Essay about Causes of Car Accidents

How many people die every year from car accidents? How many of those people qualify as careless teenagers? Nearly 1.3 million people die each year in car accidents, which is on average 3,287 deaths per day. Young drivers between the ages of fifteen and twenty account for sixty percent of these accidents. For almost a century, the age for teenagers to be allowed to drive on public roads without supervision has been sixteen, resulting in a higher death rate due to the carelessness of young drivers in the United States. For example, as stated by the Free Personal Injury Help Center, one in every three teens says they text or email while driving: the number one cause of deaths among all drivers. The amount of young and old drivers on the road

The article “Driving to The Funeral” by Anna Quindlen discusses the rite of passage when it comes to driving at sixteen and the risks that come with young drivers. The beginning of the article gives you a reminder of the major high school milestones that everyone hits, even the unfortunate ones. This is where the author jumps right into statistics of teen accident rates; (“…car crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among 15-to-20-year old’s in this country”). The purpose of the article is to take teen driving seriously as an accident can be lifechanging.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2011 statistical analysis, there was 1,237 fatalities involving young drivers between the ages of 17-19. On average, 30% of those vehicle fatalities were

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.

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

You notice people walking and talking on their cell phone not paying attention or bumping into others. If a driver is talking on the phone while driving this increases the risk of injury to themselves including others. The risk a driver is choosing to take by talking on the phone while driving can cause the driver to be distracted enough to run a light or stop sign, move into another lane, and can ultimately cause a crash between another car. According to the NHTSA, over 3,331 people were killed and over 387,000 injured in motor vehicle accidents connected to distracted driving.

While you may think that getting behind a wheel drunk is the most dangerous thing you could ever do, you are incorrect. Texting and driving increases your chances of a car accident by 6-fold compared to if you were to drive a car

A major factor contributing to alcohol-related car accidents is binge drinking. Teenage drinking is not legal, therefore teens usually cannot drink whenever they want. When teens do drink, they often times drink to get drunk on the

Not only does using a cell phone while driving put the driver in danger, but it also puts other drivers in danger because it can be distracting.”Distracted driving affects all drivers from time to time and can come with stiff consequences,”(Delbridge). This shows that one is not only putting themselves in danger, but they are putting other drivers at risk as well.Thousands of people have been affected by these distracted drivers and have been injured. “About 424,000 people were injured in crashes involving a distracted driver,”(edgarsnyder.com 2018). This is just a small example of how many people who have been affected and this also shows how some of the other drivers are affected.

“When you stop on the brakes, your life is in your foot’s hand.” (By: George Carlin). Each year, car accidents have more teens dieing than any other accidents. Why does this happen? Teens are starting to drive at the age of 16. Graduated Licences should be used to decrease teen car accidents.

Death among U.S. teens is led by vehicle crashes. In the year of 2013, around 2,163 teens were killed between the ages of 16-10 in the United States. Around 243,243 were treated in emergency departments for injuries that they suffered in motor vehicle accidents. Around 75% of teen drivers suffer in these accidents due to 3 major mistakes. Those major mistakes include a lack of scanning the road, distractions in the vehicle, and also going to fast for the conditions of the road.

The use of cell phone is very dangerous for drivers while driving. The drivers are supposed to be alert and concentrated to their ambient surrounding. The use of cell phone catch their attention and make them less alert to their surrounding which can lead to serious destruction. The use of cell phone is more dangerous than the use of alcohol while driving. Because it took half a second longer for a cell phone users to react than a normal person and one third of a second longer than a persons in drunken condition.

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

As a teen I often get stereotyped as a bad driver but this is a very unfair judgment. The fact is I have helped prevent accidents the closest I have ever been to being in an accident was the fault of an older gentleman. Still the numbers do not lie teens have the most accidents of any age bracket. Why do teens have the highest accident rate? I believe it is because of inexperience not bad habits. Most teens have only been driving for a very short time, if at all, when they receive

This shows that teens do not take driving seriously and also do not realize what can happen to them if they continue with bad driving habits. In fact, insurance rates are high enough as it is for teens now. If they get into a car accident, the insurance rates will sky rocket, their parents may have a hard time being able to afford the insurance. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of fatalities for teens. As stated in a magazine, “Drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more than likely than older drivers to crash” (Brophy). This quote shows that teen drivers are involved in more traffic accidents then older drivers. It has much to do with the young drivers not being safe and making horrible choices while they are driving or in the car with another person. If teens engage in the driving education course, they will definitely become more knowledgeable about all the safe ways to drive when their parents do not have to ride with them anymore. Teen drivers are involved in many car accidents due to unsafe driving habits. A course on safe driving will give the young driver behind the wheel more experience.