Conformity To Risk-Taking

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.

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

Teen driver’s affect other people on the road by speeding for a show, distractions from the cell phone, or the radio, and texting and driving.

Debate over whether the driving age should be raised to the age of eighteen has been an ongoing battle among state lawmakers. Of course if you were a sixteen year old teenager, who has waited to obtain the privilege to drive or one who due to family circumstances needs to drive in order to get to work, school or after school activities, you would not be overly enthused with the decision to raise the driving age to eighteen. On the other side of the coin, a twenty-five year old seasoned driver can point out the unsafe practices of youthful drivers and have their concerns echoed by a variety of news articles toting the statistics of teenage driving fatalities. These “teenage drivers are particularly dangerous, so delaying when they get a license will make the roads much safer for everyone” (Endersby). Safety experts, who have studied numerous studies of sixteen year-old teens driving habits proclaimed that they are by far at a higher rate for driving accidents than older teens. Scientific studies at the National Institutional of Health in Bethesda, Maryland show that “the weak link, known as the executive branch, which is the part of the brain that weights risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behaviors has not fully developed and is the reason teenagers do

Teens tend to be safer drivers then their middle-aged counter parts. The number of 15-20-year-old drivers in 2008 in single-vehicle crashes made up 14%, multi-vehicle was 10.4%, and 15-20year old drivers made up 11.9% of all fatal crashes; while the more middle aged 25-34year old drivers consisted of 20.9% for single vehicle crashes, 19% of all multi-vehicle crashes, and 19.8% of all fatal crashes, immensely higher stats then the teen drivers. This shows that teens are by far safer drivers then the middle aged, mature, adults.

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

Risk-taking involves making decisions with uncertain good or bad effects. Risk taking among teenagers has psychological and physiological determinants. The most common psychological factors that result to harmful risk-taking are acting brave, not caring for the outcome of one’s actions, thinking that oneself is resistant to harm, wanting to belong to a group, being scared not to take risks, and wanting to feel thrills and excitement.

One of the main reasons that teenagers are involved in accidents and commit traffic violations is that when teenagers start driving, they are inexperienced. According to The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), “crash rates are highest during the first 500 miles of driving” (The Anatomy 1). This means that due to the inexperience of teenagers, there are more crashes during the early teenage years of driving and the number of crashes decline as they gain experience. Furthermore, countries in which the legal age to obtain a driver’s license is 18 or above, there are a higher number of crashes in early years of driving (Anatomy 1). This research supports that “practice makes perfect,” meaning that as teenagers practice driving, they gain experience and

Studies show that teens ages 16-17 are more immature and irresponsible when it comes to driving and texting on their cellphones. They seem to make more carless decisions. Teens are more likely to exceed speed limits, run off roads and roll over at higher rates than do older drivers involved in fatal crashes. Young drivers are less experienced therefore lose control of the vehicle easily. New medical research explains that the part of the brain that weighs risk behavior and controls impulsive behavior isn’t fully developed until the age of 25, according to the National Institutes of Health. This questions some state legislators and safety activists whether 16 year-olds should be licensed to drive.

Did you know that every three seconds an accident occurs? Did you also know that little over half of the accidents that occur involves a teenager. But do you know why teenagers are more likely to be involved in an accident that other age groups? It is because teenagers are inexperienced drivers. They tend to drive faster than the other drivers. They think that they are invincible which means they feel like they can do anything without any consequences. The one thing that does not cross their mind until it is too late is that how would you feel if you were driving with your best friend not knowing this would be the last time you ever spoke to them. You think it would be fun to take a sharp turn to try to scare them. But all the sudden you lose

Based on the study’s findings, having passengers under the age of 21-years-old increase the crash risk for teenage drivers. With one passenger under 21-years-old in the vehicle, teens had a 44% increased risk of being killed in a collision. When teen drivers had two passengers under the age of 21-years-old in their vehicles, their risk of suffering death in a motor vehicle accident was doubled, compared to the risk when driving alone. This risk was essentially quadrupled when teen drivers had three or more passengers who were not yet 21-years-old.

There was a time were driving was taken more like a necessity. With the increase in production and sales of cars and their availability at flexed leasing terms, driving is now also taken as a fun activity. Youth particularly take the art of driving as a matter of pride, fun and the best pass time. However, this fun activity could end up very dangerously. According to a latest research, it is estimated that about thirty thousand of Americans lose their lives while driving and most of these unfortunate souls are the teenagers (Markedbyteachers.com, 2013). Why this is happening in such a big number? We must all ask this question. One factor that is quite obvious is the fact that teenagers are more vulnerable towards such driving accidents mainly due to their rash driving.

Driving in today’s world poses many dangers for drivers of all ages, but these risks are especially prominent for teenage drivers. These drivers do not have the experience that older drivers have obviously, but this combined with the usual arrogant know-it-all attitude of most teenagers multiplies the risks of driving.

Passengers who are age peers may distract the teen drivers and encourage them to take more risks, especially for young males driving with young male drivers.” The presence of peers can significantly affect the teen driver, however, a parent or trusted adult can create a definite border between driving safely and at a risk. Although peer passengers carry risks in teen driving, with all facts mentioned, teen passengers can only affect the driver by choice. In Facts About Teen Drivers, the group also states, “ Parents play a crucial role in teen driving safety, including peer pressure.

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