This argumentative essay is written by one of my grade 7 students. Her thesis statement is clear and is supported by relevant details. She has extensively researched the topic and has kept an objective and factual tone in supporting her stance on the issue.
No to Higher Speeds in Ontario
According to statistics from the U.S Census Bureau, approximately 1.25 million people die in vehicle collisions globally every year. About 30% of these collisions are due to driving at high speeds. Driving too fast is very dangerous and causes accidents that can lead to death or at least disability. The Ontario government plans to raise the driving speed on highways from 100 km/h to 110 km/h. Driving at high speeds is not only dangerous but also less fuel-efficient and more harmful to the environment.
The Ontario government must not increase the speed limit on Ontario Highways since high speeds can be dangerous in many different ways. According to a study in Sweden, a 1km/h raise can increase the accident rate by 2% on a 120 km/h road, and a 4% increase on a 50 km/h road. If a 1km/h difference can have such an impact, an extra 10km/h definitely makes the percentage of accidents skyrocket. Driving at such speeds could cause more fatal collisions and to avoid them, the Ontario government must keep the speed limit at 100 km/h.
Driving too fast can also increase fuel consumption. According to Earth Easy, driving at 90km/h rather than 120km/h is much more fuel-efficient. Gas mileage can even be improved by 10 to 15 percent if one drives at 90km/h instead of 104km/h. In fact, according to vehicle tests, the most efficient driving speed is around 85 km/h. The Ontario government can prevent more fuel consumption by keeping the speed limit at 100 km/h.
Driving faster can also create a lot more pollutants. CO2 is 99% of what the world pollution is composed of, and vehicles are a large part of this 99%, which can be lowered by driving slowly. In fact, driving at 100km/h instead of 110km/h can save 12 to 18% of gas, which can subsequently reduce emissions.
Travelling at high speeds is dangerous. At high speeds, cars use much more gas than the most efficient speeds and emit more pollutants. This is why the Ontario government should not raise the highway speed limit.