Why should teens the age of 14 not be able to drive.

Hello. My name's Justin and I will be debating for the Affirmative (Pro) team. As the affirmative team in this round, I stand resolved: teens of the age of 14 years, or younger, should NOT be able to drive. I will now show you why this is the case. First let's begin with Observation 1: Inherency. (Or "the study of the status quo") Inh. Point A. In the United States, the minimum required age for driving varies by state. Some states allow 14 year olds to drive wtih a learner's permit, so long as they have completed a course on Drivers Education and are of the appropriate height/weight. https://doj.mt.gov... With this established, we will move on to Observation 2: Harms of the status quo. (Or "the flaws in our current system") Harm 1. Teens accounted for 20% of all motor accidents in 2007 Teens often have a large variety of things affecting them while they drive, this includes extra distractions (such as cell phones), hormones, and even lesser brain function (which we'll get into in a second). Studies showed back in a test done in 2007 that teens, while only making up 9% of the driver population, accounted for about 20% of all motor accidents! Harm 2. Teens are especially vulnerable to texting while driving. Texting while driving has recently recieved a lot of attention and attempt at prevention. This recent surge in combating distracted driving caused by SMS messaging is not unfounded. According to textinganddrivingsafety.com, (A website dedicated to fighting "texting while driving" activity), a crash is 23x more likely while the driver of a vehicle is texting! According to the same website, 82% of teens ages 16-17 own cell phones of some kind, and 32% admit to having texted while driving. While this figure is already scary enough, the worst part is that 70% of all teens claim they can safely text and drive! http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com... Harm 3. Young teens' brains aren't as developed as adult (or even older teens') brains The human brain is very intricate and well-designed, allowing for quick responses and evaluations of situations (these can be especially helpful while driving). However, the teen brain is less equipped to do so than adult or older teen brains. Why? Because of the prefrontal cortex. This is a special part of your brain that has to do with weighing consequences and evaluating circumstances. But sadly, for teens, this is last part of the brain to get "upgraded" to its adult form. http://science.howstuffworks.com... IMPACT: Because of the delays in processing, teens can't realize the dangers of certain actions; nor will they react fast enough to deal with certain situations while driving. With these harms evident, we will now take a course of action in Observation 3: The plan. The affirmative team promotes the following course of action. Teens under the age of 15, in the U.S, will not be allowed to have licenses of any form , due to the risks it imposes on society. (This means, to those voting, if you agree that the affirmative case is solvent, topical, significant, and non-inherent, or NOT happening in the status quo, then an affirmative vote is warranted.) Finally, we posit our advantage in Observation 4: The Advantages. Advantage 1. Improved safety on the roads. With the affirmative plan in action, roadways will become much safer. Why? Because teens are naturally at a disadvantage while driving (especially those we prohibit from doing so). Even the most responsible and mature teen is at greater risk than an adult or older teen driver, simply because of the way they are made. If we can reduce the number of accidents occurring, we can prevent the loss of life. So, in conclusion, I've tried to show you the reasons why teen driving, especially younger teens, is unsafe and why it is currently illegal to an extent. This plan just ensures that teens must at least be of the age of 15 years old before they can acquire a learner's permit, or whatever their state chooses to grant teens of their respective age groups. Yes, teens have places to be, too. But there are other methods of transport available to them. Also, the plan mentioned only partially bans teen driving, just so that the MOST dangerous teens are kept off the roads. It's not their fault they're a risk, but it's a risk we just can't take anyways. For these reasons, I'd strongly urge an affirmative ballot.