Essay, Research Paper: An Opinion On Age Requirements In The US

Since the beginning of time people have had an idea of right and wrong. As civilization progressed, we adapted these ideas and made them into laws. Laws are in place so people have rules and boundaries. These things are necessary so people don't just run amuck doing harm to others and instilling chaos. The laws we have today help maintain an order that lets people continue with their regular lives.
There are many laws that relate to the age that a person must be to do certain things. Regular citizens see these laws as unneeded nuisances and would rather them not be there. The government on the other hand has a very important reason for the laws and that is to protect the regular citizen and keep them from harm. Most of these laws usually have to do with something that one person can do that can put another person in danger such as driving, an activity that requires a certain amount of responsibility in relation to the driver being aware of what he is doing. If the driver were not aware of what was going on around him he could get in an accident and cause harm to another person.
There are a few laws that relate to age and almost all the ages are just above 17. Some are drinking, driving, smoking, purchasing tobacco products, and in some places there are curfews. Due to the age that the government puts on things people right around that age tend to think the rule is unfair and unnecessary. Some people think at age 16 they are responsible enough to be able to drive a car and I agree but the government has put an age requirement on it. I believe that there are certain reasons that the government has these rules and I think they are okay ones.
For starters, I am only 15 right now and won't be getting my license until I am a senior in high school. I know that the reason the state of New Jersey has a law stating that you have to be at least 17 to operate a motor vehicle is because they believe that a person is not able to handle the responsibility that comes with driving until they reach this age. I also know that New Jersey has passed a new law that will make it illegal to operate a motor vehicle in this state until you are 18. I for one think this is stupid. I used to live in Virginia and down there the legal driving age is 16 and up here it is 17 soon to be 18. Now, if in Virginia people are driving while 16 and I'm not seeing any news stories on Virginia being an unsafe place, or the statistics show that it is less dangerous to drive in than NJ, than I would think it safe to say that people of 16 years of age are responsible enough to drive.
The list of laws set up by age is not short but there are some that people feel more strongly about than others. Some, such as drinking and smoking laws, affect teenagers directly and create a lot of heat between youth and authority. I for one don't really mind the laws. I believe that in this area, the area related to alcohol and other drugs, the government is doing the right thing. One of the reasons is that teenagers do these things and get away with them all the time even though the laws are there. Another reason is probably one of the reasons that influenced the government's decision and that is the negative affects of these substances. Alcohol has a 10x worse affect on someone my age than it does for someone of age 25.
I know why the government has set up these laws and regulations. I know that it is for my own good and I don't really mind a lot of the laws that relate to persons my age. I feel that since it is for my own good and I can usually get around them anyway, I don't have much of a problem with the laws.