By: Jaelynn Derricott

The more the driving age is lowered, the more restrictions are added to teens as new drivers.

The majority of kids, myself included, have always dreamed of driving. Yet we are subject to parents and administrations telling us the extensive list of dangers coupled with driving.

As of July of 2015 a new law prohibits drivers ages 21 and under from using any type of telecommunication device for any purpose, but a 911 call while operating a vehicle, according to Indiana Department of Licenses Bureau. They also lowered the driving age to 16 years and 90 days for licenses as long as you take drivers ed and without drivers ed is 16 years and 270 days.

Drivers under the age of 21 should be allowed to have their phones near them when they are driving. For example, they should be allowed to hook up their own music to their car and be able to change the song, or even talk to someone on speakerphone or even through Bluetooth.

Since young drivers can’t have our phones anywhere near us while driving that is stopping us from those purposes. The state of Indiana is allowing more and more young drivers to be on the road at the same time. Yet teen drivers have the highest crash rate of any age group, the foundation noted, citing government statistics.

About 963,000 drivers ages 16 to 19 were involved in police-reported crashes in the United States in 2013, the most recent year for available data. These crashes resulted in 383,00 injuries and 2,865 deaths according to the

So, what is the point of lowering the driving age just to add more restrictions? Is it to ensure our safety and get more experience? Or is it to get more teens to persuade their parents to allow them to do drivers ed to gain more money?

Immaturity and lack of driving experience are the two main factors leading to the high crash rate among teens, according to the Insurance Information Institute. This is what has caused the new law on cellphones being banned.

Yet how are police forces supposed to know how old you are, let alone just pull you over just because they think you are under 21, or because they see you on your phone? They should have to have a valid reason to pull over, and then if they see you on your phone they can ticket drivers for that as well.