There are people who believe that the driving age in the United States should be increased. Sixteen-year-olds should no longer be able to operate motor vehicles. They simply do not think that it is safe.
Often, people with this position will point to studies by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which state that teenage drivers have the highest fatal car accident rate. In their 20s, drivers tend to get a bit safer. But does this actually mean that we should increase the driving age so there are no more teens on the road?
The problem of experience
While it can be argued that such a move would make the roads safer, it is not quite as clear-cut as it may appear. After all, the root cause of many of these accidents involving teen drivers is their lack of experience. This inexperience behind the wheel leads to avoidable mistakes, which in turn lead to car accidents.
But if the driving age were increased from 16 to 20, that would not increase the level of experience for those drivers. Someone at 20 or 21 years old would simply have the same amount of experience as a driver used to have at 16 or 17 years old. This suggests that it actually would not change the fatal accident rate, but would simply move it to an older group of drivers.
Seeking compensation
This helps to show how there are always risks on the road, and even safe drivers could be injured by mistakes made by others. Those who are injured need to know how to seek financial compensation.