Question

read the passage.

with car crashes being the leading cause of death among teenagers, many are in favor of raising the legal driving age to eighteen. according to the national highway safety administration, the rate of crashes, both fatal and nonfatal, for sixteen-year-old drivers is almost ten times the rate as that of drivers aged thirty to fifty-nine, as calculated per mile driven. no one disputes the idea that raising the legal driving age will create issues and difficulties for many; however, these issues pale in comparison with the issue of safety. \the bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives,\ states adrian lund, president of the insurance institute for highway safety, a research group funded by the auto insurance industry. to date, new jersey is the only state to raise the legal driving age to seventeen, and various studies have shown that the overall rate of teen fatalities linked to automobile

which reason could best be supported by the evidence in this passage?

raising the driving age would reinforce the idea that driving is a privilege.
teenagers are not mature enough to drive at the age of sixteen.
the legal driving age should be raised to eighteen for safety reasons.
eighteen-years-olds are better able to sustain the costs of driving.

Explanation:

Analyze the question and prompt

The question asks: "Which reason could best be supported by the evidence in this passage?" This requires us to perform a Textual Evaluation of the provided passage to determine which of the given claims or reasons is directly backed up by the facts and statistics presented in the text.

Evaluate the evidence in the passage

Let's look closely at the specific evidence provided in the text:

• "With car crashes being the leading cause of death among teenagers..."
• "...the rate of crashes, both fatal and nonfatal, for sixteen-year-old drivers is almost ten times the rate as that of drivers aged thirty to fifty-nine..."
• "...these issues pale in comparison with the issue of safety."
• "'The bottom line is that when we look at the research, raising the driving age saves lives,' states Adrian Lund..."
• "...various studies have shown that the overall rate of teen fatalities linked to automobile [crashes decreased]..."

All of this evidence focuses heavily on safety, crash rates, saving lives, and reducing teen fatalities.

Evaluate the given options

Let's assess each option based on the evidence:

• Option 1: "Raising the driving age would reinforce the idea that driving is a privilege." The passage does not discuss driving as a privilege versus a right.
• Option 2: "Teenagers are not mature enough to drive at the age of sixteen." While the passage mentions high crash rates for sixteen-year-olds, it attributes this to statistical safety data rather than making a subjective claim about general maturity.
• Option 3: "The legal driving age should be raised to eighteen for safety reasons." This directly aligns with the central theme of the passage. The text repeatedly emphasizes safety, stating that other issues "pale in comparison with the issue of safety" and that "raising the driving age saves lives."
• Option 4: "Eighteen-years-olds are better able to sustain the costs of driving." The passage does not mention the financial costs of driving.

Select the best supported reason

The reason that is most directly and strongly supported by the safety statistics and expert quotes in the passage is that the legal driving age should be raised to eighteen for safety reasons.

Answer:

• Raising the driving age would reinforce the idea that driving is a privilege.
• Teenagers are not mature enough to drive at the age of sixteen.
• The legal driving age should be raised to eighteen for safety reasons. (Correct answer)
• Eighteen-years-olds are better able to sustain the costs of driving.