[b]ARGUMENT20 - The following appeared in a letter to the editor of the Balmer Island Gazette.
“The population of Balmer Island increases to 100,000 duing the summer months. To reduce the number of accidents involving mopeds and pedestrians, the town council of Balmer Island should limit the number of mopeds rented by each of the island’s six moped and bicycle rental companies from 50 per day to 30 per day during the summer season. By limiting the number of rentals, the town council is sure to attain the 50 percent reduction in moped accidents that was achieved last year in the neighboring island of Torseau, when Torseau’s town council enforced similar limits on moped rentals.”[/b]
The argument is well-presented, but not well-reasoned. By citing the Torseau’s reduction in moped accident last year owing to the certain policy, the argument for limits on moped rentals in Balmer Island in order to reduce accidents involving mopeds and pedestrians seems logical.
However, the author fails to consider other possible alternatives to those accidents in Balmer. Such alternatives may include the fact that the pedestrians rather than the mopeds should pay for the accidents. It is possible that the pedestrians in Balmer pay little emphasis on the traffic rules due to lack of education concerned, so most of accidents were caused by pedestrians actually. In addition, the author fails to consider the objective conditions which influence the accident rate in Balmer. Perhaps the roads condition in Balmer is not qualified enough for safety. For example, as we all know, the narrow or uneven roads will bring inconvenience as well as more traffic accidents. It appears reasonable, therefore, for the author to focus on these trouble spots than the number of mopeds merely as the reason of the accidents.
Moreover, the successful policy in Torseau may not bring the same effect to Balmer because the author overlooks the differences between the two towns before reaching the conclusion. On the one hand, it is possible that Torseau has several advantages over Balmer in reduction in moped accidents. Perhaps the weather condition and road condition in Torseau in much better than those in Balmer, so the former town has gained satisfying traffic safety last year. Furthermore, the achievement in Toreau last year might have nothing to do with limits on moped rentals at all. Perhaps it was the improvement of the mopeds and pedestrians’ behaviors on roads due to stricter rules or concerned education that reduce the number of the accidents. In that matter, it is unjustifiable to claim that Balmer can learn from the policy from Toreau in order to reduce the accident rate.
Finally, the limits on moped rentals in Balmer may bring some negative effects in the light of the current situation. As mentioned in the argument, the population in Balmer is blooming, so the needs of transportation are increasing as expected. In spite of the moped rentals, the general public has several other choices, such as the car rentals. If so, the traffic problems in Balmer will be more severe and more accidents will be inevitable. Moreover, this measure will only be enforced in summer time; In other words, during the other seasons of the year, the traffic safety of the Balmer cannot be ensured. Obviously, the author in the letter has not taken these possibilities into account.
Overall, the reasoning behind limits on moped rentals in Balmer as Toreau did last year seems logical as presented above. However, before any final decision are made about this limits, the author should evaluate all possible alternatives and causes of the number of accidents in both towns as well as the differences between the two towns.
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Morning, Kitos~
I’ve finished my TOEFL and thank you for helping me in the past few days.
I am preparing AW now and this is my first argument wiritng.
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