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Students,
This week's blog commentary will be submitted to our blog comments below AND your new TeenBiz3000 accounts! For this week's blog commentary you must do the following:
1. Log in to your TeenBiz3000 account using your assigned username and password: http://www.teenbiz3000.com/
2. Select your class (Tr. Lacey and class name - do not choose Spanish version).
Click on your "mailbox" on the lefthand side of the screen and open the message from me, "Teacher Boland."
3. Read the assigned article, "Too Young To Drive?"
4. Click on the "Thought Question" at the top of the article and read and respond to the prompt. Click on the "Include in your answer" button to make sure you are following all directions (it is, after all, the theme of the week!).
5. Submit your "Thought Question" response to TeenBiz3000 and in the blog comments below (just like last week). As always, make sure to reread and edit for CUPS (capitalization, usage, punctuation and spelling).
This week's blog prompt/TeenBiz3000 "Thought Question":
Should lawmakers raise the minimum legal driving age to 17 or 18? Respond to the poll on the blog's sidebar and in your commentary below. Write a letter to lawmakers expressing your views on this issue. Be sure to include facts that support your opinion. Support your answer with details from the article, as well as ideas of your own. If you can, connect your thoughts on the issue to the events in Sharon Draper's Tears of a Tiger. Would raising the legal driving age prevent tragic accidents like the one involving Andy and his friends?
Due date (posted to the blog and TeenBiz300): Tuesday 4PM
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI feel that you should not raise the age when it comes to what age you should start driving. I personally feel that because some teenagers make horrible mistakes others don't so I don't think it is fair to push the consequences on all teenagers. I know you feel as if this is for our protection, but just think, if you were a teenager would you want the lawmakers to raise the age for driving? Even though the ages are higher in other places for people to start driving there still are accidents and there is no way for you to stop accidents all together. So I think that we should be able to drive at 16 years older and maybe even less. That's how I feel.
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lund's recommendation. I agree with it because teens even adults get in car crashes because there on the phone. Also 16 year olds aren't responsible enough to drive without extreme training in driving. And if it says that there are a lot less crashes and a lot less death's than I most certainly think that they should raise the driving age to 17. For example in tears of a tiger a bunch of teens went for a drive while drinking and the driver got his best friend killed. That is why agree that 16 year olds driving is a real threat.
Sincerely,
Ismail.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI recommend that you increase the driving age to 18 years old.
When you turn 18 your officially a adult, which to me seems like the perfect age to be able to drive. Every year over 5,000 teens die from motor vehicle accidents. You must change the legal driving age! I think its a threat to be driving at 16 or 17 years old because most people at that age are not fully mature and they do dumb things that could cause harm. For example in tears of a tiger they were drinking and driving, and maybe if they were older and more mature they would of understood that they shouldn't drink and drive. In conclusion I think that the legal driving age should be 18.
If you do not change the legal driving age to 18 years old you can cause a lot of unwanted deaths.
Sincerely,
Cullan
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think that this is an important issue but that it will be extremely hard to keep these fatalities from happening. You could boost the driving ages but there would still be underage drivers out there, having some fun with their friends in their mom's suv. And look at the drunk drivers. The alcohol age is 21 so most drunk driving accidents would happen with people over 21. I understand that some teens would be able to get their hands on alcohol, but not as many as people in their 20's 30's or 40's.
Another thing is that what causes heavy drinking is depression. Something that would probably come by a wife cheating on you or being fired. Which would probably happen more with people in their 40s or 50s. In conclusion, I do think it might be logical to raise the driving age, but this will not prevent all accidents.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Driving age in the states should not be raised to 17 or 18. I think this because it is, like parents said, hindering teenage freedom. By forcing them to be more dependent on parents, it makes it harder to prepare teens for life on their own. If the driving age was raised to 18, teens would virtually not know how to drive when they have to live by themselves. That would create more accidents, in my opinion, because they wouldn't have their parents to help them drive. This is just one reason why i think the driving age should be raised.
I think that the answer is not to raise the minimum driving age, i think it is to put more care into the testing that lets you drive. If a 16 year old were given a more challenging driving test, and warned about the dangers of accidents, there would be less accidents (like the one mentioned in the fictional book: Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper) because the only young drivers on the road would be the ones who had passed a challenging driving test. Also, when considering giving a license to a 16 year old, the officials in charge should ask for an estimate on how responsible their child is. I think this because people are different, some are more responsible than others, and we should not hinder the more responsible ones because of the less responsible ones. I think the driving age should not be raised.
Dear lawmakers and co.,
ReplyDeleteI am a little confused on why you haven't boosted the legal driving age already. As you can see, I am totally for your boosting the legal driving age idea. And as I said before, WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE IT ALREADY?! Too many people have died in car accidents and way too many of them are teens. I myself do not care if I don't get my drivers license any time soon. I just don't want to be in an accident. If you could make more of an effort to enforce more laws and enforce them harder, that would be great. Like people have said for a long time, "stop it before it happens".
So few people actually know the dangers of this world and only learn about them when it's too late. I have never personally met a person who got killed in a car crash. I've only met about 3 people who have been injured by a car crash and the nastiest of all of their injuries was a bad knee. Just like I've only met about 3 people who are in the army and not one of them has ever been deployed. So as you can see, not many people at all have ever faced the dangers of this world.
Sincerely,
Felix
Dear Government,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is a good and a bad idea.Its a good idea because,like it said in the article,there will be less accidents,including:car crashes and such,lie in Tears of a Tiger.And younger kids tend to get diverted fairly quick,opposed to older kids.And there are places that let kids drive with an adult before driving solo.And in a few places,car accidents happen consistently,like in New Jersey or in Connecticut.Which is why its a good idea change the age for diving.
I think its also a bad idea because some many sixteen year olds depend on their drivers license for freedom,and who could blame them?Living with much nagging and such for sixteen years.And there are other ways of letting car accidents decrease,like it said in the article:not allowing kids to drive drunk or using their cellphones.Which is why its also a bad idea to change the age for driving.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteNo I do not think that the age at which teens should be able to start to drive should be moved up. I think that keeping the age as it is, will help parents in many different ways. My first reason is that some parents will not have to take their kids to school and pick them up in the afternoon and they might like that. Also, taking kids to and from school decreases the work time for work-at-home moms, like mine. This is why I think that keeping the age as it is, will help the parents of kids who get their drivers licenses.
I also think that keeping the age the same will help teens too! My first reason is that if the teen has a younger sibling, then s/he will be able to drive them to school in the mornings. Also, The teen might think of getting their drivers license at the age of 16 as extra time to practice their driving skills, so that when they're older and have to drive more, they will be ready. Anyways, if the teen driving crashes for whatever reason, it is their fault for not paying close attention to the road. This is why I think keeping the minimum age the same will be a great advantage to the teen with the drivers license.
Sincerely, Celia H.
Independence Charter School
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe that the legal driving age should be boosted to 17 or 18.I believe that it is important to be safe, and after all, it wouldn't hurt to wait one more year. Parents might argue it would be taking away responsibility and would make them more dependent on their parents, and would also be more inconvenient for them to take their children to and from school, practices, etc. But I also can't imagine they would like their child(ren) to be injured in a car accident. It could virtually insure their safety as well as others.
I do believe that teenagers are not the main problem, seeing as 40% of car crashes are due to drunk driving. It is also very important to stop this, but I think everything counts. If teenagers driving at the age of 16 is stopped, and the minimum legal age is 17 or 18, many accidents could be prevented. A study shows that 16-year-old's had more accidents than older teenagers that had begun to drive. These actions might virtually be able to save lives of the 5000 U.S. teens dying each year due to motor vehicle accidents.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe they should be aloud to drive if you're 16 and older. Many of them study how to drive so they can and they save money and if they're 16 and have a car what's the use. Also I believe there should be some requirements such as no cell phones except for emergencies or parents, also no alcohol or food that could get there eyes of the road and also they should have to have atleast one person 18 and older in the car to make sure of anything during emergencies. More people driving alone at 16 die then 17 or 18 because they aren't being careful that's why new jersey's rule is a good one but as in most states they allow them to go around and put their life at risk to hurt them.Also in tears of a tiger ahigh scholar died in a crash so they should prevent this and it's based on a true story so it's a bad idea to let them drink and drive. So I Believe you can drive at 16 with an adult there in the car that's responsible but without and adult I think you should wait until you're 17 or 18 to drive.
Dear Lawmakers:
ReplyDeleteI recommend Lund's idea because I think we should raise the driving age to 17 or 18. In studies, the leading cause of death for teenagers is driving accidents. In New Jersey they have raised the driving age to 17 and they have the least amount of crashes nationwide - only 18/100,000. In Connecticut, teenagers who died in car accidents was 26/100,000. While there are other options to raising the driving age, like more supervised teen driving, this is not enough. Raising the driving age will keep more teens alive.
My class currently is reading a book named Tears of A Tiger by Sharon Draper. The book starts with 4 teenagers and they crash into a wall. One of the teens dies. He was the basketball team captain.
Changing the driving age may not be good for me but it is good for society. This is why I think they should raise the age limit for teenage driving to 17 or 18.
Sincerely,
Aaron Watson-Sharer
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe teens should be able to drive if they are 16 or older. Many teens study how to drive to save money on insurance. Instead of changing the driving age, there should be some requirements such as no cell phones except for emergencies. Just like Connecticut and New Jersey, you can require teens to drive with at least one person 18 or older in the car to make the teen more responsible.
Teens are not the worst drivers. Drunk drivers and drivers who speed are the biggest problem. They put their lives at risk. In Tears of a Tiger, a high school student died in
a crash. It wasn't because of his age. It was from drinking. So, I believe you can drive at 16 with an adult in the car. That's responsible. Without an adult, I think you should wait until you're 17 or 18 to drive.
Sincerely,
Luke Watson-Sharer
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think raising the age at which teens may drive is . . Will decrease the drinking while driving and decrease the amount of death that lead to from drinking while driving.also because kids are not supposed to be drinking because 21 or older.so that will also lead to less death & card accidents.so i think that they should raise the age of drinking so people won't be drinking while driving and hurt them self but others around them.
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think raising the age at which teens may drive is . .. going to decrease the drinking while driving and decrease the amount of death that lead to from drinking while driving. Also because kids are not supposed to be drinking because they are not 21 or older. So that will also lead to less death & car accidents. So I think that they should raise the age of drinking so people won't be drinking while driving and hurt them self or others around them.
From,
Malik
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe raising the age of driving will make little progress in keeping teens safe.Experts agree that most accidents are caused by drunk driving and texting while driving. When you're drunk you lose control of your body and there have been many accidents. Also,texting while driving causes accidents because you get distracted.
I also don't agree with raising the age because its only one year apart and many teens deserve to have their freedom.Most teens get embarrassed by there parents dropping them off and picking them up from school or a party or even your friends house.I would recommend not raising the driving age because some teens may take it as a threat.Instead of raising the age of driving you should make a new law of not texting while driving or educate teens about not texting or drinking while driving.
Sincerely ,
Anamaria Alfaro
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDelete5,000 lives are taking away from teens each year because of motor vehicle accidents. 5,000 is a huge number of lives taken away and from teens to. This is a terrible thing, of course states say that they have consequences for teenagers that drive while texting but that's not the problem. The problem is teens getting into accidents while driving and die, not teenagers texting while driving. Although texting is one of the many ways that teens die each year because of motor vehicle accidents there are other ways to for those terrible things to happen. For example, in the book "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon Draper a teen dies from a car accident and the people in the car and the driver feel terrible about the whole thing. Yes you may be taking away the freedom of teens but you will be saving their lives in the making and when they grow up they will understand that it was smart because those numbers will decrease. It's a threat to not listen to this problem because if you change the law to 17 or 18 or to even 20 those lives of 5,000 teenagers would decrease, of course there will be some that die but not 5,000. I recommend that you change the age for driving to 17 or 18 or probably the safest 20 because those 5,000 lives could still be alive right now.
Sincerely,
Ellie
Keep the comments coming, 7th graders! Many of these comments are giving some great examples of why/why not raising the minimum driving age limit might be important, and they also show the importance of how other efforts could help decrease fatalities, too.
ReplyDeleteBonus question: What do you think the teachers and community at Hazelwood High could have done to prevent Rob's death? Can teachers and communities help deter students from driving under the influence? If so, how?
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI would recommend that you not change the driving age to 17 or 18.I think as you get older you have to take more responsibility.My parents have already started making me wash my own clothes,but my own things and many other task.I already have to take the train back to my house from school.And when I'm 16, It would help if I could drive myself to different places instead of making my mom go everywhere with me.
I understand that thousands of teens die because of car crashes.But most of those are either because they're drinking,or they're texting or talking on the phone.But we can do things to prevent that.I know some people that turn off their phones,or put it silence so that they don't get distracted.
It also said in the article that some people that get caught being careless while they're driving have to go to the hospital and talk to people that have been hurt while texting and driving.I also think you should punish people that give or sell alcohol to minors,or people below 21 years of age.Please consider what i am saying in this letter,to making a decision.
Sicerely,
Alianna
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think that you should definitely raise the legal driving age because it could and will save many lives. Research by the IIHS shows that the rate of car crash related deaths of teenagers of the ages of 16-17 in NJ is 18 of every 100,000. In Connecticut, it was 26 of every 100,000. Also, more studies indicate that raising the driving age may lower the rate of teen accidents. The NHSA (National Highway Safety Administration) found 16-year-old divers to be 10 times more likely than drivers ages 30-59 to be involved in a car accident. Adrian Lung, president of IIHS, said; "the bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives."
Although teenagers oppose the idea, they are expected to so that they can drive. If you think about it, probably 8 out of 10 of those teens just want to drive so they can fool around in the car with their buddies. The parents could just be parents who have busy lives and don't have the time to drive their kids around. But, will they care about whether or not their kid was in a car accident or if you are 5 minutes late for a not so mandatory something at work? I'm guessing that they would probably chose being 5 minutes late. I hope you take my opinion in consideration when making an answer.
Sincerely,
Emma
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think that you should definitely raise driving age because it would save lots of lives. Also because most of teen car accidents happen around the ages of of 16-17. New Jersey is the only state that has this law and a study has been made that in 1990s 18 out of 100,000 teenagers died in car accidents. But in Connecticut 26 out of 100,000 teenagers died in car accidents.
Many parents are against the law because they think they should no longer have to drive there teenagers around. They also say it takes away there independence. Other people say that we shouldn't be worrying about teens and worry more about drunk driver and speeders. But I think that we should worry about teenagers getting into accidents and raising the driving age to 18 years old.
Sincerely,
Tomas
I'm really sorry but i forgot to add something:
ReplyDeleteAlso, in Germany there are many things that are being done against driving accidents, especially in teens. For example, the legal drinking age is 16, and after 2 years of experimenting, you are legally aloud to drive. Of course, the drinking subject is taken a lot more liberally but there are more ways of getting out to people and letting them know that drinking and driving DO NOT mix. Additionally, nobody has really gotten into getting out to the youth of this country until now, and in this not-so-helpful way. Don’t get me wrong it will still help, just why haven’t we used town hall meetings and youth forums and chat rooms to our advantage. After all, this country was built off of communication. Let’s say you gave everybody access to you town hall meetings and make youth forums for schools and other youth groups to use to educate teens and kids. If the information gets out there, it can do more than try to keep every single 16-year-old off the streets. it’s better if we understand the danger of driving than not teaching us. As the old saying says, “Give a man a fish, he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for life.”
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think raising the age at which teens should drive is at the age of 16 and up, because it takes a lot of responsibility to be able to drive because it takes a lot of effort and studying and practice. I also think that teens should be careful at all times while driving because a lot of teens like to be inside of the crowd so they drive all fast without a seat belt and they want to drive all leaned back to the point where they can't even see what is really in the front of them. I think that the appropriate age is really between the ages of 17 and up, because when teens are 16 they are able to get there permit so that's when they think the fun of driving begins.
Thank You,
Miecha
Dear Lawmakers
ReplyDeletePlease do not raise the age at which teens should drive.If you should please raise it at the age 17.I think 17 is a good age ,I think 18 is a little older.I think 17 is a good age not too young not too old. Lawmakers If you do choose the age 17 we need more cops to be there,to be careful about kids who drink and drive.If we pay attention to what kids are doing these days we can stop this. I really hope you guys take this into consideration .
Goodbye fellow Bloggers,
I think the people at Hazelwood high could have prevented Rob's death because, they could have at least told the kids no late out driving . Be careful they could have watched them , made sure their okay.The community could have cool programs to help these students and It could be called "drunk driving".They really could help kids by providing them with could people who understand about school and growing up.I think this will give kids time to talk like when Andy went to the shrink and got his time to talk .They can all express how they feel.
ReplyDeleteGoodbye fellow bloggers
Dear Lawmakers ,
ReplyDeleteMy opinion on this situation is predictable. Considering that the facts on the article/novel are pretty persuasive ; my answer is yes I recommend that they should raise the driving ages to 17 and 18. If children at the age of 16 are not responsible enough to handle their responsibility as a driver they should be able to wait til the appropriate age to take full responsibility of driving. For example, in the book tears of a tiger an accident with Andy, B.J, Tyrone, Rob actually relates to this situation. Andy was driving drunk (drunk driving) and they got in an accident which lead to Rob getting killed. If Andy was older he would have had a better chance to make a reliable decision to let B.J drive because he wasn't drinking; And Rob wouldn't of died that night. That's what me as a student would do if I were a lawmaker.
Sincerely ,
Trinia Alvelo
Students,
ReplyDeleteA lot of you are advocating for raising the minimum legal driving age. Don't forget to vote on the poll in the top, right-hand corner of the blog. I'm not sure the poll is reflecting the beliefs of our class quite yet.
@Trinia, you make a great point about Tears of a Tiger. A few more years under Andy's belt, may have prevented such a poor lapse in good judgment. But, don't forget to capitalize the important words in titles!
@The rest of the 7th grade: How do you weigh in on Andy's tragic accident?
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe you shouldn't raise the age limit to 17 or 18 because.We will still have people over the age of 18 driving;with teenagers under the age of 18 in the car with them drinking and driving. It will make no difference drinking and driving will still happen with any teenagers. Just raising the age limit won't stop people from drinking and driving. They will still do it and then later deal with the consequences of Jail Time, Somebody dying, Your self dying,Or getting hurt really bad. People are gonna still drink and drive it doesn't matter what you do.Drinking and driving will happen with any age. In conclusion, I think you lawmakers shouldn't raise the age limit to driving. Because it will make no difference in teenagers getting kilt in car accidents, You also cant control what people.
Sincerely, Kileyah
Dear Lawmakers, I think that you shouldn't raise the legal driving age because I feel as though that just because Some 16 year old's made bad decisions doesn't mean everyone will make those kind of decisions. Like in the book Tears Of A Tiger the group of boys decided to go drinking and driving and they were 17 years old so that shows that at any age you could make a bad decision. So, don't punish all because of some reckless teens that don't care about others that are also driving on the road and any decision they make can effect others. But I do agree that teens driving diverts attention from bigger driving issues but that's big too.So in conclusion raising the legal won't really change anything.
ReplyDeleteDear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think raising the age at which teens may drive is 18 or 19 because if you are driving at a younger age like 15 or 16 you might get into a accident more faster because I think that the older you are the mature you get and the younger you are the less mature you are about driving
Thank you
Wysper
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think you should change the minimum legal driving age because there will probably be less accidents, people could become more responsible while driving because they are older, and teens are against it because they want to drive. In the article it said that in New Jersey they changed the legal driving age and there where less accidents. If you changed the legal driving age people might become more responsible. Parents might say that teens would become dependent of them but waiting a little bit more to be able to drive isn't going to kill them either. Shouldn't parents want to be with their children anyway. In the book tears of a tiger by Sharon Draper Andy was driving and was 17 if he wasn't aloud to drive he never would have been in a accident and his friend never would have been killed. Those are some of the reasons why I think you should change the legal driving age.
Teens don't want to change the minimum driving age because they want to drive so they wont want people to make a law that doesn't allow them to drive. Virtually every teen wants to be able to drive as soon as possible because that is something they look forward to in the future. Everybody makes such a big deal about driving every body really wants to do it. Maybe if they also considered bad things that happen because of driving they wouldn't be so exited. People can die in car crashes but some people just think that it isn't going to happen to them but it could. They should think more about safety than their wants. In conclusion I think you should change the legal driving age.
sincerely,
Isabel M
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI do not a agree with your choice of raising the driving age to 17 or 18. I do not disagree not only because I can't wait to drive when I'm 16 I also see no need for it. The age does not matter the responsibility does. Plus if you stick any inexperienced driver in front of the wheel they cant be good at first.
Plus I agree with the parents when they said that it gives a teenager freedom. This is one of the only big things that you can look forward to before you are 18. Teenagers aren't the only ones that get into accidents so I suggest you focus more on the drunk drivers then a teen driver.
Sincerely,
Philippa
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI do not a agree with your choice of raising the driving age to 17 or 18. I do not disagree not only because I can't wait to drive when I'm 16 I also see no need for it. The age does not matter the responsibility does. Plus if you stick any inexperienced driver in front of the wheel they cant be good at first.
Plus I agree with the parents when they said that it gives a teenager freedom. This is one of the only big things that you can look forward to before you are 18. Teenagers aren't the only ones that get into accidents so I suggest you focus more on the drunk drivers then a teen driver.
Sincerely,
Philippa
Dear whomever this may concern,
ReplyDeleteI am a 12 year old girl. I take Septa this year and was positively excited about it. I was ready to be independent and stand away from my parents wings. So you can't imagine how excited I must be for having my license at 16. Most teens/pre-teens may feel this way as well, but these kind of articles make us want to die! Who isn't excited about driving. No more listening to your parents sing old songs that just depresses you. For example in the article it says that parents are excited that they don't have to take their kids everywhere because they don't have their license yet.SO in conclusion I think that the legal age to drive should stay at 16.
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI believe that changing the law to you have to be 17 or 18 to drive will not change the accident rate. I mean yes if the teens are 17 or 18 they will be more mature. But the reason that teens get into a car accident are not always their fault. Some times it is the adults that are driving fault because they could be drunk and crash into a teen who is driving or they could not be paying attention and crash into someone. Also I think that not all teenagers are reckless drivers who text or who are on their phones while they drive, because there are teens who are good at driving. Another thing is that a lot of teens/pre teens would be disappointed is the law was made to you have to be 17 or 18 to drive. Like in a book I was reading there was a 17 year old boy who was driving drunk and crashed. Then his friend died so even though the boy was 17 he was drinking and driving. So in conclusion no matter what age you are you can still get in to accidents that can cause injury or death.
Sincerely,
Logan
So Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe that you shouldn't raise the driving age. This is because a lot of teens are looking forward to driving when they turn 16. If the state does choose to raise the legal driving age it should be 17. The lawmakers should raise the driving age to 17 if they decide to raise it to that because it's only 1 year above 16. Before a teen gets it's license they should have to go through a couple of classes before they are allowed to get their license. The classes should be about how serious drinking while driving really is, and also some classes on how to be a good driver. In class we're reading this good book, tears of a tiger. It started off with teens drinking while driving and a teen died. They shouldn't even be drinking anyway because they're too young too drink beer/liquor. It's sad because more than 5,000 U.S. teens died in car accidents. But I still believe that lawmakers shouldn't raise the driving age, But than again they should raise the driving age because when some states choose too raise the driving age good results come out, for example less deaths in New Jersey and Connecticut. So believe that it can go both ways.
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI believe that changing the law to you have to be 17 or 18 to drive will not change the accident rate. I mean yes if the teens are 17 or 18 they will be more mature. But the reason that teens get into a car accident are not always their fault. Some times it is the adults that are driving fault because they could be drunk and crash into a teen who is driving or they could not be paying attention and crash into someone. Also I think that not all teenagers are reckless drivers who text or who are on their phones while they drive, because there are teens who are good at driving. Another thing is that a lot of teens/pre teens would be disappointed is the law was made to you have to be 17 or 18 to drive. Like in a book I was reading there was a 17 year old boy who was driving drunk and crashed. Then his friend died so even though the boy was 17 he was drinking and driving. So in conclusion no matter what age you are you can still get in to accidents that can cause injury or death.
Sincerely,
Logan
Dear lawmakers
ReplyDeleteOK well i now i think they should raise the age limit to start driving just because of how many teens die but also i do agree that they shouldn't focus on that to much because lots of people just don't die from age but they also die because if drunk drivers and from using there phones while there driving but also even if they do make the legal age higher the same thing is going to happen because some teens just dont care so they do it anyways because they think its cool so if you do change the age its not gonna even make a difference.
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that we should raise the minimum driving age to 17 or 18 for many reasons. One of the reasons is that one year of growth does not necessarily make a person a better driver. Or a better learner. Accidents are not always caused by bad driving but by irresponsible driving. Just because vehicle related deaths are the largest source of teen deaths does not mean it is their fault. It could be that the teenagers are following the rules but other people are not. Another reason is that the drunk accidents are not the teens fault but the fault of the people who sell them the alcohol. Another reason that I oppose raising the driving the age is that I think that it will cause more accidents. I think this because after knowing that they had to wait an extra year they will be more eager to drive and party. Also, that by raising the age students will not know the consequences and therefore be able to drink more easily while driving.
Sincerely,
Peter
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think that you should increase the age limit for driving to 18 years old. I think that because in New Jersey they raised the age limit to be 17 and studies have shown that less teens have died in a automobile accident then any other state in the country. Also i think you should in crease it because death by an automobile is the number one cause for death for teens. I also think that you should increase the age limit because i think once your older you become more responsible and wont think when you are drunk and these could help because forty percent of teens that were killed in an car crash have been drinking. That's why I think that you should change the age limit.
If you don't change the age limit look at the next death of a teen and feel the guilt because you could have prevented that.
Sincerely,
Eamon
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI believe and recommend that you should not raise the age because teenagers are not given enough independence as they should. They are practically adults witch means they should be treated like adults. 16 year olds are less of a threat than 17 or 18 year wold's because they are closer to the legal drinking age so they can get away with drinking more often. But i think they should make people redo the driving test every 2 years to make sure they are still following the rules. In conclusion I believe that we should trust our teenagers and not raise the minimum driving age. This question has a lot to do with Tears Of A Tiger by Sharon M. Draper because in that there is also a car crash due to drunk driving.
-Elinor
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think that you should make the driving age 18. I think this because some 16 year-olds may have a sudden need to do adult thing such as drinking. Therefore there will be more accidents in young adults. If you bring up the driving age to 18 they will not have the same needs as others because they will be caught up in school. I also believe that by briniging the driving age up you are preventing the number of deaths in 16 year-olds.
The book "Tears of a Tiger" is what actually started my opinion. It did so by the way it described the horrible accident and how everyone was mourning after there loss. Another thing is that in the text it says that there was actually a 16 year-old in the car, although he was'nt drinking or driving, he still could have been injured. Anyone could have been injored due to drunk driving. It also say that every 18 minutes every day of every year, someone dies in a drunk driving accident. Do you want that to happen to someone that you love and cae about?
Sincerely,
Noah
I.C.S. 7th grade
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think that kids should start driving at 18.I say that because the possibility of an accident will become major if the drove at a younger age.That would mean more people in the hospital or dead.And it will also mean more kids in jail.The world is already violent as it is.WE DON'T WANT MORE VIOLENCE!So if you could, please make the driving limit at 18.
from,
Shamir
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think changing the legal driving age is a good idea. I think this because the lives of teenagers is much more important than the laziness of parents. The article says that parents are looking forward to not driving their teens to school, sporting events, and other places. I think parents should be more worried about their young drivers' safety than the time it would take out of their own day to drive them places.
The article also says that drivers in New Jersey are at least seventeen years old. It tells us the that New Jersey also has less teen driving accidents than states that let younger teens drive. This shows that raising the legal driving age has helped in New Jersey. Raising the legal driving age may help in other states too.
Although driving may seem like the easiest way to get from place to place, public transportation is a good way of getting around too. If the legal driving age is raised a year or two, teens could still use buses, trains, and subways. People can get almost anywhere using public transportation, especially in big cities. Using public transportation may eliminate the threat of teen driving.
Sincerely, Sabine
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think increasing the age for driving is a good idea. Even though I want to start driving when I'm sixteen, I'm scared I might get in an accident myself. I think this because when teens start driving at the age of sixteen, they think that they are already mature adults and think they can do whatever they want. The problem with teenagers driving is they drive when drunk or drive really quickly not knowing what might happen next, death. In the article, it says that New Jersey did a study showing that teens who drive at sixteen have died in car crashes more than teens that drive at seventeen or eighteen. I think when you turn seventeen or eighteen, you start getting more mature. When older people start realizing they have to be responsible for certain things like driving, and not texting or drinking alcohol while driving, and not driving too quickly.
I think this article connects to the book Tears of Tiger because it describes how teens drink and drive just like the book. I think this because in the book Andy is a teen who is driving drunk and gets into an accident, and he kills his best friend Robert. It shows that he is not responsible and not mature enough to understand that drunk driving is a very bad thing. When he realizes he killed his friend from drunk driving he starts being a little more responsible for his actions. That's why I think you should increase the age for drunk driving to seventeen or eighteen.
Sincerely,
Hanna Dunakin
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think that you should raise the driving age to 17 or 18, because even though it's just a year or two it makes a big difference. 5,000 teens die each year because of car accidents. If we raise the age it will decrease the number of teen accidents and deaths. In New Jersey they raised the minimum driving age to 17 and it has made a huge difference. Therefore I believe we should raise the driving age to 17 or 18.
This topic relates to the book "Tears of a Tiger" because in that story a 17 year old boy dies because of drunk driving. That shows that teens can be irresponsible at that age and not always capable of making good decisions.
Sincerely,
Indee
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteRaising the minimum legal driving age could have many positive and negative sides. For example if you were to raise the minimum driving age many teenager would have serious problems. Some people may not be able to afford bus rides or may not live anywhere near a bus stop that takes them to where they want to go. This could result in teenagers not making it to school or a other important place like the doctors. This is only one of the reasons why raising minimum driving age good be negative but there are also reasons why lawmakers should consider raising the minimum driving age.
A few positive reasons to why you should raise the minimum driving age is that teenagers get into to much accidents. Most accidents are from drinking and driving. Every 18 minutes a teenager dies in a car accident. These number rise to be a lot. Although teenagers need to learn responsibility,how not to be dependent and how to drive correctly they don't understand how important it is not to be drunk when their driving. In the book tears of a tiger Andy (the main character) goes out with him friends and gets drunk. Thinking it would be funny to drive uncontrollably he crashes into a wall. He and a few other of his friends have enough time to get out and same themselves but Robbie (Andy's friend) dies in the car because of a explosion that happened when the car hit the wall. Andy feels extremely depressed. While teenagers already have enough pressure on their hand, being the driving of car in a accident where their friend dies, doesn't make thing better, only worse. these kinds of stuff could lead to serious stuff such as suicide. In conclusion raising the minimum age of driving as advantages and disadvantages.
sincerely,
Emilia F.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI do not like your proposal. Teens should be able to drive when they are 16! Some people are not good drivers but they could also be older than 16. If anything, the state could make a more difficult driving test for teens, but they shouldn't raise the minimum legal driving age. Like the girl said in the article, lots of kids look forward to driving and if they have to wait longer, it wouldn't be very fair for virtually all of them. Plus, if the teen has a problem with drinking, then the parents could make them wait a while. In the article, parents also say that teens become more responsible when they have the ability to drive and they aren't so dependent on their parents. In the book, "Tears of a Tiger," they weren't very responsible when they drank and drove, but that doesn't mean ALL teens are like that. Plus, that could have also happened if they were older! It's not always the age that's the problem, it's the drinking that can be the problem for some car accidents! So, in conclusion, I do not think you should raise the minimum legal driving age.
Sincerely,
Aya Albasti
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that you should raise the legal driving age to 17 or 18 years old. One reason that I feel this way is because, I don't think one year will make a difference. It will still be their first year driving no matter what. I think the true reason for so many accidents in young 16 or 17-year-olds because it is their first year driving and they do not have very much experience.
I don't think it will prevent drunk driving accidents. The legal drinking age is 21, so drunk driving accidents would be more likely to be to someone who is over the age of 21. Changing the legal driving age will also take away responsibility from teens. Responsibility helps character and lets teens have experiences of their own. Teens learn from their experiences. That is why I don't think you should change the legal driving age.
Sincerely Isabel H.
Dear law makers,
ReplyDeleteI think that teen driving should be prevented more by doing a lot of things in our case lowering the driving age.Even though me and my fellow teens have the urge to start driving at a young age, i feel as though that you're right. You should lower the driving age because we teens are causing more deaths to us and our families because we have the idea of drunk driving or we have already done it.When i get older i want to drve a motorcycle, if my parents and family were to get a call saying that i'm in critical condition at the hospital beacause of drunk driving i would feel awful because i put my family through so much pain.My friend in my class is going to be able to drive in 8th grade, me and is other friends plan on doing what ever we want when he gets his permitt and car. I'm going to let me and our friends on making our own discisions. But i'm going to have my independence and take the train or bus.
Sincerly,
Ky'lee M.Cade
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think the driving age should be at the age of 18 for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that you don't need a car in high school. The second reason is that in college everything is close by so if you are drinking you won't have to drive anywhere unless you are going to see your family but I doubt you will be drinking before you do that. The third reason is that it will save the environment because teenagers want to drive everywhere so if the driving age is 18 there will be less cars on the street.
Sincerely,
Gerrit
I think that you should make the driving age older. As i read in the article "Too young to drive", I realized how many lives of teenagers are being wasted and threatened by driving. Naturally I believe that there are many responsible drivers, but it seems that there are also many irresponsible drivers. I think that at 16 teenagers should be allowed drive to make a errand to the store, small things like that.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Tears of a tiger, Andy and his friends were drinking and driving which is a perfect example of a situation that could occur.I understand how the parents may feel about wanting their child to be more independent, as well as not wanting to drive their child everywhere. But when it really comes down to it, would you rather your child be safe at all times or risking their life?
-Lola
Dear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think raising the age at which teens may drive is good idea because it will allow them more time to practice and study all the driving laws in their city. According to Mr. Adrian Lund, president of an auto safety group, raising the age would lower the number of accidents among teenagers. Studies have shown that the later teens learned to drive reduces the number of accidents down the road.
Unfortunately, many teens and myself included may oppose the idea, so do many parents. They look to driving at the golden age of sixteen is priceless and a rite of passage in a young adult. But they don't realize that it comes with a lot of responsibility, not being able to use your cellphone, not suppose to text and especially not drinking while driving.
Sincerely,
Donovan
Dear Lawmen and Women,
ReplyDeleteI don't think raising the minimal legal driving age will make much of a difference, I agree with Ms.Karen Sternheimer. I think the problem is not kids being too young to drive, It's that too many kids are drinking and driving. For example, in the book Tears of a Tiger I am sure that Andy would have dropped the boys off and got to hang out with his girlfriend had he and the boys not been drinking "bottles of sunshine". Kids at ages 16, 17, and 18 I think would still have access to a car and drive it without a licence just because they think they can, as long as they don't get caught. The last thing I want to say is I don't think we should be comparing studies from the 1990's just because I think cars and people's way of thinking when they're behind the wheel has changed scence 21 years ago.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all. I think you should raise the driving age bescause the older they are the wiser they can get. I also think that it probably might not change the druck driving because the older people get they want to drink more and go out, then who going to dive them home? Also if they are driving at a young age parents should be in the car or an responsable adult.I think the driving age should be 18 or older.
Sincerely,
Taylor Polen
Dear lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI don't think teenagers are too young to drive; 'cause if they need to go somewhere they dont have to depend on their parents of public transportation and have their own ride.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think it will be good if they drive wan there like 20 or 21, because teens that drive when they are 16 or 17 some get in car accidents. It will be better if teens don't use there cellphones while driving or drinking.
I also think that they should stop driving only when there like 20 or 21,but I also think that they can drive when there 18. The cause of death for teenagers accidents should stop and change the age driving.
Sincerely,
Wendy
Dear lawmaker,
ReplyDeletei think that you shouldn't raise the driving age because not all teens drink and not all teens drive. Also some parents don't want to drive their teens everywhere since they have things to do also, and when there 16 years old they are not able to drive with out someone that has a license. So really they are safe up in til they are 18 when they can drive without someone with there license. I also think that high-schools should teach teens how drinking and driving can lead to death and broken bones... So i disagree that the driving age should not be raise to 17 and 18 years old cause age dose not matter it's the person who drives.
Dear Law-makers,
ReplyDeleteI disapprove the bill of raising the legal driving age to 17-18. I disapprove because teens needs to learn responsibility at a young age.
It also helps the parent because what if the parent's job is very far from the high school the child attend to and have to risk being late to his or her job because they have to drive their child to school,that could cause more unemployed citizens, something we don't need.
I understand the percent of teen death is very high but I agree with some law-makers by showing teens the danger of driving distracted or paying close attention to them will decrease the death rate without raising the legal age limit.With this law more teens will be more careful when they're driving because they know what happens when they drive distracted.This is why i disapprove of the bill to raise the legal driving limit to 17-18
sincerely,
mykyah
I think it depends who you are to drive at 16-18 because if your ma-chore you can drive. If your not ma-chore and you goof around you should think about getting a car. Parents should think about how their kids are to get them a car.
ReplyDeleteDear Members of the state government,
ReplyDeleteI believe that even if you do rise the legal driving age you will have the same problems. I believe this because i believe that teens hate to not be able to do something. With that in mind i think they will have more of an urge to drive. Meaning that they will want to drive sooner. This will not only rise the drunk driving rate but illegal driving rate. Because they will not stop drinking. I think your approach on this problem is wrong. I think you should start at drinking. Too many teens are drinking when not of age. This is bad because one like you stated they will drive drunk causing accidents. But also drinking at a young age is bad for your health. Parents should set an example but not drinking in front of children. So i believe by setting a good example we will be able to stop the problem by its source. Which is drinking at a young age.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI don't think teens are too young to drive. I don't think this because it depends on the age of teenagers driving if they are 15 & 16 i think that's too young to drive because most teens at that age get carried away and start going everyone and they start drinking and driving and they end up in situations that they wouldn't want to be in i'm trying to say they use as an advantage to get away with certain things at that age. I think the age of 17 and higher are more mature of what they should and shouldn't do when they get to this age and higher, because they should already no from right and wrong and it's their choice to not do wrong and they know the CONSEQUENCES for their mistake
Dear Law Makers
ReplyDeleteI think that you should raise the driving age. It is kinda weird of me to say that because I am 13 and all, but we have the programs new jersey does than it could work.i said could because new jersey has very good law enforcement. So if the others do the same thing than we probably stop the problem all together.the extra year in the united sates will make a good difference to the country.it may not stop the problem all together but if a live is saves it helps.Studies show that 16 year olds they get in less accidents.so that's why i think that you should raise driving rate
Dear lawmakers, 10/10/11
ReplyDeleteI believe that the legal driving should not be raised to seventeen or eighteen. If you do raise the legal driving age the teenagers still won't have any experience driving an automobile any way. If you are going to change any rules of teenage driving I think that you should change the amount of time that the teenager must have a licensed driver in the front seat. My understanding is that a licensed driver who is at least 21 years old needs to be in the front seat while you still have your learners permit.(at least in Pennsylvania.)I think that you should raise that time period.Even if you raise that age the teenagers still won't be happy but it does allow them to drive at sixteen SAFELY.
My second argument does not really have to do with the laws but teenagers in general. Every teenagers waits for the day that they can get their license and be free. Just think about it: a fifteen year old just waiting for the day and BOOM a new law just pops up crushing there dreams. Then they have to wait until they are eighteen in order to be free. By the time most teenagers are eighteen a majority of them will be going to collage about to be free with or without a license.
So to conclude both my arguments in this letter I believe that you the lawmakers should not raise the legal driving age.
Sincerely A Concerned Citizen
Kai B.
P.S. What about adults they can be irresponsible too....
Why don't you think about that?
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteI think you shouldn't raise the age at which teens may drive.I recommend you shouldn't because the age doesn't matter in which you are mature enough to drive. For example, in the article it states it takes away tens independence, i think it does and a lot of people agree. Also in the article it states, there's other things that can prevent accidents, such as while teens are driving there can be an adult in the car. Another example is, teen driving isn't a big threat like drunk driving, as it says in the article. In conclusion that's why you shouldn't raise the age at which teens should drive.
Sincerely,
Apollonia
Dear Lawmakers ,
ReplyDeleteI recommend that you should raise the driving age to 17 and 18 because when your that age your an adult and your more responsible. When your 16 your still a teenager, and according to the article more than 5,000 teenagers in the US die each year from car accidents. So if you decrease the driving age the more teens will die, and also when your 16 you make bad decisions and your not fully mature. In the book Tear of a Tiger by Sharon Draper a group of teens won a basketball game so they wanted to celebrate by drinking while in a vehicle and they crashed the car and one of their friends died. They know they're not suppose to drink and drive at the same time like i said before teens make bad decisions and have consequences for doing that bad decision. This is why i think you should raise the driving age.
The people who like the test say… that it not easy to take a hard test without studying.also doing what have to do what the teacher tells you.Next next they also wants to learn about the text before they take it.
ReplyDeleteThe people who like the test say… that it not easy to take a hard test without studying.also doing what have to do what the teacher tells you.Next next they also wants to learn about the text before they take it.
ReplyDeleteDear Lawmakers;
ReplyDeleteI believe that changing the legal driving age will not make a BIG difference in teen deaths because of car accidents. It may make some difference, but i don't think it'll be a lot. I think this because even if you do raise the legal driving age there's always that irresponsible kid that makes the mistake of letting a 15 or 16 year old kid drive their car. Then they'll go joy riding and will wind up doing something stupid that teenagers do that might take a life.
Now, 15 and 16 year olds may say " Oh, I won't do anything stupid and even if I do it won't happen to me." Your no exception. Just because your the high school basketball star or just because your related to someone famous that doesn't mean that your invincible. So this is why I think that raising the legal driving limit won't make a difference. Take it from me, I know how other kids act and you changing the driving limit won't make a difference.
Sincerely;
Najae
I think that lawmakers shouldn't raise the age of drivers to 17 and 18.I think that all the accidents that occur are due to the teens not paying attention and forgetting the laws of the road.Teens aren't even supposed to drive without and adult when they are 16 and 17.I recommend that you focus on more important issues like drunk driving and speeding.All though teens do both it is also caused by older people who know better and you won't really find any teen drunk drivers or speeders very often.Older people can access alcoholic drinks easier which makes them more of a threat to pedestrians,themselves, and other drivers
ReplyDeleteDear Lawmaker,
ReplyDeleteI think raising the age at which teens may drive is . . . a good idea. Because New Jersey has raised the age of teens that can drive they have less teen driving crashes. I say that if not all most states should raise the age teens should be able to drive. If this happens I myself would have to wait also, but knowing the cost I will wait patiently.So I urge teens to wait to get their license.
Sincerely,
Aaron M.
10/8/11
ReplyDeleteDear Lawmakers,
I don't think that you should change the legal driving age because of two reasons. My first reason that you shouldn't change the legal driving age limit is because it could lead to rebellion. I think that it could lead to rebellion because more 16 year olds may disobey this new law and would start driving without the experience that they need. And by 16 year olds driving without experience it could possibly double or triple the amount of teen deaths in motor vehicle accidents. Also changing the legal driving age limit could lead to rebellion by teens, parents, and even regular people by having either peaceful or violent protests. So in conclusion, I don't think that you should change the legal driving age limit because it could lead to rebellion.
My second reason why you shouldn't change the legal driving age limit is because 16 year olds may not be the only reason there is a high quantity of teenage deaths in motor vehicle accidents, it could also be the fault of modern technology and or irresponsible 16 year olds. I think that modern technology is also the reason of so many teenage deaths in motor vehicle accidents because when teenagers are driving, they look more at their phones than on the road. Also, I think that irresponsible teenagers are responsible for many deaths in car accidents because they drive recklessly and don't follow the drivers code of conduct. So, in conclusion please do not punish the 16 years that are doing the right thing just because of modern technology and irresponsible teenagers are hurting our society.
Sincerely,
Charles M.
Dear Lawmakers,
ReplyDeleteIt is recommended that the legal driving age should be raised to the age of 17 or 18. Well I agree that the driving age should be raised because when you get older you get more responsible. So it's less likely to be in a car accident. Study shows that you're more likely to be in a car accident if you're driving at the age of 16 than at the age of 17 or 18. It's not always the teenagers fault because about 40% of car crashes are caused by drunk driving.So in conclusion I think that the driving age should be raised to 17 or 18.
Sincerely,johnson