Rising the Driving Age

Dear Editor,

I felt duty-bound to under-21s to write to you after recently reading your article about the rising of the minimum driving age.   The reputations of under-21s have been tainted over the years but surely the many positives outweigh the minor negatives. Everyone is unique and should be given a fair chance to drive rather then be held back until 21 years old because of the bad reputations a small few have shown the public.

If people who are turning 17 are not allowed to drive then consequently more young adults will be left on the streets waiting for buses which may be crowded and come late at night and therefore leave these teenagers vulnerable to attacks. If lucky enough to have enough money to call a cab this may also be unsafe as the cab has not been pre-booked so it is a strangers car and consequently it could be dangerous. If the teen doesn’t have money for a cab or bus it may lead to the teenager having to walk home and consequently while doing so could get raped or robbed late at night. So by robbing young adults of the experience of driving you could be robbing them of their life.

Also driving gives teenagers a sense of freedom from the crowded forms of public transport and gives them a chance to get where they want when they want without time constrictions. It allows them to know the basics of driving before they are 21 so when they eventually do become 21 they will already be experienced and be safe drivers, which will benefit everybody. Also by allowing teenagers to drive means that they can support the rest of their family because with parents working all day they can’t pick up their children, do the shopping or drop them off to clubs but if teenagers are allowed to drive then they can do all of this and take off the extra strain from parents. This then creates a ripple effect, which means the parents are more relaxed and can work better.

If you have passed your test it proves that you have put in the effort needed to drive and...