The only way to improve safety on the road is to punish drivers more harshly if they break the traffic law. Do you agree or disagree?
Traffic safety problems have long been the headlines in agendas for most governments around the world. Some people argue that in order to make road travel safer, stricter punishment should be stipulates for transgressors by the governments. I agree with the view that punishment can succeed in curbing road offences but it should not be taken as the only solution.
Admittedly, a harsh punishment is vital considering its deterrent effect on those who are likely to disobey road regulations. For example, Australia is one of the countries with the safest traffic all over the world. In there, traffic violators are fined more seriously than some other countries, such as people will be detained if they found to have drunk driving and a severe fine will be applied for over speeding rather than just verbal warning in some other places. Therefore, drivers and pedestrians become more aware of traffic law and comply with it better since they know the serious consequence after taking risk.
However, despite the importance of imposing harsh regulations, the authorities should not overlook other options that may sometimes achieve better outcomes. For instance, rising the legal driving age could contribute to the improvement of road safety. Young people are legal to drive motor vehicles after 16 or 17 in some countries, such as Philippines and United Kingdom. However, teenagers are usually more impetuous but less mature than adults that are more likely to disobey the traffic regulations. As a result, postponing the legal driving age, for example to 21.5, in countries with high traffic accident rates could enhance young people's awareness of traffic law since they have more time for receiving education before driving legally.
In conclusion, the apparent effectiveness of the harsher punishment measures on traffic law offenders should be acknowledged. However this is not the only way that achieves better and safer usage of roads. An integrated approach should be adopted such as rising the legal driving age.
