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Young Drivers: A Legacy of Bad Driving Essay

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Young drivers are constantly being criticized in today’s society for what is wrong with our highways and streets. Drivers between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five years old are blamed for the most accidents resulting in deaths and serious injuries. Numerous television commercials, magazine articles, and internet ads target young motorists. These ads and community service messages urge young motorists to change their bad habits and be safe while behind the wheel. But who is really to blame for those bad habits? It is time to take a hard look into society’s driver side window and change the bad habits that “experienced” drivers are passing down to young motorists. A little girl about four years old is playing outside in her front yard. …show more content…

Stepping out of the car, the little girl is visibly proud of her last mimic and so are her parents. If behavior like this can be learned at such a young age, is there any doubt that the impatient and aggressive actions that inexperienced drivers witness everyday are instilled in them by those they emulate. Then there is the adolescent girl who is riding to work with her father. From the moment the vehicle starts, they jovially fight for control of the radio station. The soon to be teen observes her father as he shoves a breakfast burrito in his mouth, drinks coffee, and checks his email on the latest and greatest mobile device. All the while, her father is speeding, neglecting to signal, and not once checking his mirrors for those around him. The young adolescent just learned that as long as she was preoccupied with what she was doing in her own car, it was ok to ignore the traffic laws and procedures set forth to keep her and others safe. A signal indicator is superfluous if she is distracted by her own agenda. Now imagine years have passed. The cute little four year old is now loose on city asphalt. The frustration and impatience that she observed on a daily basis has grown with her. She is no longer mommy’s little girl or daddy’s little princess. She is now a menace to others as she weaves in between cars trying to get ahead of vehicles in order to make it through a yellow light. With no regard for the other drivers around her, she speeds

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