Category: Teen Driving

Car accidents are the number one cause of death among teenagers in the United States. Per mile driven, teens ages 16-19 are three times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash than drivers over 20 years old, especially in their first year behind the wheel. It is important for teens, parents and drivers who share the road to understand these dangers and how to prevent them.

Although youth drivers account for only 14% of the overall population, they represent 30% of the total cost of motor vehicle injuries among males and 28% among females. While the ages of 16-19 represent the most perilous driving years, males in that age frame are twice as likely as females to get in deadly motor vehicle crashes.

Inexperience and immaturity are the primary causes of the increased risk of teenage driving. Untrained eyes are more likely to underestimate hazardous situations on the road. Speeding and tailgating is more likely with teenage drivers, and 39% of 2010 fatal crashes that involved teen male drivers were attributed to speeding. Young drivers have the lowest rate of seat belt usage compared to all other age groups. In 2009 56% of teens involved in fatal crashes were not wearing their seat belts.

When teens have other teenage passengers in their vehicle the likelihood of a crash is increased due to heightened distractions, with the risk rising with every added passenger. Distracted driving is becoming a national epidemic, especially with cell phone technology at our fingertips. When it comes to distracted driving, the young drivers ages 16-19 are the most likely age group to talk and text on their cell phones.

The fight against underage drinking in this country is a tough battle, and frighteningly, alcohol is involved in about 20-25% of fatal teenage car wrecks. A 2011 survey found that 24% of teenagers polled admitted to having ridden in a car with a teenage driver who had been drinking within the last month.

Preventative measures must be taken to bring teenage auto fatalities down. Comprehensive drivers education classes referred to as graduated drivers licensing (GDL) programs have aided in a reduction of 38-40% of fatal teenage crashes. Such GDL licensing systems were created and designed to ease drivers onto roadways by delaying full licensure while first allowing teens to drive in low-risk scenarios, such as only during daylight hours and/or only without the presence of other teenage drivers. Through the GDL system licenses are administered in a three-tiered method. Forty-six states currently implement a GDL system, however the effectiveness of the programs varies among states.

Government and educational systems are not the only parties responsible for safe teen driving – parents must set safe standards. Parents must lead by example and adhere to the rules of the road, especially when their teenager is in the vehicle with them. Beyond state laws, parents must set their own rules and consequences. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suggests that parents write up a contract for their teenage driver that includes penalties for any rule that they break.

Should the Driving age be raised?

Annotated Bibliography

Source 1

Citation: Steinberg, Laurence. ‘Brain Development Limits the Decision-Making Skills of Teen Drivers.’ Teen Driving, edited by Michele Siuda Jacques, Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010521227/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=eaa24bf8. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020. Originally published as ‘Brain Development Science Sheds Light on Teen Driving,’ Edmunds Auto Observer, 25 Feb. 2011.

Type of source: Article

Relevance: The relevance Of this article is that many people think that inexperience is the reason automobile accidents are the leading cause of death and disabilities in many teens around the world, but they’re wrong. Really the main reason why there’s teen accidents is the prefrontal cortex in the brain which makes important decisions isn’t developed yet in teens.

Summary: Inexperience is not the sole reason automobile accidents are the leading cause of death and disability for teenagers. Science plays also plays a very key role. Scientists these days are using imaging technology to see inside the brain and watch what happens when adolescents weigh reward versus risk. The prefrontal cortex helps process very complex decisions, it undergoes massive changes during adolescence. Brain immaturity is the reason teens cannot properly gauge danger in the face of achieving pleasure and excitement. For most teens nothing stands in the way of the pursuit of pleasure until the brain matures and is able to balance risk and reward.

Source 2:

Citation: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: 10 States Could Reduce Teen Fatal Crash Rates by Half with Stronger Licensing Laws.’ Entertainment Close-up, 11 Apr. 2015. G

ale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A409146501/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=c03e0eaf. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020.

Type of Source: Article

Relevance: The relevance Of this article is that according to a media source 10 states in the U.S could more than halve decrease the rate of crashes between 15 and 17 year olds by adopting the five strongest GDL provisions. By making the GDL provisions laws stronger it could reduce the death of teens on the roads.

Summary: According to a media source release, at least 10 states in the US could more than halve or nearly reduce their rate of fatal crashes among 15 to 17 year olds. They can do this only if they adopted the five strongest GDL provisions. A new insurance institute for Highway Safety analysis shows this data. Separately a new IIHS study of GDL laws shows that progress on enhancing the most effective provisions of GDL has slowed. In recent years most revisions to young driver laws have addressed driver cell phone use and texting while other provisions are known to promote big safety benefits have seen little change. So by making the GDL provisions stronger it could make the teen death rates on the road decrease.

Source 3

Citation: Push to slam brakes on teen drivers.’ Sun-Herald [Sydney, Australia], 12 Oct. 2014, p. 6.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A385501610/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=82866ca5. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020.

Type of source: Article

Relevance: The relevance Of this source is that the newly licensed driver plate age should be raised, and a nighttime curfew should be placed on a new and experienced driver. These things will decrease the number of deaths in teen driving accidents.

Summary: The p-plate age should be raised, a night time curfew should be placed on novice drivers and new drivers should be banned from carrying more than one passenger. A researcher has recommended these claims after studying the high rates of young driver deaths. Although young driver crashes have decreased significantly in NSW they still account for 24 per cent of road facilities in the state but make up just 16 per cent of all drivers. New drivers continued to die at nearly twice the rate of other drivers, said a researcher named Dr. Birdie Scott-Parker. Dr. Birdie Scott-Parker cares about this topic because she called for more to be done to prevent these deaths. Many new P-players are still unprepared for solo driving, her latest research based on interviews with new P-platers shows.

Source 4

Citation: Lund, Adrian, and Alex Koroknay-Palicz. ‘Should the driving age be raised? More than 5,000 teenagers die each year in car accidents. Some say they’re getting behind the wheel too early.’ New York Times Upfront, 4 May 2009, p. 28.

Gale In Context: High School, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A199683359/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=cf22aaf6. Accessed 4 Feb. 2020.

Type of Source: Article

Relevance: Yes the driving age should be raised because if even only raising to driving age by 1 to 2 years can limit the deaths of drivers. This article states that it may be tough for teens to wait longer to drive, but it will reduce deaths.

Summary: Yes the driving age should be increased.

Although many teenagaers don’t like the idea of waiting longer to get their licenses, raising the driving age to 17 or 18 would reduce crashes involving young drivers and in return save people’s lives. One year the Insurance Institute of Highway safety conducted a review of research on the subject. The data clearly indicates that an older driving age substantially reduces crash rates for younger drivers. People who say that teens need to be more educated about driving before they get on the road, but studies show otherwise. Studies show that teens who take driver’s education to those who don’t, don’t show any difference about teen deaths on the road. Ultimately teens who drive at a later date are less likely to get into crashes during their first years on the road.

Source 5

Citation: Lund, Adrian, and Alex Koroknay-Palicz. ‘Should the driving age be raised? More than 5,000 teenagers die each year in car accidents. Some say they’re getting behind the wheel too early.’ New York Times Upfront, 4 May 2009, p. 28.

Gale In Context: High School, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A199683359/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=cf22aaf6. Accessed 4 Feb. 2020.

Type of source: Article

Relevance: No the driving age shouldn’t be raised because first of all according to the article even reducing the age and number of deaths in crashes is very difficult. The article also defends teens by saying those who want to raise the driving age have blamed the teens guilty on the road without some of them even getting into a car and driving yet.

Summary: No the driving age shouldn’t be increased

Traffic accidents are a big problem in the United States. In 2007, there were more than six million accidents on America’s roads which resulted in more than 40,000 deaths. There is an entire Federal agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration which is devoted to reducing these numbers of deaths but it has proven to be very difficult. It’s easy for politicians and interest groups to put the blame on younger people, who can’t fight back. Blame a group that doesn’t have high-powered lobbyists to defend them. Blame a group of people who can’t even vote.

Source 6:

Citation: Teen Driving.’ Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2019.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999177/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=75c4dcae. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020.

Type of Source: Article

Relevance: The relevance of this topic is that the driving age needs to be raised because of motor vehicle crashes. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teen deaths, studies show that teens will get involved in a motor vehicle crash in the first years they’re on the road.

Summary: According to the Us Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young Americans between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. The National Safety Council has stated that half of all US teens will be involved in a car accident before they graduate from high school. This statement is true because of errors in driver judgement related to inexperience. CDC data shows that 2,433 American teens were killed in car accidents in 2016, while a further 292,742 were treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes. From an economic standpoint, teen drivers accounted for 13.6 billion dollars in costs resulting from car accident injuries in 2016. Although all these numbers are high, new tools for improving teen driving are in the making.

Source 7:

Citation: Davis, Robert. ‘The Driving Age Should Be Increased.’ Teen Driving, edited by Louise Gerdes, Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010521211/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=2db93661. Accessed 21 Jan. 2020. Originally published as ‘Is 16 Too Young to Drive a Car?’ www.USAToday.com, 2005.

Type of Source: Article

Relevance: The relevance of this article is that many Americans believe that increasing the driving age would reduce the deaths of teens in motor vehicle accidents. American citizens aren’t just the only ones wanting this idea to be in action, but also many health experts in America.

Summary: A growing number of Americans believe that increasing the driving age would reduce the epidemic of fatal teen-driving accidents. Many brain researchers and safety experts agree with this statement. Evidence reveals for example that a 16 year old brain is not completely developed. When teens are speeding their brain’s thrill center is working perfectly but the part of their brain risks is not fully developed. Since a record number of teens will soon be driving, the time to increase the driving age and avert fatal car crashes is now. The idea of raising the driving age is gaining momentum in the fight to save the lives of teen drivers.

Source 8:

Citation: Katz, Francine. ‘Underage Drunk Driving Has Decreased.’ Cars in America, edited by Andrea C. Nakaya, Greenhaven Press, 2006.

Opposing Viewpoints. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010429223/GPS?u=cchs_main&sid=GPS&xid=1975e88c. Accessed 24 Jan. 2020. Originally published as ‘Testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Education Reform, Committee on Education,’ 2004.

Type of Source: Article

Relevance: The relevance of this article is it’s important for people to know that the numbers of teens who drink and drive has decreased. The reason why the article states that the teen drinking and driving age has decreased is because many teens around the world are making the right decision to not drink and drive, because of this many teen lives are saved.

Summary: It is important to cite the progress that has been made on this topic of teen drunk driving to let parents know their efforts are working, and to salute teens who are making the right decision. Many teens around the world are making the right decision to not drink while driving. Teen drinking and driving fatalities have declined significantly over the last 20 years, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Studies show that 82 percent of adolescents today do not drink any alcohol products. This data shows that 20 million adolescents are doing the right thing by not drinking alcohol and not driving in their cars while doing so. It is important for people to know this topic and data to be able to stop making excuses for the deaths of teens drinking and driving.

Driving is always a fun experience as you get older. Driving gives you more freedom and it allows you to feel in control.

“An advantage for me since I got my license has been being able to drive myself around, and allowing me more freedom. A disadvantage would be that it’s tiring and I don’t like parking” Sophomore Chelsy Cortes said.

When you start driving, you take on a lot of responsibilities. According to Sophomore Tyson Gradwahl, he personally thinks that the advantages weigh out the disadvantages by a long shot.

“One of the many advantages is that so much more freedom comes along with it, also you can do more of what you want to do instead of having to rely on other people for rides”.

A lot of advantages come from driving, but there is also a lot of disadvantages that come with driving as well. Examples of disadvantages would be paying for gas, paying for insurance, pollution, and you’re responsible for others around you. Most teens would agree with Gradwahl, how the advantages weigh out the disadvantages by along shot.

As summer approaches more teens will be on the road. Driving is one of the most fun things you can do when you’re a teenager. The process of getting your license is long, but it’s worth it. You can get your permit when you’re 15 years old, then you have to wait 6 months before getting your license. If you don’t know how to practice for your permit or license you can go pick up a free drivers manual book at the DMV or practice free online questions. Before you can get your license you have to take a safety test. Once you’ve passed all of those tests you’re finally ready for your drivers test, which is the most nerve racking but also most fun. If you pass every test you are now able to drive by yourself until your 6 months are up. Drivers ed instructor RJ Connell agrees that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and encourages students to take drivers ed.

“Some advantages of drivers education are that you get to learn the rules of the road and you get to learn how to be a safe driver while getting an education and your insurance premiums will be lower” said Connell. If you’re thinking about taking drivers education, it would be a good life skill to learn and take with you once you’re officially on the road.