88. The conclusion of this argument is that 15-year-olds should be eligible to obtain a
driver's license. The author employs two lines of reasoning to reach this conclusion. In
the first the author reasons that since older drivers can retain their driving privileges by
simply renewing their licenses, 15-year-olds should be eligible to obtain a license. In the
second, the author reasons that 15-year-olds are physically more capable than older
drivers of performing the various skills associated with driving s vehicle and thus
should be eligible to get a license. This argument is unconvincing for a couple of
reasons.
In the first place, the author assumes that there are no relevant differences
between 15-year-olds and older drivers that would justify treating them differently. This
assumption is dearly mistaken. The major difference between the two groups, and the
major reason 15-year-olds are denied driving privileges, is their relative lack of
emotional maturity and social responsibility. This difference is sufficient to justify the
policy of a owing older drivers to renew their driving privileges while at the same time
denying these privileges to 15-year-olds.
In the second place, even if it is granted that fifteen year olds possess better night
vision, reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and are less disoriented in unfamiliar
surroundings than older drivers, these abilities do not qualify them to obtain a driver's
license. The author assumes that physical capabilities are the only attributes necessary
to operate a motor vehicle. But this assumption is clearly mistaken. In addition to these
abilities, drivers must be able to exercise good judgment in all types of driving
situations and conditions and must be cognizant of the consequences of their decisions
and actions when driving. It is because 15-year-olds typically lack these latter abilities
that they are denied driving privileges.
In sum, the author's argument fails to take into consideration important
differences between older drivers and 15-year-olds that justify denying driving
privileges to the younger group while at the same time allowing older drivers to retain
their privileges by simply renewing their license.
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