Raising the minimum driving age: IELTS Writing Task 2 sample essay

Road accidents cause thousands of deaths every year, and young drivers are involved in a high proportion of them. Some people therefore argue that the minimum driving age should be increased. I partly agree with this view, although I believe that better training would be more effective than a simple age limit.

It is true that younger drivers are more likely to cause accidents. They have less experience, overestimate their skills and are more likely to take risks, such as driving too fast or using a phone. Many insurance companies charge young drivers much more for this reason. Raising the minimum age by a year or two would give teenagers more time to mature and would probably reduce the number of serious accidents in the short term.

However, a higher age limit is not a complete solution. Many young people in rural areas need a car to reach college or work, and a ban could limit their opportunities. Moreover, a person who turns eighteen is not automatically a safe driver. A better approach would be a graduated licence, which allows new drivers to drive only with an experienced adult at night, along with compulsory lessons on hazard awareness.

This system would address the real cause of accidents, which is inexperience, rather than age alone.

Technology could also help. Many insurance companies now offer devices that record how fast and how carefully a young person drives, and they reduce prices for safe drivers. This gives teenagers a financial reason to behave responsibly, and it provides parents with real information, which is more convincing than any warning.

In conclusion, raising the minimum age could save lives, but I believe that stricter training and graduated licences would achieve better results without limiting young people unfairly.