Cody A. Garcia
Professor Horn
Comp 1102-112
3 December 2015
Why teens must learn to become safe drivers
Most Americans over the age of sixteen have a license and drive a car. The problem being not everyone can handle their car in an elegant manor, most teenagers on the road do not have much experience on driving, especially in a stressful situation like trying to merge onto a busy roadway. The goal of this paper is to entice new drivers on practicing safe driving tactics, by providing numerous written reports, peer reviews, and articles establishing the fact that teens are not simply prepared to drive. Teens have been proven to get into more crashes than someone who is thirty or older. Since new innovations and technological advances
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happen every year, people seem to get lost in what is happening in their car rather what focusing on what is happening outside. Traffic laws are being revised or still need to be revised each year due to new drivers entering our roadways thinking they are the best driver, yet they still much to learn. Some need to stay a bit longer in driving school to allow them more practice without real world dangers, in order to handle busy streets when they finally pass their driving test. In the beginning of my research, I found teenagers have a tendency to become comfortable with dangerous driving habits such as texting and talking on the phone while driving. With smart phones becoming more popular than ever before, it is no wonder why people are starting to forget that your phone can become a hazard. If you don’t think this is becoming much of an issue, the next time you are at a stop light make a game out of how many people you can spot on their phones. In a peer reviewed article in EHS today, Sandy Smith reports that teens aged fourteen to seventeen, think they will not get into a car crash while texting versus drinking and driving (smith). Smith also states: “In a 2008 study by the United Kingdom's Transport Research Laboratory, reaction time of drivers 17-24 years of age was reduced by 35 percent when typing a text message, compared with 12 percent when driving after consuming alcohol to the legal limit. A similar study was released in 2006 by the University of Utah using participants 22-34 years of age. This study found that the impairments associated with talking on a cell phone can be as profound as those associated with driving while intoxicated during those times when drivers are directly engaged in cell phone use.” (smith) This report is proof that texting is very much a hazard, and can be as dangerous, if not more than drinking and driving. The poor judgment calls that these teens make, can affect the lives of those who pass by them everyday. The solution to this would be problematic situation would be to change laws on texting and driving, as not every state in the US has revised their current laws. A recently released article by InformationWeek stated that a device developed by Xuesong Zhou, Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Utah, disrupts calls and messages by wirelessly connecting to all occupant’s phones in the vehicle via bluetooth. This device still allows 911 to be dialed (“Device blocks teens”). Zhou may have found the holy grail to eliminate our nation’s problem to cellular usage while operating a motor vehicle. Yet, it could be too late to celebrate due to the fact that teens can easily shut off their Bluetooth connectivity and the lack of feedback due to the device being on the market a short amount of time. We must teach our teens to make an effort to avoid texting while driving, as something that is seemingly harmless can cost another person their life. Another point to bring up is, teens do not have proper instructors or tutors to teach them the correct guidelines on which driving is based upon, such as learning to respect other motorists on the roadways.
The Autobahn in Germany is the only place in the world to drive as fast as your heart desires. Of course with faster speeds you must be more attentive, everyone on the Autobahn respects it and the drivers on it. Germany has a strict driving school so in order to experience the thrill of driving on the Autobahn you need to know how to learn that driving is a privilege and is not mandatory. According to information given to me by English professor at Florida SouthWestern State College, Ihasha horn, drivers in the UK have a rigorous driving process which they endure to get ahold of a driver’s license. They must first go through several stages which takes multiple years and involves hundreds of hours to log into a book, in order to get a full license (Horn), this helps rookie drivers gather experience before driving alone. According to The American Journal for Nursing, this actually works by allowing teens to earn their license only after going through several stages, the data is …show more content…
overwhelming: “From 1996 to 1999, fatal crashes declined 57% (from 5 to 2 per 10,000 population), crashes associated with no or minor injuries decreased 23% (from 1068 to 826 per 10,000), and daytime crashes decreased by 20% ( from 951 to 764 per 10,000)” This graduated licensing program (GDL) has no doubt saved lives, yet not every state in the US has adopted this, only 43 states have picked up the GDL(The American Journal). Most of teen car crashes occur due to teen driving error according to a study found by Healthday, seventy-six percent of 800 crashes occurred due to critical driving error.
Nationwide over 600,000 teens were injured in 2008 due to car crashes, while of the 600,000 more than 4000 died. (Doheny) Knowing what to do in stressful situations would help prevent many car crashes that these teens are involved in . Giving teens more practice in a Driving School or during Drivers Education, would help them learn to prevent accidents from happening. Having teens practice before getting their license will not only boost their confidence during driving but will also know correct safety procedures such as wearing a seat belt.
If teens knew more about their vehicles than they would feel more attached and baby it more than someone who just needs a beater car. During the course of the driving exam, it would only be appropriate if the driver at least knew where to pour oil into or how to check their coolant levels, even how to change a tire would give them more knowledge of the two-ton metal cage people move on the
roadways. Another topic on teen driving safety is to reform the laws that we follow on our roadways. The President for the organization Highway and Auto Safety, Judith Lee, states “These crashes cost Americans an estimated $230 billion annually in property and productivity loss, medical and emergency bills and other related costs.” Their proposition calls for reviewing and changing sixteen laws that focus on four primary areas, one in which you guessed it, teen driving. The others being focusing on driving under an influence of any substance, child safety, and using the vehicles standard safety equipment correctly, such as your seatbelt.
At the age of 18 teenagers will already be traveling to colleges and moving to dorms and they will have other things on their mind than their very important driving
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.
In this article by Donna St. George, titled “Teens Are in No Rush to Drive,” she writes about teenagers who are waiting to get their driver’s license. Teenagers in this day of age are more busy and have more to do. Be transport from place to place since being a child, teens are use to their parents driving them. With phones, teens have an easy access to the internet which makes them want to get on social media. Along with smartphones and texting that teens don’t need to get into a car and visit friends. With new laws and requirements getting licenses is a lot more complicated and time-consuming. Sixty hours of practice and 300 to 600 dollars for private driving schools. With gas and insurance for the car, it makes driving too much to afford
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...
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.
Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.
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.
Engines roaring and cars flying down the highway recklessly, racing to the finish. This is a stereotyped outlook on teen drivers. This however, is not the case. Teens don’t drive to race down the road. They drive for freedom. They drive to get where they need to be on their own. The driving age should not be raised to 18 because it takes away their feeling of freedom, Denies the access to needed transportation, denies experience, It puts additional stress on parents, and they need to be learning the driving skill while they’re young.
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.
Teenagers are getting back on the roads and behind the wheel, meaning the risk of accidents is higher. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 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 were 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 ...
Driving a car and obtaining a driver’s license does perhaps seem to provide people with a great sense of independence and freedom. Teenagers need to feel independent in order to learn to become successful on their own as well as realize how to handle life situations on their own, and having a license seems the perfect start and most effective way to do so. When teenagers feel this independence they tend to act more mature, knowing the responsibilities they must now carry on their own (More4Kids). Teenagers often look forward to the freedom that driving offers as well. Teenagers are able to take drives to escape from life’s many stressed, and leave any troubles at home behind without rebelling out against their loved ones.
Imagine a new driver trying to navigate a new city or college campus -- it could be completely overwhelming. This can be avoided by teaching your teen to drive beforehand so that she's comfortable with it when the time comes. With a driver's license comes a sense of responsibility. Go over rules, crash statistics, and car maintenance with your teenager and reiterate the importance of responsibility while driving. If she feels obligated to taking care of herself, her passengers and her car, this will give her a sense of responsibility.
“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