Today my son turns seventeen, an exciting age for a teenager as adulthood and increased independence is on the verge of becoming realism. For some parents, celebrating their teenagers next birthday is no longer a reality as the life of their child is taken from the world in a blink of an eye. The once blissful occasion to celebrate the birth of a child is now a heart-wrenching reminder of the tragic accident that took such a young life unexpectedly and unnecessarily. No parent wishes to ever need to imagine burying a child, however sadly for some parents this inconceivable event becomes a horrific reality. Unwillingly facing such a grief-stricken incident can leave an infinite number of unanswered questions running through a parent’s mind. What exactly happened? Could this tragedy been avoided? Was this young driver …show more content…
Last night, just one day before my second son’s seventeenth birthday and merely two days after empowering him with the privilege of a driver’s license, this parent’s worst nightmare nearly became a reality for my family. Nearly six years prior, our oldest son at the same age of seventeen, miraculously missed a brush with death created by a similar reckless accident. Both events triggered by their own careless driving. Reflecting back on these events provokes question on whether the legal driving age of sixteen is reasonably appropriate. Recent statistics from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2013, two thousand one hundred and sixty three teenagers in the United States between the ages of sixteen and nineteen were killed in vehicle crashes.1 Within these same statistics, over two hundred forty three thousand teenagers were treated in emergency rooms suffering injuries from motor vehicle crashes.1 Legislation should be put in place to reduce these risks of unnecessary fatalities. The legal age of driving should be increased to the minimum age of eighteen in the United States to help reduce these
In the article “Driving to the Funeral” the author Anna Quindlen addresses the issue of the age to begin driving. She believes that the age 16 is far too young teenagers to begin driving. Driving at a too young of an age is one big reason that the way majority of teenagers die is because of automobile accidents. There isn’t enough limitations on young drivers, causing safety concerns. Parents shouldn’t allow their children to drive at such a young age, just because they want their kids to have “freedom and responsibility”.
“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
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
In 2013, more than 2,500 teenagers died in the United States from motor vehicle crash injuries. Such injuries are by far the leading public health problem for young people 13-19 years old (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety [IIHS], 2014). Drivers are not the only ones at risk. Teenagers who are passengers in others vehicles make up a startling 87% of the fatality statistic. Lack of driving experience, disregard for traffic laws, and quick access to full driving privileges contribute to teen death. To reduce teen driving fatalities, successful completion of driver education classes provided by public and private schools should be mandatory for all teenagers prior to receiving their driving permit.
A lobby that speaks out against teen driving is Mothers against driving, who say that drinking and driving is the easiest ways that teenage driving accidents can occur. “Given the incidence of auto-accident deaths among teenagers, despite the higher drinking age, you have to ask whether the powerful lobby Mothers Against Drunk Driving simply targeted the wrong D.” This quote demonstrates an ethos because it is given from an incredibly large and reliable count, a lobby group opposing drinking and driving underage. Their reliability makes us comfortable believing the information and its accountability. Anna Quindlen can also be believed to be a reliable source. “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.” Quindlen collects facts from people who have studied this subject to reinforce her beliefs on changing the driving age. He retrieves factual information on the subject from people who have researched it. This gives us a credible first hand facts so we can get in depth and accurate information on the
I’ve recently discovered that the leading deaths for 16-19 years old are car crashes. In the United State of America, ages between 16-19 there were 2,333 were killed. That’s not all, 221,313 were treated in emergency hospitals. You have to consider to processing this in your mind, that some of those crashes were not the 16-19 drivers fault. Sixteen year olds that drive may not be the cause of all accidents. We must all be responsible drivers, no matter the age.
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 authors single most important idea of the passage is to persuade parents and the states to raise the legal driving age of sixteen. She uses statics and collective experience to show that raising the driving age will help lower death rates.
To our country 16 years old is a milestone, just like 10, 13, and 18. This day teens don’t get the right to vote, or be seen as an adult by American society- but that day the DMV presents them with the gift of freedom and independence in the form of a driver’s license, provided they pass the test and complete their hours. Is it fair to punish a whole generation of responsible driver’s by making them wait to receive until they got college. Of the average 5,000 teenagers (age 15-17) automobile involved deaths per year, 60% are not wearing seatbelt. Revealed 52% of 16- and 17-year-old teen drivers admit to using, answering, and making cell phone calls on the road. 34% admit to text messaging while driving a vehicle. Revealed 52% of 16- and 17-year-old
Six teens ages 16 to 19 die every day from motor vehicle injuries. Per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash. Fortunately, teen motor vehicle crashes are preventable, and proven strategies can improve the safety of young drivers on the road. This reason is one of many reasons why teenagers cannot be able to drive around because they can kill someone or probably even kill themselves and they do not know what that can do to their parents. I think that we should raise the age of teen driver because mostly all of them just want to drive because they want to have a car and just impress their friends.
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
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
Driver ages 85 and older are cause of the driving accidents that approximate four times than youthful drives (Neporent, 2012, para.3). The problem of driving aged limitation has been discussed recently in the publics. Some people believe that driving license should be confined the age. On the other hand, others claim that the limited age is not important for drivers as long as they are able to drive. Which one is the best way for elderly drivers? Unlimited driving age is better than limited age because elderly drivers can confirm their driving capabilities by taking an older-driver test, and they should not be prohibited some activities that they like to do.
As teenagers, our youth can take over our minds. This leads us to believe that we are immortal and can do anything without repercussion. We tend to view driving as something that is cool and fun, but do not acknowledge it as a privilege given to us. Teens are more likely to participate in risky driving behavior such as speeding and driving without a seat belt. As teenagers we need to view driving as a privilege with dangerous consequences if we do not use proper precautions. When we do not use proper care while driving we can end up with serious injuries, permanent disabilities, or die. “Crashes are the leading cause of death among American teens, accounting for more than one third of all deaths of sixteen- to eighteen-year-olds” (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety). Being careless is also very expensive for our parents. When a car is in an
Teenagers dream of the day when they receive their license and take a step closer to independence from their parents. We count the days to our 16th birthday, waiting to make a trip to the DMV to receive our permit. It is exhilarating and just the mere thought of speeding down the streets makes us shake with excitement. We all remember those months leading up to getting our permits, but we never think about how driving with inexperience can possibly affect others. The number of families destroyed, futures cut short. Although the government has made an effort to try and reduce the casualties caused by teenage drivers the casualty rates are still extremely high. As proven by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “In 2015, 2,333 teens in the United States ages 16–19 were killed and 221,313 were treated in emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor vehicle crashes in 2014. That means that six teens ages 16–19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries.” This proves that teenage driving is an issue in America. The research shows that This comes from multiple factors such as DUI’s, distracted driving, and peer pressure.