Since the day the idea of ​​an automobile was brought to life by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot in 1762, humanity has sought to make cars better, faster , lighter and safer. , and aesthetically appealing with each passing day. However, this need for speed and luxury comes at a price: death. Today's vehicles are safe and efficient, but nothing can protect against everything. Many blame young drivers for not being responsible enough to hit the road, and claim that young age, negligence, technology, alcohol and drugs play a role in the number of traffic incidents in the United States. The driving age in the United States has been a subject of controversy for generations and will continue to be an issue in the future; Teenagers think the legal driving age should be lowered, but in reality the current change in driving age has made driving conditions much safer. With the increase in the legal driving age, there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of deaths each year related to car accidents. Driving is a privilege that many teenagers have looked forward to for years. Obtaining a driver's license allows teenagers to be free. This allows them to do what they want, when they want. Nonetheless, that's exactly what the world describes driving as: freedom, but that's not all driving is. To drive a vehicle is to use a deadly weapon, a vehicle has the ability and strength to accelerate to speeds well in excess of one hundred miles per hour; imagine what that could do to a fragile human being. Car accidents happen every day; the number of deaths from car accidents amounts to nearly 45,000 people each year, and the state of Indiana ranks among the top in the United States for...... middle of paper .. .... transport, sd Web. February 21, 2014. Parks, Teysia L. “The Facts About Drunk Driving.” Rochester Institute of Technology. Np, and Web. February 20, 2014.Rogers, Mark. “Should we raise the legal driving age?.” Drive safely. Drive-Safely.net. Internet. February 21, 2014. “Teens Drunk Driving.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No. Internet. February 20, 2014. “The dangers of texting while driving.” » Federal Communications Commission. Federal Communications Commission. Internet. February 20, 2014. “Underage Consumption of Alcohol.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. No. Internet. February 24, 2014. “Underage Drinking Statistics.” » National Youth Safety Organization. National Organization for Youth Safety, nd Web. February 22, 2014. “United States Census Bureau.” Table 1103. Motor Vehicle Accidents—Numbers and Fatalities: 1990 to 2009. US Census Bureau, nd Web. February 20 2014.