Statistics show that ‘in 2011, about 2,650 teens in the United States aged 16-19 were killed’ and almost 300,000 teens were severely injured from fatal crashes. Every day, 7 teens die from car crashes/injuries. Newly licensed drivers who are aged 16-19 are at a higher risk of fatal crashes than drivers aged 20 and over. As well, many of these crashes are caused by teens that text, talk, or drink and drive. Inexperienced drivers, who are many 16 -19 year olds in the United States cause higher insurance, accidents and crashes, and so, the legal driving age should be increased to 18.
Firstly, teenage drivers cause higher insurance rates. This is due to the high risk of fatal crashes for those under the age of 20. Since many teenagers are caught
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They are inexperienced because there are newly licensed drivers and they are not capable of controlling a motor vehicle at the ages 16-19. This is because they can give trouble to experienced drivers. They can give experienced drivers trouble by recklessly driving, driving well over the speed limit, and also not being able to control the vehicle. This means that experienced drivers will have to watch out for newly licensed drivers and be able to get around them. Also, teenagers can cause traffic by going too slow or not being able to control the vehicle. For example, you are an experienced driver with well over 10 years of driving experience and you conquer a teenage driver who is going 40 km/h in a 90 km/h zone, you will become frustrated to see that you are behind an inexperienced driver who cannot even go the speed limit. This can cause traffic because of the lack of speed. Inexperienced drivers can also cause accidents. They can cause accidents by going over and below the speed limit, causing traffic, and also not being able to control the motor vehicle. An example of an inexperienced driver causing an accident would be that a car is going very slow on the highway and changing lines at around 30 km/h in a 100 km/h zone and then out of nowhere a car going the speed limit comes and crashes into the inexperienced driver. Inexperienced driving is another factor of why teenagers should not be able to start driving at age 16. Overall, inexperienced drivers cause trouble for experienced drivers, traffic, and accidents because of the lack of
Teenagers are more likely to speed than older drivers because people have less developed brains at the ages of 16 or 17 than at 21 or 22. As a result, one in four teenagers are aggressive drivers and almost twenty percent of teenagers admit that they enjoy speeding, as stated in the New York Times. Drunk driving is a recent problem even among adults. Although drinking and driving is illegal, and drinking under the age of twenty one is illegal, twenty-five percent of all fatal car crashes caused by teens involve an underage drunk driver. Teenagers also have the lowest rate of seat belt use, and seat belts are the most effective way of reducing accidents. In addition, texting while driving is the number one cause of car accidents among teenagers due to the development of social media. This causes teens to drive while looking down at their phones, which can eventually put them in the hospital. Therefore, raising the driving age to 21 will prevent teens from dying due to car accidents-- the number one cause of teen deaths in 2013, according to the CDC Injury
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
Teens make up about 8% of drivers in the world but, teens are involved in 20% of the accidents (“Protecting Our Children” n.p). As a result of getting a drivers license, teens don’t have to drive with their parents anymore which can be a big problem. Teens become careless when getting into a vehicle without a parent present. They want to cram in as many people as they can fit, turn up the radio, and have reckless amounts of fun being able to transport themselves for the first time. “The Insurance Institue of Highway Safety conducted endless amounts of research on teen accidents. They found that there is a high crash rate for new younger drivers than older more experienced ones due to their decision making and inexperience” (Lund 28). It has also been recorded that 17 and 18 year olds have also recorded less accidents than newly licensed drivers (Lund 28). Laura Mcelroy, police spokewomen, said, “Raising the driving age will save more lives, a more mature person behind the wheel will make better decisions” (“Shifting the Drving Age” 22). Older drivers are proven to have better decision making skills behind the wheel that would lead to less accidents and would end up saving more
The last reason I found was “ the rate of crashes in teenagers are high “ . They counted 10 times as middle age drivers , as they are release . Teenagers should first all should know all the basics , and safety's before even getting into a car because it's dangerous , they could be deaths , horrible injuries . They could also get hurt badly and get into serious problems for just not knowing the basics of driving . Lack of sleep can also be a major factor in teenage crashes .
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
Adolescents can be immature, careless and reckless, especially when they’re trying to show off to their other friends. The general public somewhat views eighteen as an appropriate age at which young people grow into adults. As a result, driving should be one of those privileges and responsibilities of being welcomed into adulthood. On the other hand, permitting young people to drive at the same age as they are allowed to consume legal drugs such as alcohol and nicotine surely is a big step in the wrong direction. By agreeing to let young people to have the responsibility to drive without the attraction of illegal drugs, nonetheless, you are giving them an opportunity to learn, first hand, the real risks, threats and encounters of driving, hopefully being able to benefit young people make better and more responsible decisions whilst driving. Not only is driving not equal to that of drinking or smoking as it requires an ability test, but those who do drive have to abide to strict laws and registrations. Adolescents are taught how to properly drive cars and have to be able to prove that they can perform to a specific level before they are able to get their licences.
entertainment? Youngsters are known for partying, sneaking out, drinking; when it is illegal and we can not have people like this causing chaos on our streets. Minors are also distracted too easily with the latest technology, friends and other passengers. Teenagers also like to eat, talk, and groom which is a distraction. A distraction is anything that could divert a person’s attention from their main task, which is driving. Studies have shown sixteen year olds are immature and their mind is not fully developed, and therefore should not be able to drive. They also do not have enough experience as most youth get their license at the age of sixteen and hardly practice safety on the roads before that. Teenagers consistently cause trouble, they should not be permitted to drive until eighteen years of age.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 20 years old. Adolescents already are at a high risk being inexperienced drivers. Drivers younger that 21 are more likely to have alcohol-induced impairment of driving skills than older drivers. The rate of fatal crashes among alcohol involved drivers between 16-23 is more than twice the rate for alcohol involved drivers 24 and older.
Teen driving is unsafe and dangerous, teen driving is the leading cause of teenage deaths in the United States with more than 5,000 teens dying a year. 17 year old Weston Griggs, killed himself and the 2 passengers he had in his car. But, this accident was no accident. Weston was going 70 mph in a 40 mph speed zone. The issue in this story is that young drivers like Weston, inexperienced and full of adrenaline are just hurting them selves and others by getting behind the wheel at such a young age. Teens between the ages 15 through 17 do not belong on the road. Outrageous amounts of teens are dying every year and these numbers are not changing, so why keep them on the road? Teen driving in the United States have three main problems
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
Third reason of accidents on the road is teenage drivers. “2,739 teenagers died in car accidents in the United States during 2008 ", (drivesteady.com). Some teenagers cause fatal accidents, because of immaturity and lack of experience. Teenagers are very impulsive. Although not intending to hurt anyone, they sometimes drive very aggressively. It is not difficult to find teenagers driving with one hand on the steering wheel, seat pushed back, and with loud music playing. In traffic they go wild, trying to seek attention. They underestimate the risk of what they are doing. All these acts result in serious consequences on the road. Many accidents of young drivers result from their own mistakes.
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.
In my opinion, I think that the number one problem for young drivers is inexperience. Although there are many other problems to face, inexperienced drivers is the number one reason. Teen drivers cause 14% of all car accident deaths and almost half of these instances occur on the weekends. One example of this is young drivers getting into incidents that they don’t know how to get out of. Another reason is immaturity, they don’t have enough experience yet to not make good enough decisions. The last aspect is distracted driving, and I’m not talking about call phones. Even though they are a big issue of today’s drivers, young and old.