Did you know that about 70% of driving-related-deaths each year are the elderly or their passengers? Each year, nearly 6,000 seniors are killed and 221,000 are injured in automobile accidents. One major reason that seniors get in so many accidents may be that they have not taken a driver's test, or even class, in fifty years. If seniors were required to take a driver’s test, there would be far less deaths and injuries. However, not all seniors would pass the test. Some elderly drivers are reckless because they don't know the rules of the road, but some merely have slow reaction time or bad eyes. Requiring drivers to retake their driving test would be beneficial in both teaching the elderly new rules, but it would also pick out the drivers that are physically unfit for driving.
People over the age of 60 are known to have difficulty making quick decisions in a short period of time; something that occurs often when driving. After conducting tests on reaction times throughout people of all ages, Livestrong.com reports that “ As people reach their late sixties and seventies, reaction times increase markedly” (Jessica Ramer). From the time of birth to the age of twenty, reaction time decreases,
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According to the American Foundation for the Blind, “Blindness or low vision affects approximately 1 in 28 Americans older than 40 years” (“Aging and Vision Loss Fact Sheet”). As age progresses, eyes grow worse. Since 1 in 28 Americans older than 40 have blindness or low vision, there must be many more with inadequate eyesight at the age of 60. One may argue that any senior with bad eyesight could get surgery or glasses to improve their vision, and many seniors do have glasses to improve their vision, yet 1 in 28 Americans over 40 still have blindness or low vision, meaning either that not enough seniors get glasses or surgery, or that their glasses or surgery is not strong enough to
I. Introduction A. Should 16 year old teenagers be able to drive? B. “Those who favor raising the driving age say that statistics show teenagers are more likely to get into accidents than adults. What they don't say is that statistics also show that men of all ages are 77 percent more likely to kill someone while driving than women.
Statistics show 16- to 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger, which is due to distracted driving. Taking your eyes off the road for 2 (two) seconds, at 60 mph, means you have driven blindly for half the length of a football field. The risk of fatality is 3.6 times higher, when they are driving with passengers than when alone. For many years, the correlation between driving behavior and age has interested highway safety researchers and administrators. It is general knowledge that the greatest risk of motor vehicle crash...
Driving is something people do everyday. Although many people do it well, some do not, that being said the legal age to drive should be raised to twenty one years of age. The driving age should be raised because teens at the ages of fourteen through twenty should not be behind the wheel for the simple fact that they are just too young and too inexperienced to drive, also someone of that age can get more distracted than a person who is twenty-one or older and has had some time to mature and become responsible enough to operate a motor vehicle. “In the United States, 16–19-year-olds have the highest incidence of motor vehicle deaths among licensed drivers and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15–20-year-olds.” (Haggerty
In the 21st century, our nation is facing a major issue, causing teenagers to lose their lives at the hand of the wheel due to inexperienced driving. “Teen drivers between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to be involved in an automobile crash,” and statistics show. Automobile accidents are the number one cause of teen deaths. Driving regulations are in high need to be changed in order for teenagers to gain more experience with driving before taking the driving test, which could help save countless adolescence’s lives.
From the March 2003 invasion of Iraq until September of 2006, about 2,600 American troops were killed in combat and war-related incidents (Wilson 18). Did you know during that same 41-month period, more than 22,000 teenagers, ages 15 to 19, died in traffic accidents on U.S. roads? (Wilson 18). That number has now escalated to approximately 4,500 soldiers and over 40,000 teens lost. Parents in the United States have relied on driver’s education and training to prepare their teens for the responsibility of driving. In fact, we rely too much on driver’s education. Recent studies have indicated that driver’s education, or DE, has failed to produce safe drivers. Even though the common form of driver’s education and training has been cited as ineffective, there are efforts being made around the country that have the ability to profoundly change driver education as we know it and prepare young drivers, create safer drivers, and ultimately save teen lives.
According to Carnegie Mellon University the casualties’ rate for drivers 85 years and older is 4 times more higher than it is for teenagers who are considered are most reckless drivers. Penndot statistics shows that the number of crashes involving drivers age 65 and older in 2013 was up 12 percent from five years before. Voanews indicates that in a lot of elderly drivers accidents they mistaken the gas pedal for the brakes or vice versa. One fatality crash can affect and impact people for their whole lives. These crashes can occur in seconds. According to cdc.gov there were nearly 5,700 elderly drivers that were killed. Police are already busy enough the more we can reduce their work the more it will help keep our community safer; not only in crashes but the police can also focus more on preventing drug deals and gang fights. To put it another way we don’t want families to be stressed out on their elderly parents safety we want them to feel like their parents are safe, so they can go help other issues in this
Motor vehicles accidents are the leading cause of deaths for teenagers in the United States. According to Vivian Hamilton, “Car crashes kill more teens each year than any other cause” (1). In 2010, seven teenagers from ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle crashes. In 2011, approximately 1972 young drivers, ages 15 to 20, were killed in motor vehicle crashes (Facts About Teen Drivers”). The age of which a person can drive legally varies from country to county. In the United State, individuals are allow to take a driving test before their legal voting age which is eighteen or legal ...
Most people look forward to their 16th birthday because they are legal to drive. In 2012 there was 13,891 car crashes were reported but over 900 people were killed. Alcohol played a role in 260 fatal crashes. Speeding was a factor in13.2 percent of fatal crashes. So should we Michigan raise the driving age? Yes, Michigan’s driving age should be raised because of the number of people getting killed , having distractions and the fact that teens don’t care what could happen.
It’s normal that as we age, our driving abilities tend to change. Adjusting to life changes such as retirement, different schedules, and new activities also affect where and when they drive. Most older adults drive safely because they have a lot of experience behind the wheel. They are often hurt more seriously than younger drivers when they are involved in crashes (Older Drivers , 2012). There are many factors that affect older adults when driving such as arthritis, memory loss, and spine problems, which make drivers lose height and become shorter behind the wheel, diminishing visual range (Older Drivers , 2012). Driving skills can be affected by age-related declines in vision, hearing, cognitive functioning, ability to reason and remember, and other abilities, as well as certain health conditions and medications. It’s important to note , adults tend to take more medications as they age, and even if they’re not developing dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, the medications can cause cognitive changes and confusion, which in turn can affect they’re driving abilities (Older Drivers , 2012).
Teens only make up seventeen percent of the population today, but almost twenty percent of fatal crashes are due to teenagers behind the wheel. Growing numbers suggest changing the driving age to eighteen and some even believe that changing it to twenty-one may save even more lives. With a sixteen year old behind the wheel, accidents are even more likely to occur when compared to a seventeen year old (Boulard). With so much new technology in today’s society there are more distractions on the road than ever before; therefore the legal driving age should be raised to save more lives. If we do not act quickly, then more lives will be lost.
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.
Have a second? Fantastic. That can also be all it takes for an intoxicated individual to choose to drive while they have been drinking. Drunk drivers nearly cause 10,076 people to be killed in drunk driving crashes, 1 every 53 minutes. Such decisions can be avoided by perusing these statistics.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.” - Dave Berry
“Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional deaths for teens (16-17),” reported The New York State Department of Health. The most exciting thing about being sixteen in the United States is driving. Teenagers can not wait to be sixteen to drive, however, they do not understand the dangers that come with driving at such a young age. Sixteen is the age between child life and adulthood. It is a time when they are not stable and undergoing change, which makes them unsuitable to drive. Many teenagers would say that they need to get to places. In response to that claim, there are public transportation systems and bikes as available alternatives for young drivers. The financial stability and matureness of eighteen year olds proves
Many accidents are caused because teenagers are unaware of driving risks and hazardous situations. One piece of evidence that shows that teenagers need driving experience appears in the following quote, “Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations,” ("Teen Drivers: Get the Facts"). Teenagers will not have enough driving experience if the driving age is lifted. If teenagers are allowed to drive at sixteen then they will be prepared to drive later on. The longer one waits to drive, the longer it takes for them to become prepared for the risks and hazards of