Legal Driving Age in the State of Iowa

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The leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers is motor vehicle accidents. More than 5,000 of our teens die each year in crashes. For the purpose of this topic, “teenagers” encompasses ages ranging from 15- to 20-year-olds. I am proposing legislation to address this issue. 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. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...Driving Statistics; National Teen Driving Statistics. California Department of Motor Vehicles. (2011). “Teenage Driver Crash Statistics.” Irvine, Martha. (2008, September 9). HuffPost Business. “Teen Driving Age Should Be Raised, Says Auto Safety Group.” < http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/09/teen-driving-age-should-b_n_125010.html> Iowa Department of Transportation. (2010, December 1). “Under Age 18 – Iowa’s Graduated Driver’s Licenses (GDL).” Davis, Robert. (2005, March 3). USA Today. “Is 16 too young to drive a car?” Driver’s Ed Direct. (2007). “Distracted Driving.” Image.

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