Teenage Drivers

There are many things that have to be thought about when trying to figure out if teenagers should have restrictions for getting a driver’s license. The main things that need to be considered are that of a biological set of factors, identity and cognitive factors, and social factors all of which come together to create the overall environment those teenagers are living in. Understanding how each of these factors actually affects a teenager’s life will make it easier to see that, yes, there should be restrictions on what age a person has to be if they want to be driving a vehicle. I think that the restrictions that are in place that let teenagers start driving when they are 16 is ok, and I think that changing it to 17 as the start of a teenagers driving would be helpful in letting more development be present.

Driving is a complex activity that requires a lot of attention and focus from the person that is doing it. There are many things that can occur when a person is driving, from being distracted to making a quick decision on what to do so to avoid an accident that will hurt, you, the driver but also all of the other drivers that are around at that moment. Driving requires this complex thought and needs a lot of quick-thinking analysis to be able to actually do well, and make sure that safety is a priority. Teenagers do not have the same kind of deep thinking and problem solving that people later in life do, so putting restrictions can be supported from a biological perspective. The text, in Chapter 10 page 275, says that teenagers are people that are transitioning from childhood to adulthood so they are dealing with many different factors that are confusing them and stressing them out (Dunn and Craig, 2013). Teenagers are experiencing many biological changes when they are going through puberty. A lot of the changes are about how they look and talk, things like getting more facial and body hair, or having certain body parts get larger like girls developing bigger hips. The changes are not just physical but their brains are continuing to develop too, and this biological development helps make it clear what their mental abilities are.

There used to be research that thought teenagers had fully developed brains, but there has been information since then that shows differently (Dunn and Craig, 2013). This means that teenagers or adolescence is a time where the brain is growing a lot and the changes that are happening are really important in their development of making decisions and making mature judgments, both of those are needed for being a good driver (Dunn and Craig, 2013). The brain controls these factors, and since teenagers are just starting to develop these skills, they are not really capable of applying them in a high stress environment like on the highway or driving around. Many states in America have people get permits and learn to start driving when they are around 16 years old, which means that both boys and girls would have reached puberty so their brain would have been developing over those years. This age limit gives some time for the brain to grow more and let them think with a little more reason, but it is still very young to expect someone to know how to make mature judgments quickly and under stress. This may have been considered when making current restrictions because 16 is the age where a permit is allowed which requires more school for learning specifically how to drive, and getting experience actually driving a car on the road, and then many months later when the brain has still had more time to develop are teenagers allowed to drive around in cars alone. These biological changes are also related to cognitive and identity factors.

Driving is a serious event, and it can be thought of as one of those milestone events for teenagers. For many teenagers driving is seen as a rite of passage and it shows that they are getting their freedom, and are getting closer to actually becoming adults. It is not enough though that they just feel like they are becoming adults, but their development is not advanced like adults is. Teenagers need driving restrictions because they are not fully aware of who they are yet. This means that many teenagers are experiencing trouble with their personal lives trying to figure out relationships with friends, romantic partners, school, and work which makes it hard for them to find out how they fit in (Dunn and Craig, 2013). Teenagers are really exploring their identity and that can make it hard for them to focus on one thing very fully, and maybe they will want to learn how to drive to meet some of the needs of their identity exploration. For me, when I was learning how to drive as a teenager, it was really important that I get a car and learn because I wanted to be seen the way that I had always seen teenagers in movies and shows. This was with a car, and being able to drive friends around or go on dates with girls and take them to the movies or a restaurant. Driving was a big part of the identity for many of those teenagers in movies and shows, so when I watched them, I also had an idea that it could be part of my identity. Looking back at this, I can see that I was not thinking of driving as a very serious next step in my life, but I was fitting it into an image that I wanted to have my life be, which could be dangerous because I was not taking it as seriously as I should have, and I did not understand that driving can have really negative consequences.

Also, connecting the biological factor to the identity and cognitive factors, teenagers are more likely to make risky decisions. Just like how I was not thinking of all the consequences, I just wanted to drive a car and fit in, lots of other teenagers are acting on their emotion, which is dangerous, many of the times. Explained on page 291-292 of our text, it says that the teenage years are a time where risk-taking behavior is really high, and that the parts of the brain that can control that are not fully developed yet, but teenagers are also learning how to have more abstract thoughts. So again, making the driving age around 16 or 17 gives time for some of these areas to develop and by letting them slowly start to experience driving with an instructor or a parent will help them learn the proper ways to make the right decisions. This is also a time in a teenager’s life when they are very involved in social things and have pressure from parents and peers.

Teenagers, since they are trying to find out who they are and fit in, will look to their peers and see what is happening there and will compare themselves a lot of the time. I know that I saw some of my classmates driving and having cars, and it made me feel differently about wanting to grow up faster than I actually could. Sometimes teens will have those same feelings, but they will do something like maybe drive illegally and then get punished for it, which is correct because if a 13 or even 15-year-old decides they want to drive they are too young and their brains are not nearly developed enough to make responsible choices. Driving restrictions can be hard on teenagers because they also will need to get help from their parents, because parents will have to take them to driving school, and teach them how to drive on their own free time. Teenagers, explained on page 294, compare their real parents with ideal parents and may see how their friend’s parents or parents on television are more understanding or willing to help with driving. Putting these restrictions may make it hard for teenagers, but they will benefit from having their parent’s guidance and it will also help them develop some of their social skills and build a relationship maybe helping to reduce some of what the text calls is adolescent egocentrism, only focusing on their own values (Dunn and Craig, 2013).

With all these factors being taken into consideration, I think that driving restrictions on teenagers is the best idea, because teenagers are experiencing so many things all at once. Teenagers have to deal with social and parent pressure, biological changes, and identity issues. Since the age of puberty or sexual maturity can be between 10-12, waiting to learn to drive at age 16 or 17 is very smart and it lets them get through some of the issues at a very basic level before they start to grow more and take on even more responsibility later in life.

References

Dunn, W.L, & Craig, G.J. (2013) Understanding Human Development Third Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc.