Speech Flashcards
Good morning ladies and gentlemen, my name is Conor Brolly and today I would like to propose the following motion: ‘The legal age for driving in the UK should be raised to 21’.
Yes , you did hear me correctly, I am here to propose this motion because despite my obvious youth, my opinion goes against the grain of my peers, and I am convinced that the raising of the legal age would be of benefit to all drivers, and indeed pedestrians.
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It is my wholehearted intention, with this impassioned speech, to convince you of the same.
It seems to be an anomaly that the legal age to own a driving license is 17.
It stands alone as a singular accreditation to this age – an age that is still considered by society to be a child. No other rite of passage, legal entitlement or social developmental milestone is open to 17 year olds.
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Seventeen year olds can’t have a tattoo, they can’t drink alcohol, and they can’t smoke tobacco.
And why? Because they are still children, and children do not yet possess the powers of logic and reason, to always make informed decisions about the best way to take care of themselves.
And if they can’t take the best care of themselves, then how could they possibly understand the best or safest way to treat others?
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That’s why seventeen year olds can’t sit on a jury, or get married or stand in a local election.
And given that teenagers are biologically ruled by surges of hormones and mood swings, it is globally recognised that they do not always act in the most responsible manner, therefore they cannot vote or change their name or get a credit card.
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Yet, unbelievably, they are allowed to have a licence to drive a car.
That allows them to take full charge of the most prolific high powered vehicle on our roads, - effectively a moving ton of galvanised steel - which they are free to manoeuvre day or night through the streets and towns where we live.
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Why is it assumed that they can manage this responsibility and abide by the laws of the road when it is clear that they are not expected to show the maturity to obey and adhere to other laws?
They can’t have a gun license. They can’t have a marriage license – both of which, when mismanaged, can ruin people’s lives.
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So why can they have a driving license?
Because mismanaging your driving, definitely ruins lives.
The numbers speak for themselves. Statistics have shown that 15% of all accident deaths on UK roads involve drivers under the age of 21.
Research shows that 17 to 20 year olds are about seven times more likely to be killed or injured in an accident (per mile of driving).
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This is illustrated by the fact that 135 teenage drivers were killed on UK roads during 2007, with many more injured. Raising the minimum driving age to 21 would dramatically decrease deaths and injuries.
The legal age for driving is higher in other European countries and the majority have it set at 18, which is widely considered to be the onset age of adulthood.
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Luxembourg, Norway and Switzerland, which pride themselves on high standards of living and national safety, prioritise the safeguarding of their citizens with an expertly designed infrastructure of roads and a safety conscious environment. So should we align our laws with countries such as these to ensure our roads become a safer and our drivers more responsible?
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I don’t think so. Figuratively speaking, there’s only 24 hours between a 17 year old turning 18 on their landmark birthday – and do they automatically go to bed a child and wake up as an adult?
Eighteen year olds may psychologically feel a sense of maturity with their coming of age, but in real terms, they haven’t changed biologically or neurologically. So they will still think and act just like they did at 17 for some time to come.
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Furthermore, a recent study has shown that 10% of app users aged 17-20 have admitted to using Snapchat when driving.
17 – 20 year olds!
There’s that demographic again.
The rising use of Snapchat has also led to a number of young drivers using their phone to take selfies behind the wheel, snaps of the speedometer and using the app’s own speed filter as a way of showing off about how fast they’re driving. These are all a serious cause for concern, particularly when coupled with the fact that these may be inexperienced drivers.
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There are no figures that determine the exact number of accidents or write offs due to drivers using Snapchat as of yet, but clearly this is a growing modern problem, as younger drivers are more easily distracted by mobile phones and devices compared to their older, mature and more responsible adults.
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Therefore, I believe that the UK could lead the way for the whole of Europe in raising the legal age for driving to 21.
We are still part of Europe at the moment aren’t we?
And wouldn’t it make a refreshing change for the European and British parliaments to have something else to debate other than Brexit??
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Raising the age limit to 21 may also help to promote more environmentally friendly transport alternatives.
If young people below the age of 21 are not permitted to drive, they would effectively be forced into looking for alternatives to get from A to B.
This means that they are encouraged to use greener alternatives such as public transport or healthier alternatives such as cycling.
Having more teenagers, students and a young adult workforce using these methods of transport would generate a societal change, necessitating much needed improvements to the public transport systems and reducing our carbon footprint.
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By instilling this practice at a young age it could mean that future generations are habitually eco-friendly and environmentally attuned to preserving our worlds resources – an ever increasing issue in today’s climate.
Interestingly, it is scientifically accepted that the prefrontal cortex (the part of your brain responsible for decision making and rationale) isn’t fully developed in many people until the age of 25. ( or in the case of Donald Trump, not at all).
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