Why 20 should be the new driving age
At first thought, you may think that having a teenage driver may be helpful. You can delegate shopping trips, picking up the kids from school, and the insanity of being the neighborhood taxi for your teenager and his or her friends. But, if you knew the risks involved for your new driver your outlook might change. Research shows Car crashes are the number one cause of teen deaths in the U.S.A. According to U.S Statistics, driver's between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely to die in a crash. I don't know about you, but being a mother I could not even imagine what I would do if my teenager was a part of those statistics. In 2011, just 1 year ago, deaths of 16-year-old drivers increased 16 percent, but why? Could this be due to biological development? What about the rise in the Economy? Could these statistics be due to underage drinking? Could Distractions be the cause? Or, is it all of the above? Could these Statistics be prevented?
Researching the web, there were numerous articles, blogs, and webcasts that appeared about this horrible news. One Article stated that In 2010, about 2,700 teens in the United States aged 16-19 were killed and almost 282,000 were treated and released from emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes.1 (CDC.gov/Motor Vehicle Safety1). Who is mostly at risk? The risk of vehicle crashes is higher from ages 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. Did you know that teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash? In September 2009, a study was done to examine, at licensure, teenagers' and parents' perceptions of risk of crash/injury for newly licensed teenagers when driving un-belted .The results of this study was that a third of the teenagers reported at least once at 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months after receiving their license not always using their safety belt in the past week. During an interview with my newly driving sixteen year old niece I ask why she thought most drivers her age would not wear a seat belt? Her answer was, "It's uncomfortable". Then, I asked do you know the risk in not wearing your belt? She said "Yes, I know you can die but, you can die from anything". Just this tiny bit of the interview goes to show you that teen minds are not as capable as adults to really understand the dangers of driving without a seat-belt or driving at all.
Brain Researchers at the National Institutes of Health explain the reasons why our attempts to prevent the youngest of drivers from fatal car accidents fail. They call it "the executive branch" of the teen brain. This is the part of the brain that weighs risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behavior. Scientists at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., have found that this "executive branch", develops through the teenage years and isn't fully mature until age 25. This research explains why 16-year-old drivers crash at far higher rates than older teens. This particular study have convinced a growing number of safety experts that 16-year-olds are too young to drive safely without supervision (USAtoday30.com). Teenage drivers are not mentally capable to control their impulses behind the will and to make good judgments like wearing a seatbelt. In addition to teen's mental development, this age is the age where males and females begin to try social drugs and alcohol which add to the bad judgment calls.
CDC estimated that high school teens still drank alcohol and drove 2.4 million times every month in 2011. And young drivers are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when there's alcohol involved. These statistics are real. Teenagers are drinking and smoking pot then getting on the road and killing innocent people and themselves. I can honestly say that at 16 I was in college. I graduated a year early and still my mind was not capable enough to realize the severity of drinking and driving. I remember getting out of my philosophy course at around 2pm in the afternoon, when I received a call from a friend. My friend told me to meet her in the parking lot of another school building and get into her car because she had a gift for me. That gift was a small bottle of Jack Daniels liquor. I drank it and told her I had to go; not 5 minutes later I drove out of the driveway and a work truck of some sort, drove right into the driver's side of my Kia spectra but, it was all a blur to me. I did not even see the truck and I proceeded to make a left turn without waiting for it to pass. Luckily for me the driver was here illegally and did not have proper paperwork to even make a report, so I was able to leave the scene. But, what never left was the memory of me being totally intoxicated while driving and almost being killed. I was one of those teens that teenagers say are capable of making good judgment calls and can definitely handle driving but, I obviously wasn't. Many teenagers lose their lives just by making mistakes like this and other distractions behind the wheel.
How many of you know a teenager that can't stop texting for 10 minutes. I know I can name a couple. The trouble with this is not the social aspect of texting but, the fact that teens are taking their cell phones in cars and receiving text messages as well as messaging while driving. According to recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, 58 percent of high school seniors and 43 percent of high school juniors report texting or e-mailing while driving during the previous month. Although teens and others may not realize it, any cell phone use, whether hand-held or hands-free, while driving is dangerous (teendriversource.org). The distraction of a cellphone especially texting can cause a fatal accident. There were 3,092 deaths in distraction related accidents in 2010, but the number is likely much higher.
The reasons I gave you so far are pretty good and obvious reasons why teens should not be allowed to drive at an adolescent age, but, what else contributes to teen fatal accidents being the leading cause of teen deaths in America? Could the rise in the economy could be the rise in Teenage driving deaths? Dr. Williams, a researcher who formerly served as chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety speculates that improving economic conditions are contributing to an increase in teen driving his increasing their exposure to risk (GHSA.org). This makes perfect sense if you think about it. The rise in the economy means the rise of jobs for teens which mean more teens would need their own transportation from school to work and from home to school. Dr. Allan Williams also suggests improving economic circumstances have contributed to an overall increase in teen driving, and thereby increasing their risk (Autos.AOL.com/ teen-driver-deaths-2012/). Today, our economy demands the use of cars for school, work, and pleasure. Our economy revolves around mobility. The value of driver education is eventually getting a driver's license, driving to school, to work, and all other places with a car. For example, why would we have School to Work programs if the student has no way to get to work? The more teen jobs increase, the more teen drivers on the road, and the more fatal car crashes reported.
Does sex play a role in fatal accidents? Does it matter if you are male or female? According to "Shocking Teen Driver Statistics", 37 percent of male drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were speeding at the time of a fatal crash. I know from a very young age boys are subjected to toys like race cars, or games that include racing. This really may play a huge part in these statistics. Most race car drivers are male and therefore many males look to them. But, when they do try to mimic these professional racers they are dying in fatal accidents or killing people. Passengers who are the peers of these drivers may distract the teen drivers and encourage them to take more risks, especially for young males riding with young male drivers (dmv.ca.gov). Studies also showed about 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2008 were males. (iihs.org). Males at this age have a lot of built in aggression and need ways to exercise it but, if they don't control this aggression, most of the time it leads to fighting, road rage, or fatal racing accidents. So, what can we the people do to prevent these "all of the above" fatal accidents among teens?
In conclusion, there is not a way to completely eliminate fatal car crashes in teens, but, there is definitely ways to eliminate this from being the number one cause of deaths among teens. We know that teens are mentally not able to control impulsive behavior behind the wheel or make good judgment calls either. There are some ways however to make teens more responsible behind the wheel and bring down the number of fatal car crashes. I know that communication seems to be the key to everything, so, why don't we start there. As parents we must inform our teenage drivers of the severity of drinking and driving, texting while driving, and peer pressure during driving. Laws can prevent the amount of fatal accidents by Implementing graduated driver licensing, reducing teen's access to alcohol and increasing the driver's license age to at least 20. We can make sure our teens are taking more than one kind of driver's education and increasing seat belt use. We need to communicate the importance of focusing on the road at all times and inform them of these particular statistics so they can limit distractions. By implementing this information into the minds of our teenagers before they get on the road we will ultimately save lives.â
Three Areas for improvement
1. I would have to say that I definitely need help stating my claim .
2. I need help focusing on my thesis.
3. I need help with my closing statement or conclusion.
At first thought, you may think that having a teenage driver may be helpful. You can delegate shopping trips, picking up the kids from school, and the insanity of being the neighborhood taxi for your teenager and his or her friends. But, if you knew the risks involved for your new driver your outlook might change. Research shows Car crashes are the number one cause of teen deaths in the U.S.A. According to U.S Statistics, driver's between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely to die in a crash. I don't know about you, but being a mother I could not even imagine what I would do if my teenager was a part of those statistics. In 2011, just 1 year ago, deaths of 16-year-old drivers increased 16 percent, but why? Could this be due to biological development? What about the rise in the Economy? Could these statistics be due to underage drinking? Could Distractions be the cause? Or, is it all of the above? Could these Statistics be prevented?
Researching the web, there were numerous articles, blogs, and webcasts that appeared about this horrible news. One Article stated that In 2010, about 2,700 teens in the United States aged 16-19 were killed and almost 282,000 were treated and released from emergency departments for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes.1 (CDC.gov/Motor Vehicle Safety1). Who is mostly at risk? The risk of vehicle crashes is higher from ages 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. Did you know that teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are three times more likely than drivers aged 20 and older to be in a fatal crash? In September 2009, a study was done to examine, at licensure, teenagers' and parents' perceptions of risk of crash/injury for newly licensed teenagers when driving un-belted .The results of this study was that a third of the teenagers reported at least once at 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months after receiving their license not always using their safety belt in the past week. During an interview with my newly driving sixteen year old niece I ask why she thought most drivers her age would not wear a seat belt? Her answer was, "It's uncomfortable". Then, I asked do you know the risk in not wearing your belt? She said "Yes, I know you can die but, you can die from anything". Just this tiny bit of the interview goes to show you that teen minds are not as capable as adults to really understand the dangers of driving without a seat-belt or driving at all.
Brain Researchers at the National Institutes of Health explain the reasons why our attempts to prevent the youngest of drivers from fatal car accidents fail. They call it "the executive branch" of the teen brain. This is the part of the brain that weighs risks, makes judgments and controls impulsive behavior. Scientists at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., have found that this "executive branch", develops through the teenage years and isn't fully mature until age 25. This research explains why 16-year-old drivers crash at far higher rates than older teens. This particular study have convinced a growing number of safety experts that 16-year-olds are too young to drive safely without supervision (USAtoday30.com). Teenage drivers are not mentally capable to control their impulses behind the will and to make good judgments like wearing a seatbelt. In addition to teen's mental development, this age is the age where males and females begin to try social drugs and alcohol which add to the bad judgment calls.
CDC estimated that high school teens still drank alcohol and drove 2.4 million times every month in 2011. And young drivers are 17 times more likely to die in a crash when there's alcohol involved. These statistics are real. Teenagers are drinking and smoking pot then getting on the road and killing innocent people and themselves. I can honestly say that at 16 I was in college. I graduated a year early and still my mind was not capable enough to realize the severity of drinking and driving. I remember getting out of my philosophy course at around 2pm in the afternoon, when I received a call from a friend. My friend told me to meet her in the parking lot of another school building and get into her car because she had a gift for me. That gift was a small bottle of Jack Daniels liquor. I drank it and told her I had to go; not 5 minutes later I drove out of the driveway and a work truck of some sort, drove right into the driver's side of my Kia spectra but, it was all a blur to me. I did not even see the truck and I proceeded to make a left turn without waiting for it to pass. Luckily for me the driver was here illegally and did not have proper paperwork to even make a report, so I was able to leave the scene. But, what never left was the memory of me being totally intoxicated while driving and almost being killed. I was one of those teens that teenagers say are capable of making good judgment calls and can definitely handle driving but, I obviously wasn't. Many teenagers lose their lives just by making mistakes like this and other distractions behind the wheel.
How many of you know a teenager that can't stop texting for 10 minutes. I know I can name a couple. The trouble with this is not the social aspect of texting but, the fact that teens are taking their cell phones in cars and receiving text messages as well as messaging while driving. According to recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study, 58 percent of high school seniors and 43 percent of high school juniors report texting or e-mailing while driving during the previous month. Although teens and others may not realize it, any cell phone use, whether hand-held or hands-free, while driving is dangerous (teendriversource.org). The distraction of a cellphone especially texting can cause a fatal accident. There were 3,092 deaths in distraction related accidents in 2010, but the number is likely much higher.
The reasons I gave you so far are pretty good and obvious reasons why teens should not be allowed to drive at an adolescent age, but, what else contributes to teen fatal accidents being the leading cause of teen deaths in America? Could the rise in the economy could be the rise in Teenage driving deaths? Dr. Williams, a researcher who formerly served as chief scientist at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety speculates that improving economic conditions are contributing to an increase in teen driving his increasing their exposure to risk (GHSA.org). This makes perfect sense if you think about it. The rise in the economy means the rise of jobs for teens which mean more teens would need their own transportation from school to work and from home to school. Dr. Allan Williams also suggests improving economic circumstances have contributed to an overall increase in teen driving, and thereby increasing their risk (Autos.AOL.com/ teen-driver-deaths-2012/). Today, our economy demands the use of cars for school, work, and pleasure. Our economy revolves around mobility. The value of driver education is eventually getting a driver's license, driving to school, to work, and all other places with a car. For example, why would we have School to Work programs if the student has no way to get to work? The more teen jobs increase, the more teen drivers on the road, and the more fatal car crashes reported.
Does sex play a role in fatal accidents? Does it matter if you are male or female? According to "Shocking Teen Driver Statistics", 37 percent of male drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were speeding at the time of a fatal crash. I know from a very young age boys are subjected to toys like race cars, or games that include racing. This really may play a huge part in these statistics. Most race car drivers are male and therefore many males look to them. But, when they do try to mimic these professional racers they are dying in fatal accidents or killing people. Passengers who are the peers of these drivers may distract the teen drivers and encourage them to take more risks, especially for young males riding with young male drivers (dmv.ca.gov). Studies also showed about 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2008 were males. (iihs.org). Males at this age have a lot of built in aggression and need ways to exercise it but, if they don't control this aggression, most of the time it leads to fighting, road rage, or fatal racing accidents. So, what can we the people do to prevent these "all of the above" fatal accidents among teens?
In conclusion, there is not a way to completely eliminate fatal car crashes in teens, but, there is definitely ways to eliminate this from being the number one cause of deaths among teens. We know that teens are mentally not able to control impulsive behavior behind the wheel or make good judgment calls either. There are some ways however to make teens more responsible behind the wheel and bring down the number of fatal car crashes. I know that communication seems to be the key to everything, so, why don't we start there. As parents we must inform our teenage drivers of the severity of drinking and driving, texting while driving, and peer pressure during driving. Laws can prevent the amount of fatal accidents by Implementing graduated driver licensing, reducing teen's access to alcohol and increasing the driver's license age to at least 20. We can make sure our teens are taking more than one kind of driver's education and increasing seat belt use. We need to communicate the importance of focusing on the road at all times and inform them of these particular statistics so they can limit distractions. By implementing this information into the minds of our teenagers before they get on the road we will ultimately save lives.â
Three Areas for improvement
1. I would have to say that I definitely need help stating my claim .
2. I need help focusing on my thesis.
3. I need help with my closing statement or conclusion.