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Bethany Weldy

Professor Sally Lahmon

ENG 1101

5 December 2019

Should Ohio Increase the Age When a Teenager Can First Earn Their Driver’s License?

There are 7.5 million drivers across the state of Ohio. According to Ohio AAP, of those

7.5 million, 537,000 are drivers under the age of 21. Some of those drivers could be impacted by

recent legislation that is being proposed in Ohio. This new bill has recently advanced to the next

level of government and could increase the driving age as well as alter other conditions related to

teens achieving their driver’s license. If the bill passes, laws will be changed for teenage drivers

on the road that could be very impactful. While this would be a change from current Ohio law,

increasing the driving age could promote more safety behind the wheel for young drivers and

their passengers. The driving age in Ohio should be increased to provide more experience behind

the wheel by exposing young drivers to different variables such as weather conditions, types of

roadways, daylight hours, and unique situations throughout the year.

The new bill called House Bill 106 can have a powerful impact across Ohio. House Bill

106 would increase the length of having your permit from six months to a full year. This means

teenage drivers cannot receive their license until they reach the age of 16 1/2 years. Another

change the bill would make is reducing the curfew time of drivers under 18 years old from

12:00pm to 10:00pm. Teen drivers have to drive with an adult after 10:00pm unless it is related

to school, work, or religious events. This bill was recently advanced to the next level in the state
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government in October 2019 and is awaiting further legislative action before going to Ohio

Governor DeWine for his official approval.

House Bill 106 can help save thousands of lives in many ways. Currently, teenagers are

allowed to receive their permit at age 15 1/2 but then drive only six months out of the year before

they can take the official driving test to receive their license. Some teenage drivers do not drive

through all the seasons in Ohio with an adult. This is concerning because, in Ohio, we experience

all four seasons and each time frame requires a different amount of driving experience to

understand the difficulties the weather or other conditions might present. For example, driving

on the ice and snow is significantly different from a sunny summer day. With the permit holding

length only being six months, teenage drivers might not have the experience of driving with an

adult through the ice, rain, or fog. This can lead to teenage drivers not being prepared when faced

with a dangerous situation due to the constantly changing Ohio weather.

Driving in the daytime versus the dark is another experience teenage drivers need to have

more of behind the wheel. Nighttime driving is typically considered between 9:00pm and

6:00am. According to IIHS, in 2017 between 9:00pm and midnight there were 474 teen crashes.

Between 3:00pm and midnight there were over 1,360 teen crashes across the nation. House Bill

106 would change the curfew to 10:00pm hoping to reduce the number of crashes in teenage

drivers. Driving at night requires drivers to be more alert and mentally sharp as items are harder

to see. Having more experience with an adult at night can reduce the number of teen crashes

during the nighttime hours.

Driving on a busy street or interstate can be very stressful for a new driver. Increasing the

permit length can allow teenage drivers to gain more experience in these situations while under

adult supervision. According to IIHS, in 2017 teen crashes on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
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accounted for 51% of the total of teen crashes throughout the week. Whether being in a busy

parking lot after a football game or a concert these time frames can be distracting and may

increase the number of a teen drivers involved in a crash.

Without the experience of being mentally focused on driving for a long period of time,

teenage drivers can easily be distracted and this can lead to phone usage, texting, or other

behaviors that reduce their driving effectiveness. According to Teen Driver Source, “Cell phone

use behind the wheel reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37

percent… Typing text messages reduces a driver’s ability to adequately direct attention to the

roadway, to respond to important traffic events, and to control a vehicle within a lane and with

respect to other vehicles.” In a busy traffic jam, teen drivers may use their phone which can

increase the chances of rear-ending someone or causing a crash greatly.

A research study was conducted by Cher Carney, Karisa K. Harland, and Daniel V.

McGehee in examining the recent trends with distracted teenage driving. They concluded that

“Among cell phone related crashes, a significant shift occurred, from talking/listening to

operating/looking (annual % change = 4.22 [1.15–7.29]). Among rear-end crashes, there was an

increase in the time drivers' eyes were off the road (β = 0.1527, P = 0.0004) and durations of

longest glances away (β = 0.1020, P = 0.0014).” With having experience of being mentally

focused for a long period of time, teen drivers can stay concentrated on the roadway instead of

distractions like their phones as shown in this research study.

Increasing the driving age can also be great for the environment. Teenagers may look to

more clean sources of transportations like walking and bicycling. According to the EPA, “…

motor vehicles collectively cause 75 percent of carbon monoxide pollution in the U.S. The

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) estimates that on-road vehicles cause one-third of the air
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pollution that produces smog in the U.S., and transportation causes 27 percent of greenhouse gas

emissions.” Increasing the driving age can have an impact on the environment as there is less

cars on the road.

Many teenagers work throughout high school hoping to save money up for college or to

buy a car. If House Bill 106 is signed into law, teenagers will have a harder time working in high

school because they would not be able to drive until they are older. It is better to be a safer driver

with more experience and wait to work until they receive their license. Also, many families rely

on their son/daughter to drive siblings or other family members around to different events. With

increasing the driving, the more experience they have in situations the safer all the passengers

will be getting to and from the event. This likely can impact rural families where public

transportation is not as common as in urban settings where it is common.

In conclusion, increasing the driving age in Ohio can save the lives of teen drivers across

the state. House Bill 106 has the potential to change the curfew time, length of having a permit,

and the age to officially receive their license. If this bill passes, it can create more safety on the

roads for all drivers. Increasing the age when a teen can receive their license can provide the

driver with more experience with the various seasons and weather conditions in Ohio, different

roadway situations, changing daylight scenarios, and other unpredictable situations that can

occur throughout the year that can impact teen driving.

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Works Cited:

Brinson, Linda C. “How Much Air Pollution Comes from Cars?” HowStuffWorks,

HowStuffWorks, 29 Aug. 2012, https://auto.howstuffworks.com/air-pollution-from-

cars.htm.

Carney, Cher, et al. “Examining Teen Driver Crashes and the Prevalence of Distraction: Recent

Trends, 2007–2015.” Journal of Safety Research, Pergamon, 28 Dec. 2017,

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022437517301597?via=ihub.

“Cell Phones.” Teen Driver Source, https://www.teendriversource.org/teen-crash-risks-

prevention/distracted-driving/cell-phones

“Fatality Facts 2017: Teenagers.” IIHS, Dec. 2018, https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-

statistics/detail/teenagers.

“Teen Driving Statistics.” American Association of Pediatrics and Ohio AAP Foundation,

http://ohioaap.org/TeenDriving/Statistics