Thesis: Graduated licensing saves lives only if it is properly enforced and adequately restrictive. Consequently, studies recommend that, “Parents should log 100 hours minimum driving with their kids, taking them out in bad conditions showing them the situations they may encounter and giving them a chance to practice” (Introduction to Teen Driving: At Issue). Finally, a few states require parents to be part of the driving learning experience, but they cannot fully monitor the parent (Introduction to Teen Driving: At Issue). Raising the Driving Age-Counter-argument: By raising the driving age states can eliminate graduated licensing, but many parents and teens complain that is unfair and won’t solve the problem of teen driving fatalities. Other countries such as Germany and England have higher driving ages such as 18 and they have much lower fatality rates than the United States (Triplett). In New Jersey where graduated licensing consists of restricting the number of passengers a teen can have in their car, deaths among teen drives has risen 16 percent (“Despite Law, Deaths of Teenage Drivers Rise”). Therefore, parents oppose graduated licensing laws because they limit the freedom they offer the family of not having to carpool or chauffeur their children, especially those in rural areas without an adequate transportation infrastructure (Triplett). Hook: For parents it is freedom from carpools, chauffeuring and play-dates. For teens it is a rite of passage. Unfortunately, when teens start to drive, parents have a multitude of worries to now contend with. “Each year more than 6,000 teens don’t come home to their parents” (Savage). Background: Teen drivers are dying unnecessarily therefore the laws need to account for their inexperience and immaturity in order to keep young drivers alive. For example, statistics show that, "In 2003, nearly 7,900 teen drivers were involved in fatal accidents in the United States. Nearly half of them died, but most of the victims were passengers, drivers or passengers of other vehicles, or pedestrians. Another 308,000 teen drivers were injured in fatal crashes” (Triplett). In addition, "Research evidence reveals, for example that a sixteen-year old brain is not completely developed. When teens are speeding, brain researchers maintain, their brain’s thrill center is working perfectly, but the part of their brain that weighs risks is not yet fully developed” (Preface to “What Laws Best Protect Driver Safety?”). According to Allan F. Williams, “You’ve got several things going on here-a risky driving style; inability to recognize or respond to dangerous driving situations and overconfidence in their abilities. When you put all those things together, you’ve got a pretty lethal combination” (Triplett). GL Restrictions: The various restrictions in obtaining a license help teens learn to traverse a multitude of difficult situations competently. As a result, it appears that “For 16-year-old drivers, the risk of a fatal crash is three times higher after 9 PM than during the daytime. Overall, about 40 percent of teen motor vehicle fatalities occur at night” (Triplett). In addition, statistics prove that,“87 percent of teens who died in crashes in 2002 were passengers of teen drivers, and 41 percent of the teen driving deaths occurred between 9 PM and 6 AM” (Introduction to Teen Driving: At Issue). Citation for statistics: “Drivers age 16 to 19” Proof it works- Graduated licensing will save lives providing it is written with adequate safety restrictions and enforced rigorously and consistently by officers of the law. In addition, states such as California, Connecticut, Kentucky and six other s have said that since they have implemented graduated licensing and they have seen a drop in fatal crashes by 70 percent (Triplett). According to the Journal of Safety Research Graduated Driver’s Licensing has made a difference, but they can’t be precise because different states use different methods and all states don’t enforce all parts of their programs effectively, causing them to be inaccurate (Triplett). Finally, the more rigorous a graduated licensing program is, the better it is able to reduce the number of teen fatalities (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Programs that are considered “good and adequate” contain the following restrictions: mandatory learner’s permit of at least half a year, limits on driving at night, and restrictions on the number of passengers (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). Citation for photo: Neale “Teen Drivers Have Fewer Accidents” By: Braham/Holloway/Cohen