that is the approximate age that brain development levels off. This seems fairly logical, but is it really? And is it fair? Many feel that 21 years of age is when someone truly becomes an “adult” and that is a fitting age to legalize the use of alcohol, I disagree. When one turns 18, in this country, they are legally an adult no ifs, ands, or buts and should have all the rights as any other citizen of this great country. As an adult, one can legally vote, serve in the military, get married, get a credit card, buy cigarettes, gamble, etc. the list goes on. So, in all aspects of life, when someone turns 18 they are an adult and responsible for themselves, except alcohol; so the government should not limit this right until another age greater then that of an adult for adults are legally responsible in all other aspects. As an adult, I am told that I have the mental capacity and responsibility...
Words: 1671 - Pages: 7
...The drinking age has been a topic of debate ever since an age was established. Many years ago, government said that 21 years old would be the minimum age for drinking. This was fine for a while but later became an issue. People started to think of all the things one can do as an 18 year old, yet still not able to drink a beer. At 18 years old one is considered an adult. They become eligible to serve in the military and yield weapons. Also at 18, one can go out to the store and buy a pack of cigarettes. So why can they still not have a beer. This is where controversy has begun. People believe the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Already in some states it is legal for someone to drink at 18, under some circumstances, but why is it not nationwide?...
Words: 1772 - Pages: 8
...Should The Drinking Age Be Lowered To 18? Every teenager anticipates the day that they will finally be eighteen years old. This is the day they are finally seen as being an adult in the eyes of our government. Eighteen year olds are now free to make their own life choices and be held accountable for them. At the age of eighteen, you are free to put your life on the line and fight for your country, if you commit a crime you can be tried as an adult in court, and you are also give the right to vote in your country. So, why should the drinking age be twenty-one years old when you are considered an adult at the age of eighteen? At the age of eighteen you are not mature and responsible enough to purchase and consume alcohol. Alcohol has been around for centuries, showcased at parties, bars, sports events and just about everywhere. For these very reasons every day in our country the drinking age is being ignored and violated by young adults, teenagers, and even children all under the age of twenty-one. “On average ninety-five percent of those who will be alcohol consumers in their lifetime take their first drink before the age twenty one. Fifty percent of eighteen to twenty year olds consume alcohol on a regular basis” (McCardell 1). Based on these statistics we can conclude that the enforcement of the legal drinking age has fallen short. The most commonly known place where alcohol is consumed very heavily is on our college campuses. Many college students participate in binge...
Words: 1636 - Pages: 7
...The legal drinking age should be lowered in the United States. This makes the most sense because kids legally become an adult at the age of 18 where they are granted other rights as well, such as the ability to enlist in the army. If we are legally an adult and trusted to protect our country we should be trusted with a couple of drinks. Lowering the drinking age also decreases unsafe drinking in regulated environments and less drunk driving accidents. With regulated drinking kids become more aware with their alcohol tolerance and get used to it in a safe environment without doing it illegally. This creates a safer environment for everyone. With kids more aware of their intake of alcohol less accidents such as drunk driving will happen. The is why the drinking age should be lowered to the age of when you actually become an adult. Kids legally become an adult at the age of 18. At this time in your life you receive the rights and responsibilities of adulthood. Some examples of the choices that you might or can make are enlisting in the army, voting for president, buying lottery tickets...
Words: 1036 - Pages: 5
