teen drivers

Teen Drivers

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Abstract
Teen driving is one of the emerging issues across many states in the world. With the increase in the number of vehicle production, many teens are driving in most roads across the states. However, this has not come without consequences. Many teens are dying because of driving related problems. Car accidents among teens have emerged as one of the serious concerns of this century. Since the establishment of teenage driving policy, there have been many changes in this issue and various researches which have been conducted in this area. Therefore, need arises to give clear information about the depth of teenage driving. There is also a need to provide information on guiding and counseling for both parents and teens on the various risks associated with teenage driving (Goodman, 2005). This paper tries to show how teens are faced with a high risk of car accident injuries. It also recommends proper mechanisms that can be used to counsel teens. The paper also describes suitable programs which can be applied to curb the risks of teenage driving. It proposes preventive mechanisms for parents, medical practitioners, state law legislators and other child activists. The new approaches to this problem of teen driving will be an essential tool in curbing the problems associated with it. This is because the data from recent statistics about teen driving has shown that teen deaths from driving cannot change unless effective measures are considered .For most of the programs suggested by the state, data has shown that the root causes associated with teen behaviors have not been addressed effectively.

Teen Drivers
Section 1. Introduction
Over the last few years, many cases of death have been reported related to teen drivers. Many car accidents reported about teen drivers have resulted in a number of causalities getting injured while others have ended up facing death. Teenage deaths in car accidents have been named as the number one cause of death among the teens aged between 16 to 20 years (Aksomitis, 2009). The rate of death among the teens is as much as four times the number of the similar death for people of ages 25 to 65. This is based on the same number of drivers and accidents in the same age groups. Research has cited many reasons as to why this happen. These include drunk driving, over speeding, and lack of experiences.

Section 2 Causes of Teen Driver Death To understand the cause of teenage driving deaths, it is necessary to analyze critically the cause. One of the first root causes of teen driving deaths is their social background. Most of the teens are forced first into driving due to the pressure around their society to drive. Many of them feel uncomfortable when they see their peers driving around. This is the reason why many of them are eager to acquire a driving license when they reach the age of 16 years (American mutual alliance, 1984). Many researches conducted to find out the causes of teenage driving deaths attribute the fact that most of the teenage deaths occur in circumstances where teens are being driven by a teen. Teens are known to engage in careless and reckless driving behaviors due to pressure from their peers. It has been seen that when teens are being driven by their fellow teen the risks of getting an accident increases significantly up to three times. It is worrying to note that, in this case the risk is still higher even if the other teens being driven are pushing or urging the teen driver to drive carelessly (Pierre, 1999).

The probabilities of getting a traffic accident have been found to increase with the number of teenage passengers in the cars. When a teenage driver is alone the probability of being involved in an accident is significantly reduced compared to when they are 3 or even four. The probability of being involved in an accident is about 40% when a teenager is driving alone, however, this risk doubles when a teenager is accompanied with another teenager. The chance is even higher, about three times when there are 4 teens in a car. Most of the teens try to show off their maneuvers and driving skills to other teens, thereby ending up causing many accidents. It is quite interesting to note that these relationships about the number of passengers and the risk of getting an accident are not seen in any adults. Most of the teens also want to brag in front of their teens how well they can maneuver around the road or how high they can speed when they are with other teens. Most of the teen driver deaths are reported to and from schools. This is seen during mornings, lunch time breaks, when students are coming out of school and during the evening. Most of the teenage drivers are distracted by their passengers during their driving or are encouraged to drive faster to meet deadlines or just for fun. In situations of mixed male and female teens, male drivers result into higher speeds and also risky driving. However, whenever a driver is female, the speeds are less (Berardelli, 2006). Biological causes have also been attributed to a number of teenage driving deaths. One of the significant biological factors is the teens’ brain. Most of the teen’s brain is not well developed. Neuro- scientists argue that most of the teens especially between the ages of 13 to 17 frequently find problems in decision making due to their brain under development. It is further recommended that full development of the brain is achieved at the age of 25 years. The key decision-making part of the brain remains underdeveloped up to the age of nineteen years. In this situation, teens may face the problems of driving and decision making more often than their adult counterparts. This means that teenage drivers expose themselves at a risk of experiencing difficulties in their driving than adult drivers. Another biological argument is that teens are associated with an increased desire for novelty during their puberty periods. Therefore, most of the teens are determined to take many risks in their activities including driving. Teens are ready to try new and crazy driving styles, higher speeds and even take mechanical risks in their cars on the road. Male teens are at higher risks of getting accidents since most of the social norms attribute high speed driving to masculinity. Most of the social norms are also attributed masculinity to risky maneuvers in the roads. Teens around the age of 16 years have been shown to cause accidents due to their inexperience. Since most of them have just obtained their licenses, they are vulnerable to cause accidents. Nighttime driving is one of the major causes of deaths among the teens. Teenage drivers around the ages of 16 to 17 years have been seen to cause many nighttime car accidents compared to any drivers of any ages during the same period. In most of the states, however, nighttime driving curfews are imposed. Most of the teens drive between six in the morning and nine in the evening. However, 55% of the teenage driving accidents happen between nine in the evening and midnight. The causes of death during nighttime accidents are highly associated with high numbers of teenage passengers. It is also associated with over speeding and drunk driving. Although most of the adult drivers do not like to drive at night, most of the teens are likely to drive in the night hours.
Another cause of teen driver accidents is drug abuse. Drug abuse is one of the greatest problems among the youths. Among the areas in which this problem is reflected is during teenage driving. The number of teens who drink and drive is small compared to the number of adults who drink and drive. However, the percentage of drunk drivers who cause accidents is less in an adult’s category. The teens have shown a greater level of causing accidents if they are drunk and drive. Many teen drivers have admitted having drink and drive. Most teen passengers have also boarded cars in which have teen drivers.
Most of the teens have been involved in smoking marijuana. Marijuana is one of the mostly abused drugs among the teens. Research has revealed that about 6 percent of the teen driving accidents have been attributed to marijuana smoking. Many of the teens involved in fatal car accidents have shown some level of consumption of marijuana smoking. Drunk teen driver and passenger holding a bottle of beer.
Source : http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-12292526-teenagers-drinking-and-driving.php

Research has also shown some significant relationship between marijuana smoking and car accidents. After use of marijuana, many marijuana smokers have shown severe deterioration in their performance of driving. Most of them sway along the road. Some of them have shown slow reaction time in their reaction during driving. Some of the drugs used by people have shown some detrimental side effects during their driving. Some of the teens using such drugs may be involved in driving activities. This, therefore, increases their chances to cause accidents. Most of the people selling over- the –counter drugs fail to warn the users about the results of the drugs in driving. Safety belts are some of the gadgets that have been used to curb fatalities during traffic car accidents. Most of the teen drivers neglect this important gadget during their driving. About 18 percent of the teen drivers use safety belts. In fatal accidents, most of the teens have been seen not to use safety belts. Most teen passengers also do not wear safety belts. More than 60 percent of deaths among teens did not wear safety belts. Most of these deaths could not have occurred if they could have used safety belts. Some of the reasons, why these teens do not wear safety belts are because of the peer pressures; they also cite effects of safety belts on their clothes. Some of them even argue that safety belts will make them think of getting an accident more than when they are not on safety belts.

Teen driving without wearing a safety belt.
Source: http://community.sparknotes.com/2009/05/08/killer-road-trip-tips Another cause of teen driver deaths is the model of the car. Most of the teens drive older models of cars. These cars are vulnerable to accidents since they do not have protective devices to prevent accidents. Modern cars have some safety features which prevent accidents and fatalities during accidents. For instance, teenagers are also likely to cause accidents if they are driving sporty cars. Most of the rollover accidents among the teens are caused by teens driving sporty cars. Since sporty cars have high speed features, most of the teen drivers are tempted to over -speed those cars. In another dimension, most of the parents buy their teens cars basing on the price of the car, not the safety features. Most of the cars driven by teens are, therefore, rarely focused on the safety conditions (winters, 2000). During the driving, most of the teens are involved in distractions. Most of the distractions are the causes of road accidents. These distractions are causes of accidents in both adults and teens.
Distractions during driving are one of the common sources of traffic accidents. Most of the teens are, however, vulnerable to many distractive activities during their driving. Most teen drivers are often seen driving in cars holding drinking cans, eating burgers, texting on their smartphones or even tuning their radios National Cooperative Highway Research Program & Goodwin, (2007). Cellular phones and other smart gadgets like tablets have increased risks of most teen driver’s causing accidents. Also the use of hand free models of phones is also attributed to high risks of causing accidents. Some of the teen drivers are known to gaze out of the car while driving making gestures outside the cars. This reduces their attention on the road, therefore creating trouble during controlling and responding to hazard on the road.
A teen driving while talking on phone
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/deadliest-states-for-teen-drivers/5/ Unlicensed drivers have been related to may traffic accidents. The problem of unlicensed teen drivers cannot go unmentioned when talking about teen drivers. Most of the teens are involved in driving cars on busy roads without proper training and experience. About five percent of the teens drivers involved in reported accidents are unlicensed (Council of state government, 2012). Some of the teen drivers have been diagnosed with attention disorders yet they are involved in driving cars. These teens are more likely to cause accidents on the roads than their peers without hyperactivity disorders. The performance of these teen drivers may be improved with medication.
Section 3. Current Teen Driver Efforts There are many teen drivers’ efforts which are being made to curb the menace. There are very many efforts being carried out educate teen drivers about different hazards associated with teen driving. Some of these efforts have helped in reducing the problem of teen driving. However, not all of them have been effective in reducing the number of road accidents associated with teen driving (Loughery, 2004) Among the things done to curb problems include teen participation in managing teen driving problems. Many teens are being involved in addressing the problem of teen driving. This is one of the best ways of effectively addressing the problem through the generation of real dialogues about dangers of different teen driver behaviors. Many states have convened a panel of advisers from different parts to hold conferences to help mobilize the teens and parents about the dangers of reckless driving. Through grassroots empowerment, many teen drivers have been sent messages that try to impact positive reasoning about safe driving. Instructional videos about dangers of reckless teen driving are among the things being utilized to enhance the problem of teen drivers. Most of the videos are educative and warn teens.
Section 3: measuring strategies In order for these methods to be effective, the need for measuring success is required. Most of the programs have different types of measuring success. However, there are many challenges that arise when measuring the success of these goals since deaths of teens continue to occur on the daily. Some of the regulations currently used to regulate teen driving date back to many years ago. Since the research on teenage driving was carried out by the American council of Pediatrics in 1996, almost all states in the United States have come up with laws based on the graduated driver licensing law. This is a new la that is aimed at controlled teenage driving under high supervision. This law focuses on the licensing of a teenage driver. In the old method licensing teens, it involved a 2-stage teen driving approach, after the learner passed vision and experience the learner obtained a preliminary permit automatically. In many states, the licenses were not held for a minimum period. Therefore, since most states had no legal obligation for the preliminary license to be held for a set period, teenagers across the states progressed through this driver training program without any opportunity to gain necessary safe driving skills? It this case teenager had to pass control test and obtain a driving license without any trouble. In contrast, in the new and modern driving license system, there are there different training sessions. The first stage consists of a learner 's permit. This is just primary or an elementary stage. The next stage involves the acquisition of a regular driver license. At each stage, the drivers are required to pass specific components, driving restrictions, and minimum time periods of which they are allowed to drive. In order to proceed to the learning and training stage, the teen driver is expected to participate in the training for a longer time than at the earlier stage. Together with this, every teen driver is required to master and show adequate experience in driving skills. They are also required not to be involved in any traffic offence for a set time. These provisional driving stages are designed to give the learners earn extensive driving experience using the different restrictions under low-risk conditions. Currently there exist inadequate research data which shows exactly when the elementary and provisional stages should begin .Information lacks also for the period the learners should be participating in training. The new laws have shown some encouraging results. In some states, the law has seen some positive results. For instance, in some states the number of traffic accidents involving teens decreased by about nine percent the year after implementing the new law. A more elaborate survey also showed that there were significant reductions in total teen driver crashes (26%–41%). This can be translated to injuries of about (4%–43%). These injuries have resulted in hospitalizations of about many teen driver causalities: more than one third for sixteen year-old drivers.
This study further showed decrease cases of accident rates many years after the new laws were effected and performed. However, there are no direct conclusions which can prove that indeed teen drivers employed safe driving methods on the roads therefore the main reason for decreasing accident rates seen with these new laws. The research data, however, show that after new measures were put in place, many teens were unable to obtain driving license. Those who acquired one were only able to drive for few miles. From the year 1993 to 2003, the percentage of teenage drivers who became licensed decreased significantly by 25%, in the same periods there was a probability of 69-73 traffic accidents for one hundred thousand license holders with the age of sixteen years. The likelihood that a teenage license holder would cause a fatal car accident remained similarly unchanged (sternheimer, 2006).
Other than delaying the licenses for teens the new law has been effective in reducing the number of nighttime traffic accidents among teens. Another significant benefits of this law are that it has encouraged reduction of teenage passengers at any given moment. The law has also helped curb accidents by making sure that teen drivers immune for all the traffic offences during the period of their training. However, it is Unfortunate to note that, many states are still unable to implement these laws. Many are still not ready to use one of these laws into their main traffic laws.
Section 4: what should be done
Reducing number of nighttime driving hours and passengers
The following information, for example, was obtained from Colorado state patrol in 1991. This information revealed the causes of death are linked to time, specifically night time driving.

Distribution of teenage motor vehicle deaths by time of day, 1991, retrieved from: www.valdosta.edu/~egung/MPA.../emily_gung_exam2_policy.doc

Although the new program rolled out has shown some efficiency in its activities, it is difficult to tell to what extent each individual restriction to improvement of road safety. It is also difficult to show the contribution of each restriction to reduction in accident and injury rates. In the past, when states implemented general curfew rules for young teens, accidents decreased substantially. During the time of 1993 - 2003, the number of reported traffic accidents that occurred between midnight and early morning hours for teens of 16 years showed no significant change. In the recent publication of road safety, there was evidence that showed that states which have barred driving after midnight for teens, have a smaller number of accident fatalities than any other states which had no such barriers. (Goodwin, 2012). Although there is no information about how it is done, many states have developed strategies that exempt real school, work, and religious reasons during night time. Many states have restrictions of teenage drivers driving fellow teens. This has led to laws with few teenaged passengers. This has led to a significant number of cases for a teen driver of 16-year-old. The reduction in teenage fatalities and injuries resulted from teenage passenger restrictions which were as a result of a small number of teens being exposed at accident. But, still many teens are not ready to drive alone. Many are still driving along with two or three passengers. It is also interesting to note that even many parents are not ready to let their kids drive alone; similarly police allow teens to drive in large numbers(Ohio State Highway Patrol, 1940). As many as 44 states in the United States and Seattle Washington restrict night driving among the teens to some degree.it is only 21 states in the United States which have full implementation in the total restrictions that start before 12 am.(United States, 2009). Some sixteen states were found to have no plans to put such measures. Three states and Washington DC have set the passenger restrictions for any teen driver to be a minimum of 18 years of age.
Driver Education There is a need to improve the current teen-driver education. Since the teen driver education programs contained only thirty hours of driving lectures and six hours of practical instructions, more safety skills to the teen drivers are needed to be added. (Winter, 2009). Several studies and analysis into the teen driver education program have revealed ineffectiveness of the programs in molding safe drivers and decreasing the number of traffic accidents. In fact, research has shown that incorporating road safety schemes in high school syllabus will encourage early licensure of teen drivers, who are safe on the road. Many of the driving courses offered do not concentrate on safety. This has resulted in increased crashes, injuries, and early deaths. The programs should also involve the secondary stages, whereby a mandatory pass for an advanced road safety program is needed. During this stage of learning skills such as risk recognition, how to avoid risk and adjust to the road and weather conditions will be taught. More advanced teen driver courses such as those that teach how to maneuver when skidding should be avoided by trainee drivers. This is because this training course may be used by teens to in trying to make dangerous maneuvers. In any work, experience plays a critical role in anything. Similarly, experience plays a significant role on the road. Many drivers became safe drivers, not by training, but through experience acquired over several miles and conditions. Reducing training time stages for any teen driver increases crash rates by a wide margin. Some states have reduced the teen driver permit age to allow extra time for more supervised training; however this can lead to a situation where teens of a reduced age getting licenses (Loughery, 2004).
Alcohol Related Measures
There are various strategies that have been put in place to curb the problem of alcohol related accidents on the roads. However, all this laws have turned out to be ineffective. Many of the road accidents have turned out to be caused by drunk teen drivers. However, effective solution can be reached by combining several strategies. One of the strategies is the combined use of age laws for drinking and the drunken driving laws. Teen should be given zero tolerance in alcohol laws. All regulations regarding teen drivers should give zero tolerance to alcohol. Many states have indicated that alcohol should not be sold to persons below twenty one years. However, most of the teens as low as sixteen years old are able to obtain alcohol easily .most of them go further to drive while they are drunk. It is even interesting further to note that about half of them get unpunished for underage drinking and driving. Administrative laws on drunk driving should be accompanied by close monitoring and implementation of all drug laws (Bernstein& Ma, 1996).
Opinions and Recommendations A lot of parental guidance is also needed in this issue to make sure that teens get first hand training on safety and driving skills from their parents. Parents are also encouraged to make strict rules on their teens on the use of cars and the manner in which they handle those cars.
Through grassroots empowerment, and use of social media, many teen drivers can be encouraged to change their driving behaviors (Cefrey, 2009). This can be done by impacting positive reasoning about driving through regular messages about road safety. Instructional videos about dangers of reckless teen driving are among the things which should be utilized to enhance the solutions to the problem of teen drivers. Most of The videos to be used should educative and interesting at the same time in order to appeal to the teens. The video and text messages should send a warning to the teens that are involved in teen driving and praise those who are involved in safe driving. Safety lessons should also be taught in schools and students are encouraged to travel using safe methods to and from school.
Section 5: Summary and Conclusion Teen driver’s problem can be summarized as a monster which is reducing the human population slowly while making millions of them crippled and poor. While many of them people are paying millions of dollars in hospital bills due to injuries, thousands of them are paying medical bills for therapy due to emotional and psychiatric complications caused by the loss of their loved ones. Teen driving in roads has been taken lightly. Most of the states do not consider it as a real problem. Even parents are not afraid of their children when they get out of the homes. However, statistics is showing that, if the problems is not curbed it will rise to be one of the greatest disasters (Peppers, 2006).
The authorities on national highways security and the police departments should enforce all laws regarding teen driving and all other concerned traffic rules. Laws on alcohol and drug abuse should fully be implemented to make sure that teens are not engaged in any serious accidents. A lot of parental guidance is also needed in this issue to make sure that teens get first hand training on safety and driving skills from their parents. Parents are also encouraged to make strict rules on their teens on the use of cars and the manner in which they handle those cars.
References
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References: Aksomitis, L. (2009). Teen driving. Detroit [Mich.: Greenhaven Press. Ferences American Mutual Alliance Berardelli, P. (2006). Safe young drivers: A guide for parents and teens. Vienna, VA: Nautilus Communications. Bernstein, P., & Ma, C. (1996). The practical guide to practically everything. New York: Random House. Cefrey, H. (2009). Drinking and driving. New York: Rosen Pub. Council of State Governments. (1992). Spectrum: The journal of state government. Lexington, KY: Council of State Governments. Goodman, K., & Simon, K. (2005). Safe road home: How to talk to your teens about drinking and driving. Berardelli, P. (2006). Safe young drivers: A guide for parents and teens. Vienna, VA: Nautilus Communications. New York: Sterling Pub. Goodwin, A. H., & AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. (2012). Distracted driving among newly licensed teen drivers. Washington, DC: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. Loughry, J. H. (2004). Saving our teen drivers: using aviation safety skills on the roadways: How to avoid the 13 most common ways teenage drivers kill themselves. United States: Seminee. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (Etats-Unis), & Goodwin, A. (2007). Guidance for implementation of the AASHTO strategic highway safety plan: V. 19. Ohio State Highway Patrol. (1940). Flying wheel. Columbus, Ohio: s.n. Peppers, J. (2006). Teen drivers living long enough to learn: Survival guide for new drivers. Bloomingtom, IN: AuthorH Hollister, T. (2013). Not so fast: Parenting your teen through the dangers of driving. Chicago, Ill: Chicago Review Press. Ouse. South Dakota teen drivers: A guide for parents and guardians. (1999). Pierre, S.D.: s.n. Sternheimer, K. (2006). Kids these days: Facts and fictions about today 's youth. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Westlake, E. J., Boyle, L. N., & University of Iowa. (2009). Teenage drivers: Self-reported distraction. Winters, A. (2000). Everything you need to know about being a teen driver. New York, NY: Rosen Pub. Group.