Teen Driving : The Dangers Of Teenage Driving

“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

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.

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.

It was an eye opener to see all of the many different facts about teens and driving. There were many different facts that stuck out to me. I will go over a few in particular below. To start, one that surprised me quite a bit was from the article “Teen Drivers: Get the Facts” when it states “Teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are nearly three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash.” I didn’t believe this one for a second because of how crazy this one is. It’s just hard for me to understand how teenagers are 3 times more likely to be in a fatal crash than non-teenagers. I assumed before reading these facts that teen fatalities happened at a higher rate than non-teenager fatalities, but I did not think that it was as much

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), car crashes are the leading cause of teenage deaths in the U.S. However, convincing a teenage of the reality of this disturbing fact is quite impossible. Therefore, parents must use tact and patience when dealing with eager teen drivers. Below explains four ways to survive your teen transitioning into being a full-time driver.

The achievement of a driver’s license is a rite of passage for a large number of adolescents and young adults in the United States. Societally, the driver’s license is representative of a key to the outside world, and, in some ways, it is also thought of as being one of the first steps into adulthood. This perceived importance leads numerous fifteen and sixteen-year-olds to obtain their license as quickly as they possibly can which can be dangerous. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), drivers who are between sixteen to nineteen years old are at the greatest risk of being involved in a fatal crash, and sixteen and seventeen year olds also are at nearly twice the risk of eighteen and nineteen year olds. This has led some experts to call for a raise to the minimum driving age. While this is an understandable conclusion to come to, this is not necessarily the best course of action. There are other programs which can decrease the fatal crash rate, which can alleviate the crash concern. Otherwise, the ability to drive is, as stated above, an important step towards adulthood, and it provides maturity. Additionally, due to the lack of public transport or other safe ways to travel from place to place, the ability to drive provides younger Americans with mobility so that they can work, go to school, and also be with friends. For these reasons, the minimum driving age must stay at sixteen.

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.

We as citizens today should do everything we can to protect our youth, after all they are the future leaders of America. As a mother of a teenager, I worry about when my teenager will begin driving. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. (2013). National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). [Cited 2015 Oct 7]. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens. We as citizens need to take an active role and do more to prevent our youth from being in harm’s way. Allowing our youth to begin driving on the roads at the age of 15 years, with a learner’s permit, we are allowing them to drive as an inexperience driver, a driver subject to distractions, and the age limit needs to be raised.

Teenager are ready to get on the road at the age of sixteen when it is legal to get your license. They are ready for freedom and ready for a big life ahead of them, little did they know it take responsible to drive a car because if you don’t follow the rules from the state or your parents, you can in up in a wreck. There are more teen driver that happen to get in a wreck than adults do. Teen drivers have a history of being unsafe drivers, so precautions have been made to limit wrecks caused by them. They have the basic skills to drive.

Teen drivers have the mentality were they are untouchable when behind the wheel. But it’s obviously to much to handle for them because when it comes to the facts to many teens die a year. In 2007, 4,200 teens in the U.S aged from 15-17 were killed and 400,000 were treated in the E.R for injuries because of car accidents (“Motor vehicle safety, Teen Drivers, page 1”). This just shows how irresponsible teens are while driving. In a national survey 12.5% of all high school students rarely wear seatbelts, this just asking too get hurt in case an accident happens (“Motor vehicle safety, Teen Drivers, page 1”). This just shows how teens have a bad mentality while driving. In 2005, 54% of teen deaths occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. This statistic shows that one more reason why a teen would want there license is to get to a party or go

In the article “Teen Drivers”, it talks about the importance of safe driving. Many teens feel that once they get their license, they have freedom and forget about safety. In 2013, 963,000 teen drivers were involved in police-reported motor vehicle crashes resulting in 383,000 injuries and 2,865 deaths nationwide.

The article is a summary of many other studies and articles that cover all the various aspects of teen driving, such as accidents, deaths, laws, learner’s permit requirements and many more statistics related to teen driving.

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.

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