At first glance, it seems like a good idea to have the driving age in Massachusetts raised to 18, but it is not as beneficial as it seems. Nationally, about forty percent of American teen deaths are from motor vehicle crashes, making them a major concern for parents and teens alike, but raising the driving age won’t fix this, and it could actually make this statistic worse. There are good reasons as to why the driving age should not be raised: it is inexperience not young age that causes crashes, parents of minors are allowed to deny their children licenses or permits, and raising the driving age would make it harder to get drivers proper training.

It is true that the risk of crashing is higher for the 16-18 age group than any other. This is the main reason that a lot of people want to have the driving age raised. They think that when these teens are a little older, their risk of crashing will significantly decrease, making roads safer for all. The problem with this logic is that the main reason that this age group has the highest crash rate is that they are the least experienced. If the driving age is raised, the only thing that will change is the age group of the inexperienced drivers. Instead, a good idea would be to increase the amount of time a teen needs a permit for, in order to get more experience before actually getting a license.

Advocates of raising the driving age often cite immaturity as a reason that the 16-18 age group has so many crashes. This is the part of the problem that raising the driving age will best address, but not all young drivers are immature. It would be unfair to punish the group as a whole for the actions of a few. Besides, there is already a way to prevent teens from driving before they are ready. If a person is under 18, they need parental permission to get a permit/license. Who better to judge the maturity of teens than their parents? If a parent feels that their son/daughter is not ready to drive, they can legally prevent them from doing so.

When they gain their learners permits, most new drivers learn to drive from their parents. At 18, most teens will be going off to college, depriving them of the opportunity to learn motor skills from their parents. Instead, young drivers might have older friends from campus show them how to drive, but their emphasis on the teen’s safety would not compare to that of a parent. In addition, if you are currently under 18 and want to get a license, it is required that you attend Driver’s Education classes. If the driving age was raised to 18, it wouldn’t be mandatory, and far less people would take the classes, leaving them less qualified to drive. Making the classes a requirement for getting a license, regardless of age, would help more than raising the driving age.

Overall, the few benefits of raising the driving age are far outweighed by the harm it would do. It would do nothing about the inexperience of new drivers, and even cause many to get less driving education. Instead, increasing the amount of time new drivers need a permit for, and making Driver’s Ed classes mandatory would be a better solution to making the road safer.