Turning sixteen years old in teenagers ' lives is an exciting event. It allows them to get a drivers license and is a big step towards adulthood. With this, it gives them freedom and control over something they have never experienced before. In most cases, people stress about gangs, drugs, and violence in our communities as a big result of teenage deaths, but the leading causes of accidents today are teenage drivers especially sixteen and seventeen year olds. In most European Countries, teenagers aren 't able to earn a license until they are at least seventeen or eighteen years old. There have been less fatal crashes among teens in these countries because of this, compared to other teenagers around the world.
For the most part, sixteen and seventeen year olds don 't realize the importance and responsibility that comes when getting a drivers license. They feel it is something to play around with and don 't take it seriously. They consider there driver license as a way of being free. For instance, immaturity is a cause of being irresponsible. Because of this there are many accidents that happen that could have been prevented. Allan F. Williams, an author for "Public Health Reports" writes about the characteristics all teenagers have in common. He observes that "Qualities generally associated with immaturity (such as chance taking, testing limits, poor decision-making, overconfidence) are associated with the more risky driving styles characteristic of teenage drivers". Almost half of the accidents today caused by teenagers were linked to peer pressure and immaturity. Often, in teenagers ' lives, they look towards their friends for advice and guidance rather than their teachers, parents, and others. There are a lot of reasons for this and the biggest one is peer pressure. Teenagers are at a stage in their lives where it isn 't cool to listen to mom and dad. They prefer fitting in with the social group from school land not
Cited: Chafetz, Morris. "Setting both the driving and drinking at age 18 could solve many problems." Knight Ridder/ Tribune News Service 10 July 1996 n. page. online. 12 Feb. 1999. Fergson, Susan. "The Chief Operator Teen Driver Program." The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 66.12 Dec.(1997): 6-8. Williams, Allan F. "Earning a driver 's license." Public Health Reports 112.6 Nov-Dec.(1997):-62.