Debate 2: The driving age should be raised to 18

Hey guys, there is going to be another debate in 2 weeks time. We have won the last debate and now hoping to win this one. This is how the debate works. It is 3 vs 3. Each speaker must speak for around 6min (including rebuttal.)

At the end, the leader of each team must present a 4min leader's reply which summarizes all the main points. Ok now I'm looking for ideas. And the moot is:

The driving age should be raised to 18. Haven't been decided whether we are going for or against the moot, so it would be nice if you could state both the positive and the negative.

Thanks

Positive: Teen drivers are often involved in accidents. Increasing the age to drive will decrease the number of teens in these accidents, and hopefully decrease accidents overall as the drivers coming in will be a little wiser than their younger counterparts.

Negative: Raising the driving age would merely raise the accident rate in 18 year olds because the accidents were caused by inexperienced drivers, not by the age of the drivers.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Andy Lo and I am the second speaker on our team.

“It’s not the driving age it’s how we’re driving.” If this debate was broadcasted on television as an advertisement, this would have been our slogan. Basically said, people are crashing on the road not because of the driving age, but the choices and actions a person makes. According to www.dictonary.com, the definition of age is the length of time during which a being or thing has existed; length of life or existence to the time spoken of or referred to. This means that the driving age is the age in which a person is allowed to start driving a car, regardless of the purpose. It also includes the time a person is allowed to apply for their learners.

Age alone, cannot physically harm someone, for age is nothing but numbers. It is the behavior of a person that causes the crashes on the road. Imagine this: There were two teenage males who just left this amazing party, organized by their friends. One was a seventeen year old who has got his full license. He did not consume any substances which could affect his behavior. He decides to drive in his car back home. The other was a twenty one year old who had not applied for any driving license. At the party, he consumed several cans of beer and some drugs which he got off a drug dealer at the party. He decides to borrow his mate’s car to drive back home.
Without applying quantum physics, who would crash? The answer rounded to one significant figure would, of course be the twenty one year old. His behavior was influenced by the amount of alcohol he drunk, including the negative effects of the drugs he took. This causes his reaction time, when driving to be slowed drastically and may cause him to hallucinate whilst driving on the road. By increasing the driving age to 18, is it really stopping the behaviors of reckless drivers? This situation also applies for any age.

Some issues affect all age drivers. Anyone has a potential to crash. I could crash, my parents could crash, my teachers could crash, old people could crash, and even famous people like Helen Clark could crash! Young people are a scapegoat. They are blamed constantly by the media and the adults of being the cause of deaths. This is because teenagers are a target of stereotypes. They are considered to be immature and irresponsible, based on the common issues related to teenagers. Hence, many assumed that they were the main causes of crashes on the road. However, this is nothing but assumption. According to the Road Death Statistics 12 months to 22 March 2007 from Land Transport New Zealand, between the ages of 25-39, there have been 82 crashes, 77 crashes between the age of 40-59 and 66 crashes between the ages of 15-19. This data shows that anyone can crash, including the age group which stereotypes the teenagers.

They do not know that the graduated driver licensing system already recognizes the small number of dangers caused by age alone by making it more difficult for a 15 year old to get a license than someone who is older. According to Land Transport Safety Authority, there are three stages in which a person of any age must undergo until they are legally able to drive at will.

In order to obtain the license for the 1st stage, a person must first pass an eyesight check, which will be given at a driver license agent’s office. Secondly, they have to get at least 32 questions out of a possible 35 right in a theory test on traffic rules and road safety in order to pass and be able to claim their learner’s license. There are restrictions on the learner’s license. The learner’s license allows a person to learn to drive on the road under three conditions. They have to be accompanied by a supervisor who currently holds and has held for at least 2 years a full car driver license, a person must carry their learner license with them and must produce it if asked by a police officer and he/she must display 2 “L” shaped plates on the vehicle.

A person can only apply for the 2nd stage only after holding onto their learner license for 6 months and when they have developed good driving skills. To get the restricted license, a person must pass a 20min practical test based on the skills a person has learnt. Like the learners’ license, there are also restrictions for the restricted license.

Lastly, after holding onto a restricted license for 18 months, a person can apply for the final stage for their full license. To obtain the full license, a person must pass a 1 hour practical test, designed to confirm their mastery of basic driving skills as well as the ability to analysis common road hazards. Compared to a decade ago, the testing process wasn’t so strict. It has become strict, because it is a way to prevent careless drivers, like myself. Six months ago, I sat the learner’s theory test and failed it twice, passing only on my 3rd try.

To summarize, it is not the driving age that is causing the crashes; it is the negative behavior of drivers. However, young people like teenagers are used as scapegoats for the causes of crashes on the roads. Statistically, there are no definite age groups that cause the most crashes. Everyone is to blame for those figures. Lastly, the system already recognizes the small number of dangers caused by age alone by making it more difficult for a 15 year like myself to get a license than a 20 year old something person.

Remember, it’s not the driving age that kills it is how we’re driving.