Teen Driving Essay

Evidence from the personal experience of teenagers is used (“…young drivers, only half said they had seen a peer drive after drinking…nearly all, however, said they had witnessed speeding…”); collective evidence (“It’s become a sad rite of passage in many American communities”); statistics (“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that neophyte drivers of 17 have about a third as many accidents as their counterparts only a year younger”) and (“Between July 2004 and November 2006, only 12 provisional drivers were tickets for carrying too many passengers”). The author also used common mores on teen safety; (“…parents will tell you that raising the driving age is untenable, that kids need their freedom…perhaps the only ones who won’t make a fuss are those parents who have accepted diplomas at graduation because their children were no longer alive to do

Shari Roan in “Should the driving age be raised” talks about the controversial issue all American families face when it comes to teens driving and the safety of others. She states that in a nationwide analysis the number of fatal crashes between the ages 16 and 17 year old drivers have fallen and the number of fatal crashes between the ages of 18 and 19 year old drivers have risen by almost the same amount. She states that the combination of immaturity and inexperience makes teen drivers particularly vulnerable to motor vehicle accidents. She also explains that car crashes are the leading cause of death among teens resulting in 4,054 fatalities in 2008 according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in Arlington Va.

“The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16 to 19 year olds than among any other age group.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) “The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers. The risk increases with the number of teen passengers.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 1) In the United States motor vehicle accidents are the number one cause death in teens. “In 2010, seven teens ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.” (Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet 2) This alarming number of casualties could be prevented by educating our teenage drivers prior to them being on their own and operating a couple ton weighing

Teen Drivers over time have become three times more likely to become involved in a fatal vehicular accident. This statistic often leads to the negative stereotype of teen drivers. However, one must ask why are teens more likely to be involved vehicular accidents rather than any other age group. It would seem that they might have quicker reaction times, and even the ability to pay attention to the road and others around them more. However, these young drivers often attend school for eight hours, participate in extracurricular activities, and then some teens even work part-time even full-time jobs. Therefore, they drive later and later, creating difficulties on top of the lack of experience, for example exhaustion, and distractions whether the

In the United States, Reckless driving is the number one cause of teenage death in the nation. Reckless driving can be classified as anything from speeding and swerving, to purposely trying to run someone over, or hurt them while driving. In America, there are countless organizations calling to help end the high death rate in teenagers that reckless driving takes. People such as Parents, Drivers Education Instructors and even state legislators have realized the problem and are seeking reform. In 2011 alone 2,650 teens between the ages of 16-19 were killed due to reckless driving. (CDC) Reckless driving is a death that is very preventable, with proper education and warning. As well as problem that is not taken seriously by the juvenile’s committing the act. Most juveniles don’t worry what so ever about dying in a car crash because they think that it won’t happen to them. Under Reckless Driving, in Green Bay, speeding, not paying attention and lack of caring are three of the biggest issues with teen drivers and juveniles.

Tests have showed that the brain isn’t fully developed until someone is around 25 years old. (“Understanding the Teen Brain” n.p). Insurance Institute of Highway safety also states that teens are more likley to engage in risky practices. (“Protecting Our Children” n.p) Showing that a newly licensed driver would not make the best decisions on the road and would planning on drinking and texting when opporating a vechicle. In 2014, 8.7 million teens ages 12-18 reported that they have drank more than a sip of alcohol. Teens of all ages agreed that they have been overly intoxicated more than once and would undgo in that risky behavior. Teens become less alert and make more reckless decisons when drunk, and in result cause more accidents. Texting is another way teens can become distracted when driving. Teens have stated that 70% of them used apps or have sent a text message when behind the wheel of a car (“Driving While Distracted” n.p). Thousands of drivers are killed each year due to distracted driving most of them being teens (“Driving While Distracted” n.p). Distracted and intoxicated driving are both types of behavior that teens encounter when getting the freedom to do

At the same time, they are the least able to cope with hazardous situations that arise unexpectedly" (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 2014). Again, it is apparent the blatant disregard of traffic laws directly correlates to teen deaths in vehicle crashes. Teens underestimate how speeding actually impedes their reaction time when placed in precarious driving situations. Contributing factors such as wet roads or uneven pavement necessitates that drivers slow down. Unfortunately, speeding causes them to overcompensate resulting in many one-vehicle accidents resulting in death. Learning to understand the reasons why one should obey traffic laws begins at home through observation of adults. However, academic settings such as driver's education classes are the optimum place for these lessons because their structure provides in-depth training.

Teen driving allows American youth to have their license between the ages 13-15. At this age, our American youth are more likely to be careless while driving without supervision. The younger teen drivers are the more susceptible to fatal car accidents they will be due to the lack of supervision and proper driver’s education. Lack of maturity and experiences leads to developing poor driving habits. The teens in the age group 16-18 are usually more mature in handling a motorized vehicle. States that allow 13-15 year old teens drive are more likely to get in more car crashes from driving earlier and not having enough experience.

What some teens struggle to understand is if they would avoid the number one problem in teen driving which is distracted driving, a huge amount of lives would be saved. There are many factors that feed into making distracted driving the number one mistake in teen driving. Some factors include, 9 people lose their lives and around 1,000 people are injured in distracted driving crashes each day in the United States, it can hurt your insurance immensely, and parents are unaware of how severe the

Teenage drivers are more likely to get into an accident than someone who is in there 30’s. This is mostly because of maturity in the brain. Scientist have proven “that critical parts of the brain involved in decision-making are not fully developed until years later at age 25 or so.” Teen drivers do not think about what could happen, or the lives they might have in

Putting teens on the road at a young age as low as 15-16-years-old allows them to gain experience that will help them become more accustomed to the road when they get their driving licences at 18. As stated in the article, Teenage Driving Laws May Just Delay Deadly Crashes, it says “Many teenagers, rather than deal with the extra restrictions for 16-17 -year-olds, are simply waiting until they turn 18, and skipping the restrictions altogether. As a result, a greater proportion of inexperienced drivers hit the road” (40). This proves that teens who do not drive at 16 are more likely to get into car crashes, because they wait til 18 to avoid being restricted like the 16- 17- year-olds. Teens who skip the 16 -17-year-old restrictions are just starving themselves from gaining the early knowledge on driving that is needed to prevent fatal crashes. The same article also says that, “There have been 1,348 fewer deadly crashes involving 16-year-old

Teenagers dream of the day when they will receive their license and take a step closer to independence and gaining freedom from their parents. It is the rite of passage that many fifteen-year old yearn for. We count the days to our 16th birthday, waiting to make a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to receive our permit. It is exciting, exhilarating and just the mere thought of racing down the country roads make our spine tingle...Freedom! We all remember those months leading up to getting our permits but in those first days behind the wheel do we think about the number of deaths and accidents that occur due to teen driving? The number of families destroyed, futures cut short all because that excitement we feel takes us over and

First off, teen drivers often don’t follow the rules. They speed, swerve, race, and most of the time wreck. They do not pay attention to their surroundings, nor do they even bother to look. To them it’s just hop in and go. Teen drivers have a bad reputation among the driving community. They do not understand the seriousness of driving. A vehicle can injure or even kill you or other people

Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teens and young adults. More than 5,000 young people die every year in car crashes and thousands more are injured. Drivers who are 16 years old are more than 20 times as likely to have a crash, as are other drivers. There are two main reasons why teens are at a higher for being in a car crash and lack of driving experience and their tendency to take risks while driving. Teens drive faster and do not control the car as well as more experienced drivers. Their judgment in traffic is often insufficient to avoid a crash. In addition, teens do most of their driving at night, which can be even more difficult. Standard driver's education classes include 30 hours of classroom teaching and 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training. This is not enough time to fully train a new driver. Teen drivers are more like to be influence by peers and other stresses and distractions. This can lead to reckless driving behaviors such as speeding, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and not wearing safety belts. There is no safe amount that you can drink and still drive. Even one drink can influence your driving offences. “Nowadays, drunk driving has become driving while intoxicated, driving while impaired, driving while under the influence, operating while under the influence (impaired, intoxicated, or whatever), and in many

Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.