Should the South Australian Government change the age to obtain a driver’s license to 18 years?
Many community members in the state of South Australia are enraged by the number of fatalities on the road every year caused by drivers between the ages of 16 to 17. Due to this outburst of anger, there is a serious debate as to whether or not the Government of South Australia should raise the age of a driver’s license to 18. The current act, in the Motor Vehicles Act 1959, states under 75A Learner’s Permit (2) The subject to this Act, the Registrar must issue a learners permit to an applicant if – (a) the applicant – (i) is at least 16 years of age(Australia, 1959). The proposal does not sound thrilling to potential teen drivers, but there are convincing arguments as to why the changes should be implemented.
One of the main causes of the accident is a lack of experience. Drivers aged below 18 years have recorded more cases of accident per mile when compared to teenaged between 18 or 19 years. At the age of 16-17 years, teenagers are less emotionally mature when compared to those between 18-19 years. Hence, changing the driving age will improve maturity amongst drivers and make south Australian roads safer than they are now. Also, by changing driving age, it will mean that drivers will be more mature and responsible enough while driving. Therefore, the roads will have more responsible drivers with the ability to protect themselves, their passengers and bystanders on the road.
For example, in SA in 2019, driver’s aged 16-17 years were involved in 46 per cent of fatal crashes, which is higher than that of drivers aged between 18-19 years (“SAPOL – Traffic statistics”, 2020). Therefore, there is a lot of statistics that support the raising of drivers age from 16 to 18 years to reduce cases of accident and the many deaths caused by immature drivers.
However, others argue that raising the age from 16 to 18 will not guarantee an end to accidents. Accidents are caused by lack of experience, and teenagers aged 18 may be inexperienced as those aged 16 and 17 years. Nevertheless, the move will allow teenagers to have two more years of maturing, which will create changes in reducing deaths.
In conclusion, driver’s age in South Australia should be raised to 18 years. The move will reduce cases of accident and ensure that only mature and responsible teenager will be able to apply and successfully get a driving license.