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The sequence and rate of brain development
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ving. The dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex in the brain is not developed by age 16 in most teenagers. Just like physical growth, brain development could be slower or quicker for different people. In most 16 year olds though, this part of the brain is undeveloped. The dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that controls impulses and decision-making. This can explain part of the reason for reckless driving in teenagers, but hormone growth adds to this as well. Hormones tell teenagers to take more risks; and since the part of their brain that controls this is not fully developed, they take the risk (Davis). This can be a huge problem when driving. If a 16 year old sees a red light, hormones may tell them to run it. Because the …show more content…
This is a major reason for why an 18 year old driver is safer than a 16 year old driver.
There are many things that happen inside and outside of the car that can distract teenage drivers. Some of these include drowsiness, what time they are driving at, driving under the influence, and passengers in the car. Drowsy driving causes 21% of fatal automobile accidents (“Statistics”). It especially occurs in teenagers because of their lack of sufficient sleeping hours due to school, homework, work, and extracurricular activities. The time teenagers are driving at can be unsafe conditions too. Fatal crashes involving 16 year olds at night is almost twice as likely than in the daytime (“Statistics”). Summer months, June and July, had the highest number of teen car crashes (“Teen Driving”). In 2012, 53% of teenage deaths from car accidents occurred on weekend nights (“Teen Driving”). So, driving at night, during the summer, or on the weekend can clearly be less safe than driving in the day, during other months, and during the week. This does make sense because teenagers aren’t driving during school hours and they aren’t usually in school during any of these considerably dangerous times. Driving while under the influence is another cause of
Beautiful Brains by David Dobbs is an article about why teenagers usually take more risks than adults. In the article Dobbs begins by discussing how his son once got in trouble for speeding down a highway just because he was curious to know what it felt like. He then goes into asking why teenagers often do "stupid" things and then explains that teens have always done that throughout time. He provides scientific evidence that the brain changes between the ages of 12 to 25 affecting our decision making. One way that a reader could interpret this data is that teenagers have a hard time using new parts of their brain and seem to be in a state of retardation. Dobb also describes the reckless acts of teenagers in order for them to adapt to any situation.
In a Ted Talk video by Adriana Galván “The teenage brain is really good at seeking out new experiences enjoying thrills and seeking out thrills.” That is because of the prefrontal cortex it is the part of the brain made for decision making and impulse control, because of that teens are more likely to seek out thrills than adults or children but that is because their lack of impulse control causes them to be reckless. In a Ted Talk video by Adriana Galván she mentions “that the brain matures and continues to do so” and “Your brain changes everyday and as you sit in this room your brain is reacting to my voice, to the person sitting next to you and your experiences ant the people you affiliate with shape the way your brain ultimately develops.” This means that although it is unsure if the brain keeps developing past the mid twenties it is a known fact that the brain constantly reacts and changes to the environment around it, which is completely different from the original belief of it over a decade ago. One example of the brains constant changes is in Romeo and Juliet when Friar Lawrence says “Holy Saint Francis, what a change is here! Is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, So soon forsaken? Young men’s love then lies Not truly in their hearts, but in their eyes” (Act 2 Scene 2). Showing how
In this article written by the author Bruce Feiler, titled “Teenage Drivers? Be Very Afraid”, he talks about how he suggest the parents to stop being helicopter parents and allow their children to be independent. However, other professionals’ suggestions are the opposite when teenagers start to drive. As a result of the teenagers’ immaturity, the parents are told to be more involved because their child’s life may be in danger. As stated in the article by Nichole Moris “the most dangerous two years of your life are between 16 and 17, and the reason for that is driving.” There are various factors that play huge roles through this phrase of the teenagers’ life: other passengers, cellphones, and parents. In 2013, under a million teenage drivers were involved in police-reported crashes, according to AAA. The accidents could have been more but many teenage accidents go unreported. As a result, one of their recommendations to the parents is to not allow their children to drive with other passengers: other passengers can big a huge distraction and could increase the rate of crashes by 44 percent. That risk doubles with a second passenger and quadruples with three or more. Furthermore, as technology has taken over teenagers’ lives, the parents should suggest to those teenagers who insists on using the phones that the only safe place for it to be: in a dock, at eye level, on the dashboard. The worst place is the cup holder, the driver’s lap, and the passenger’s seat. Next, professionals also suggest that the parents implement their own rule and even continue the ones like the graduated driver’s licenses regulations. This regulation includes restrictions like not allowing their children to drive between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. To
According to national teen driving statistics, 16-year-olds, in particular, are 3 (three) times more likely to die in a crash than the average of all drivers, and they have higher crash rates than any other age group. In 2008; 81% of teenage crash deaths were passenger vehicle occupants, 31% of teenage drivers killed had been drinking alcohol, 55% were not buckled up, and 37% of male teenage drivers involved in fatalities were speeding. Teenagers who drink and drive have a greater risk of serious crashes than older drivers with equal blood alcohol concentrations. Teens do not wear seat/safety belts as much as adults. Teens tend to take more risks due to overconfidence in their abilities. These risks include: speeding, tailgating (driving too close to the vehicle in front), running red lights, violating traffic signals and signs, illegal turns, dangerous passing, and failure to yield to pedestrians.
Just like the teenage boy that died in the wreck, most young teen drivers think they are invincible and are owners of the road which is all due to lack of maturity. The mind set of young drivers now days is “I’m too young to die”, or “it wont happen to me” and they are so blinded by the immature thinking that it gets them in trouble. Some traits generally linked with the immaturity are: chance taking, testing limits, poor-decision making, overconfidence, speeding, following to closely, and dangerous passing (Williams). When you have youthful age and immature characteristics combined the crash possibility is enlarged. The 15-16 age groups are among the most accident prone of most groups (“Don’t”), so why then would we want them behind the wheel? “Most U.S. states license at age 16, but the minimum age for a regular license is 14 in South Dakota and 15 in five other states including: Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and South Carolina”, stated Allan F. Williams. Youthful age and immature thinking is part of the reason wh...
Drivers Beware For years, fiery debates over whether the driving age for teens should be sixteen or eighteen captured the nation. Sixteen year-olds have a legitimate argument for keeping the age where it stands, but statistics show that sixteen year olds are not responsible enough to drive, and that more practice is needed before anyone should get a driver’s license. However, from the looks of it, it seems that legislation is going to make the legal driving age eighteen. Sixteen year olds do have a valid argument as to why the age should stay where it is now. Endersby argues that while many teens are in fact safe and careful drivers, they should not be punished for the bad behavior of others.
14, 2002). Riley is currently experiencing physical changes in her body such as developing breast, getting her period, and hormonal fluctuations. Along with these other changes, her prefrontal cortex is still developing. The prefrontal cortex is responsible for decision-making, planning, and impulse control (Micucci, 2012). “The physical changes associated with puberty, in themselves, have little negative impact on the adolescent’s self-image, except in one instance: when adolescents are going through puberty around the same time they are experiencing other changes in life, such as changing schools”(Micucci, p. 18,
Drunk driving accidents are the number one killer of adolescents (Teenagers and peer pressures. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from). Mixing drinking while driving can be deadly. Teenage drunk driving accidents not only affect the person drinking while driving, but it also can kill or harm others (Alcohol problems and solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from) (Teen drinking and driving. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from) . Every single accident provoked by drinking and driving could have been prevented. If underage drinking is illegal, why do young people do it ? Teenagers usually are influenced by their elders (Alcohol problems and solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from). In the United States, one out of ten 12 through 14 year olds have tried alcohol and continue to do so on a regular basis . There is a more than fifty percent of probability that young adults that have tried alcohol at a younger age may become alcoholics in the near future (Alcohol fatalities. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2013, from). So, why do teenagers take so many risks with their health and behind the wheel? The answer is simple teen drivers tend to think they are invincible and more needs to be done to educate teens on the dangers of drinking and driving.
Again, it makes the headlines; an older driver causes a dangerous automobile crash. As the amount of elderly driving has increased in the past decade, the risk for others to be out on the road has increased. In 2012, there were 36 million licensed older drivers in the United States. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)) As a 34% increase from 1999, it has been noted that seniors are driving past their ability by an average of 10 years. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)). Elderly continue to drive despite the prominent physiological changes that worsen as they age. The amount of automobile collisions suggests that prevention must occur in order to make the roads safer. By examining older drivers’ medical complications, older drivers must be retested to be able to drive a vehicle.
Teenagers don’t want to be inconvenient with having to wait to respond to their friends about the latest party or school event that’s coming up. Driving is just as good of time as any to text their best friends about the upcoming weekend or update their Facebook status in the mind of a young adult. Even though most teens know they shouldn’t text and drive many are guilty of doing it several times a day. An overwhelming 75% of teens even admit to text messaging while driving (“Distracted Driving,” 2016). Young drivers are more likely to get into an accident due to lack of experience than that of any other driver on the road. Add in texting to the mix it is a recipe for disaster. About 54% of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths occur on Friday, Saturday or Sunday – with Saturday being the deadliest day of the week for teens (Hosansky, 2012). Teenage motor vehicle fatalities are at the highest in the summer months.
First, many teenagers like to stay up late at night and do not get enough sleep for their bodies. As a result, teenagers would be more likely to not pay attention in class and get bad grades. Over half of the students do not get at least 8 hours of sleep. Meanwhile, a quarter of the students will fall asleep during class. Students also fall asleep while doing homework and oversleep resulting in them getting late to school. As a result of not getting enough sleep students that drive would have a higher risk of getting in a car accident. Teenagers that have barely gotten their drivers license would not have enough experience driving. Seeing that teenagers are more likely to get in a car accident because of this not having enough sleep would make them even
Teenagers are getting back on the roads and behind the wheel meaning the is a higher risk of accidents. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death in 15-to 20-year olds. Automakers are creating ways to make their automobiles safer in order to reduce these deaths. Teenage drivers are inexperienced and need the extra protection to keep them safe if an incident was to occur. Automobile safety features are necessary for the teenage driver to stay protected and alert.
Sixteen year olds have a higher crash rate than drivers of any other age. “ in 2011, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths” (Teen Driving Statistics). For this purpose, Many states have begun to raise the age limit by imposing restrictions on sixteen years old drivers. For example, limiting the number of passengers they can carry while driving. “The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a report in May 2012 that showed that the risk of 16- or 17-year old drivers being killed in a crash increases with each additional teenage passenger in the vehicle. The risk increases 44 percent with one passenger; it doubles with two passengers, and quadruples with three or more passengers. The study analyzed crash data and the number of miles driven by 16- and 17-year olds” (Teen Driving Statistics). Another example, is that many people believe that teenage drivers have a race boy/girl mentality. This mean that when any teenager gets into a vehicle of any kind they get some type of thrilled or that the driving laws do not accommodate them in any way, shape, or form. They would go drag race ...
In the article Crash Facts on the 16- to 19- Year-Old Age Group, written by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, it is stated that 11.1 percent of sixteen year old drivers are involved in car accidents. Sixteen year olds are less experienced and are accident prone 2.43 percent more than eighteen year olds. According to Ted Gregory, a Chicago Tribune reporter, in New Jersey, teenagers start driving at the age of seventeen unlike other states with a driving age of sixteen. After the law was enacted, the percentage in fatal accidents dropped 33 percent. This report proves that as teenagers get older, car accidents are less likely to happen. Many would argue that age is just a number and eighteen year olds cause many car accidents as well. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation reported that in comparison to sixteen year olds, eighteen year olds are less likely to be involved in car accidents, with a rate of 8.67 percent. Sixteen year old drivers who are involved in car accidents are more likely than older drivers to cause accidents due to carelessness on the
As human beings we are living organisms that are a step above the rest. Our unique anatomy gives us the innate ability to grow, change, and adapt to our surroundings. Our stages of life can be divided into birth, childhood, adolescents, young adult, adult, and older adult. At each stage not only does our physical appearance change and hit milestones so does our anatomy. Our prefrontal cortex continues to develop until we are in our mid twenties for example. Thats why as teenagers and even young adults we are still developing motor, cognitive, and social behaviors. This explains why teenagers are the worse drivers, their judgement and foresight has not reached it’s full potential. Here is a chart that compares the human prefrontal cortex development to that of a rat. You can see well into the age of 32 the prefrontal cortex is still developing in humans.image