Should elderly people over 85 not be allowed to drive?

Should elderly people over 85 not be allowed to drive?

Noori Chun

The world is becoming an aging society at an alarming rate. As the average life expectancy is longer than ever before, the problems of senior road users have been significantly increasing in recent years. As a result, there are those who say that people over 85 should not be permitted to drive. In my view it is vital to legislate against elderly people driving. This essay will discuss how dangerous and harmful seniors driving is, and argue that it should be banned by law.

It is natural that people have physical and mental problems when they get older such as presbyopia, which is normal loss of near focusing ability that occurs with age, late reaction or lack in judgement. These issues have profound implications for senior people when they drive. The more serious thing is that being faced with horrendous situations by elderly driving is inevitable if there is no law to control the problems. 

For example, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 6,165 people 65 and older were killed in traffic crashes in the USA in 2015. This represents 18 percent of all Americans killed on the road. This is a huge percentage of the whole number of traffic accident. This is not just a problem of the USA. It is a worldwide problem. We need a solution for this urgently.

Moreover, other drivers are also exposed to a dangerous threat on the road when elderly people make car accidents. Last November in South Korea, there was a nasty traffic accident in a tunnel which made several victims including young babies. Unfortunately, it was revealed that the driver of the heavy oil tanker, which brought about the terrible consequence, was an 80-year-old elderly man. According to a police investigation, he had a previous conviction for a traffic accident. There have to be no more innocent victims as in this situation.

On the other hand, some people argue that these are just the examples of those few careless drivers. They claim that there are far more cautious senior drivers so that they prevent those terrible results. They insist that there have to be systems to help senior people who cannot drive, such as expanding public transport systems, providing free transport services and regular driving tests for old people before the banning on driving in any circumstances.

In conclusion, I think elderly people over 85 must not drive for not only themselves but also for all people’s safety. However the ban on seniors driving must take effect long as there are alterative solutions for them. If the government makes laws to prevent their driving, seniors should have the right to move anywhere they want to go by free public transport. This might give more job opportunities for young people and create a better and safer society.                                                       

Please do not smoke in the street - Lee JaeHee

Please Do Not Smoke in the Street

Lee JaeHee

Do you smoke? If you do, where do you usually smoke? I don’t smoke but I can often see many people smoke in the street.  When I pass by them, I feel bad because of the smell and seeing them just throw away their cigarette butts in the street. Therefore, I think smoking in the street should be banned.

The first and most important reason is to protect non-smokers.  If someone wants to use freedom, he or she has to respect other people’s freedom. As smokers have rights to enjoy smoking, non-smokers have rights to have fresh air too. Smokers have smoking areas so they can use those sections not in the street. And second hand smoking is not good for health. In studies, it has been discovered that second hand smoking has an effect 3 times worse than actual smoking. In the street, there are not only smokers’ families but also other people’s families and kids. So it is better to prohibit smoking in the street.

Not only that, we can prevent fire. It is known that fire has been caused by cigarette butts which are still burning. Many grasses, branches, or pieces of paper in the street can burn easily just by cigarette butts. If a fire is put out quickly, it’s okay. However, a fire can spread to buildings or shops so it can lead to serious damage.

In addition, banning smoking in the street can make better streets. When smokers stub out cigarette butts, cigarette burns are made on a street. They don’t look so beautiful and street cleaners have difficulties removing these smoking marks. If we ban smoking in the street, I think we can have much cleaner streets.

Some smokers assert that there are few smoking areas and they are using ashtrays. However, we can build more smoking areas for smokers. If smokers want, they can insist that their needs to city council or other organizations. And even though smokers have ashtrays, they can’t use them in the street. Most ashtrays are in some rooms or buildings and many smokers don’t bring their own ashtrays.

In conclusion, smoking in the street should be banned for non-smokers’ health in order to prevent fire, and make clearer streets. There are smoking areas and some rooms where people can smoke, so smokers can use those places when they want to smoke, not in the street. In my opinion, if regulations or policies prohibiting smoking in the street are established, we can protect non-smokers, our environment, and in streets.

Who i am

Introduction

 The aim of this paper is to clarify different four factors for understanding my identity, furthermore, to make a conclusion.

 

Persistence

 When it comes to understanding Daiki Fukui, persistence is one of the most crucial aspects of my identity, specifically, this is my motto and also this is what I have inherited from my parents for living in my life. “Do not give up, and believe in your potential until you are exhausted”, it appear to be very strict for some people, however, this cliché have always encouraged me to achieve something and it will for the rest of my life.

 

Exercise

 Originally, my personality was thoroughly introvert, so it was necessary for me to find places to practice social skills, especially, cooperating with others. That is why I started playing volleyball even though I really hesitated to start because it is vital to have verbal communication with teammates, otherwise, you will lose the game. Fortunately, it did the trick and I could be an extravert like now. What was really interesting was playing sports became ideal opportunity for me to make friends, although initially I was not motivated to play sports at all.

 

English

 This is also a vital aspect of mine, studying English abroad has been my dream since when I was in primary school, though none of my family members liked the subject. My dream has not changed at all even the desire is getting stronger day by day of working in an international office and having the time of my life in an English country, so that is the reason I came to Dunedin to reinforce my English.

 

 

 

My family

 Needless to say, family is the most precious treasure for all and for me as well, but my family members are quite strict, so sometimes my parents gave me a hard time. Because of that fact, unfortunately, I did not really appreciate the existence of my family in the past, however, whenever I have always told them about what I want to do willingly, they have never discouraged me. All they said to me was “do it, we will help you when you find difficulties”. In hindsight, my parents have been devoted themselves for me and supportive. I was born in the best family ever. I would say that family have made me what I am today.

 

Conclusion

 There are many important things for me, but these four factors that I have described so far are the best aspects to configure my identity.               

Who I Am

I want to change my personality. It has been said sometimes I am punctual since I became a university student. Certainly, it is rare that I am late for an appointment. If I am late, I send a message companions with juice or snacks which I buy at a convenience store. My school was strict about everything. Students have to arrive at a meeting place 5 minutes earlier. Since I came to New Zealand I have felt my life in Japan was too busy. When I come back to Japan, I will try to live in a more peaceful than used to.

I have four family members, my parents and my younger brother. My parents really like to play and watch sports, and also my brother is good at playing sports, especially, soccer, American football and rugby. My favourite is rugby. This was the biggest reason to study English in New Zealand.   Unfortunately, my athletic ability is terrible. If I race with a gold medallist Usain Bolt, he runs 100m while I run 50m. I do not have good memories about sports. That is why I hate exercise. 

My major is literature. However I am not sure why I chose literature. I have not had a dream. I like reading articles so I am satisfied with my major. I often stay up late to read book or comics. My marks are not so bad. One problem is it is difficult for students who study literature to work at general companies. In order to get a high salary, I would like to be a teacher. I wanted to be a Japanese teacher because my grandmother used to be a Japanese teacher.

I would like to get something that someone else does not to doing. My aspiration is to buy a grand piano on my room someday. To get it, I used to buy scratches, but I have not won it. When I was a child I watched one of a rocks bands member playing a piano which was made from glass. There are few people who have the same kind of piano as him. To buy the same type of piano is my target in my life.

I have been affected by my family, because I did not frequently go out somewhere. I have no idea what I really want to do so I tend to obey my parents. I hope that I will find what I want in a near future.                   

who I am

Who I am

I am a Muslim Omani girl who was born in Muscat the capital city of Oman and I am going to study dentistry in New Zealand. Family is the most important thing in my life. I have got 3 brothers, one sister, 17 aunties, 9 uncles and so many cousins. On Friday which is a weekend day in Oman “we call it gathering day” where the whole family have lunch together after the Friday pray. Some Omani families including mine can speak an African  language which is Swahili because of the Omani rule of Zanzibar (Tanzania right now) for approximately 160 years (from 1804 – 1963) where Omani people got married to African women and some of the Omani families lives there till this day.

Most Omani families are originally from another city but moved to the capital for work or study. I am originally from Adam which is a small village in the interior area. Omani family’s names represent where are they originally from and usually more than 500 people have the same family name but they don’t know each other because they could be fifth or sixth cousins.

I really love science especially maths and biology. Since I was eight years old I have dreamed of becoming a surgeon. My father is my biggest support. He always encourage me to keep moving forward to my dream and here I am working on my dream to be a facial and maxillofacial surgeon. I also enjoy watching online surgeries and medical series.

As many Muslim women I have chosen to wear Hijab for religious believes and I am so proud of that. In my religion we pray 5 prayers a day which I believe are helping me deal with the homesick and life problems in general.

Participating in social activities has always been my passion. When I was  7^th grade at school I participated in the student administration and by the 11^th grade I become the leader of the administration where we discussed students` problems and tryed to find solutions and write our thoughts to the ministry of education in Oman.

Arabic music has been always my favourite and I adore the Syrian singer Asala. Her voice is so unique as much as her songs that I personally feel that I live in a different beautiful world when I listen to her.  I enjoy some other activities such as ice skating and camping and I wish to try sky diving one day.

Who am I?

<Who am I?>

Byungsun Kim

It’s really hard to introduce myself, but I should try presenting myself because it will be helpful for knowing myself. I’m Byungsun Kim, and I’m from Korea. I’m 25 years old according to Korea age. I’m a college student, and my major is chemical engineering.

Let me talk about my major. I have changed my major, from mathematics to chemical engineering. When I was a freshman, I was interested in mathematics, especially in big data field. Big data is promising for occupations the 21^st century, but it might be hard to gain a job if I had continued studying big data because it is not settled in Korea. So I decided to change my major. I used to like studying chemistry when I was in high school. Now my major is chemical engineering.

I have not set in my dream specifically, as I don’t think about the distant future. It feels like I’m sealing the potential when I decided my dream. And I’m worried about two things. One is ‘Gaining a job’ and the other is ‘Going to graduate school’. When I gain a job, I want to go the field of energy or cosmetics. On the other hand, I want to go to graduate school to study deeply about chemical engineering. I haven’t decided yet, but I think it is a pleasant concern for me.

How about my hobby? My hobby are listening music and watching sports. When I go outside to take a walk, I usually wear the earphone to listen music. My favorite music genres are ballads and hip-hop. Ballads make me feel comfortable, and hip-hop makes me feel pleasant. And I like watching sports. I like soccer, baseball, tennis, volleyball, e-sport, and so on. Soccer is the best thing I like. Sometimes I watch England soccer games, and I’m a big fan of Arsenal. The team makes me get goose bumps when they do fantastic plays. My hobby can relieve my stress when I get a lot of stress because of my work.

My 2018 plan is as follows. I want to go exchange student in a country where I can use English. Although it is difficult to adapt to other countries, it is meaningful to experience other cultures and religions. And it will be helpful to study English. I hope I can use English perfectly. And the other plan is meeting many people. I can see many of the thoughts of others when I meet various people. It can improve my interpersonal skills, nevertheless I’m an introverted person. I hope my plans are accomplished perfectly.  

Who I am - Jeongjun Park

Who I am

Jeongjun Park

 

Let me tell you about myself. I’m a man from South Korea where I have lived for 25 years. The city where I live is Goyang which is located northwest of Seoul. In Korea, many people have their religions, but I and my family have no religion. I’m too young to get married, I have a girlfriend in Korea. I’m studying in Soongsil Univ. and my major is Materials & Fibre Engineering, where I study about finding or making new materials related to fabrics, especially polymer materials. And we also deal with natural fibre materials. There is a year left before graduating. I think I’m going to become a member of a company that is pertinent to my major. These days unfortunately, job seeking is getting harder for young people than before. So everyone must have something special to get a job. Many students who are in engineering and science in Korea don’t regard English as important. Also they don’t speak it well. Fortunately, I like English more than other a same sort of students. Therefore, I thought I have to learn some foreign languages for example, specifically English, and that’s why I’m here in New Zealand writing my essay. An advanced ability of English will be a gift to me.

 Let me tell you about what is important to me. I love myself most. Even though you might think I’m weird, I like me most. There’s nothing that changes me. Next, many ordinary adult men in Korea have to enrol in the army. Because there was a historical war in my country, the Korean War. Korea had been a colony of Japan about for 30 years.  After the defeat of Japan in World War II, Korea restored the independence. After then, there was a difference of ideology between north part and south part of Korea. Therefore the Korea war happened at 25/6/1950. After few years, the two parts had a cease-fire agreement, and it is still effective. So our peninsular is divided in to two parts. So that’s the reason why all common men should enter the military for 2 years. I also had done 3 years ago and it was a really hard time, but I think it is a present for me because I became a more somebody than before. Because I had done so many things when I was in the army like, protecting my country as well as myself that are different from what I usually did in ordinary life.