One reason for car accidents is that drivers just lack experience. This issue is often cited when looking at how high teen car accident rates are. Their fatality rates are higher than any other age group. Much of the reason for this is just that these teens aren’t experienced and so they make avoidable mistakes.
But the problem is that teens have to spend time driving the car in order to gain the experience they need to drive safely. Prohibiting them from driving does not solve the problem, even though it may temporarily reduce fatalities. But teens have to drive to gain experience, then this also means that they’re going to continue causing car accidents specifically because of their lack of experience.
Would it help to change the driving age?
Some people look at the accident fatality rates for those between 16 and 19 years old and decide that these people are just too young to drive safely. They may propose that the driving age should be increased to 20 or 21, taking these young drivers off of the roads.
But it’s not just youth that is a problem, since the lack of experience is what makes young drivers so hazardous. If people couldn’t drive until they were 20 years old, they would simply stay inexperienced for longer. But what would likely happen is that there would be a sharp increase in fatal accidents caused by those who were 20 or 21, because they would suddenly be the inexperienced drivers.
At the end of the day, it may be impossible to completely avoid these accidents. Drivers have to practice, and young people in particular are going to crash while doing so. Others who have been injured due to these accidents need to know if they have a right to seek financial compensation.