Excellence in First-Year Writing 2010/2011

a certain level of maturity and responsibility to consume. Since before the 1700s, alcohol has been used in religious ceremonies, weddings, and every imaginable mode of both celebration and mourning. Consequently, drinking it should not be perceived as an immoral act unless done so irresponsibly. In general, the social taboo that is currently associated with alcohol consumption among minors must be shifted away from age and towards the irresponsible consumption of the beverage.

Nevertheless, the specification of a legal drinking age is, in fact, one of the most important decisions to be made when addressing the regulation of alcohol consumption, but there must not be such a rigid age cut-off that decides who can and cannot drink. Imagine the number of traffic injuries that would occur in the United States if nobody was allowed to operate a car until age 18, but on their 18th birthday, teenagers were free to drive as much as they pleased, without attending drivers’ education or practicing with their parents through a learner’s program. The steps involved in learning to drive a motor vehicle gradually expose young adults to increasing levels of freedom on the road, and they have proven to be an essential component of the licensing process.

First developed in the 1970s by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), graduated licensing has gained much support over the past 15 years. Graduated licensing programs typically involve multiple stages: the first requires parental or adult supervision over the driver at all times while on the road; an optional second stage grants an intermediate license, which can have restrictions associated with nighttime driving, the number of passengers allowed in the vehicle, etc.; the final stage awards drivers a fully unrestricted operator’s license. Today, all 50 states have developed some form of a graduated licensing program and each has proven to substantially lower the number of teenage driving accidents. These programs have made such a strong impact on our country that, to most, allowing teenagers to drive without undertaking the steps of a graduated license is practically 26 Excellence in First-Year Writing 2011