Teen Driving Research Paper

Teen Driving Teens are dying and we can change it. Teen car crashes kill more young people than any other cause. Cars are responsible for nearly fifty percent of American teen deaths. Over 3,000 American teens die yearly in car crashes. That’s equivalent to a commercial jet loaded with teenagers crashing once every other week for a year. The majority of teen deaths are when other teens are in the car with them. For every teen killed multiple that by 100 and that is how many are injured. Every 15mins a teen becomes another statistic. If you care about the money, try thinking about this, teenage drivers cost America more than $40 billion a year. For Texas alone it is more than $3.5 billion. These are some of the facts on why we should change
the driving laws not to save money but to save our teens and their future. I am going talk to you about the 3 most common dangers for teens, driving at night, speeding, and distractions. First the single biggest risk factor is driving at night.
Some of us have problems with driving at night, but most of us have had years of experience with this. In 2009 61% of teen crash deaths happened between 6pm and 6am, reported in 2010 by the Texas Transportation Institute. The reason is that visibility challenges slower response time and a lack of experience with night time driving. Speeding is the second biggest factor. Among teenage males 15 to 20 who were involved in crash deaths 39% were speeding at the time of the crash. In high speed crashes a vehicle cannot withstand the force of the crash and maintain the passenger compartment. As speeds increase the restraint system cannot keep the forces on passengers below severe injury levels, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Distractions are the final factor, what do you consider a distraction? Well distractions are anything that takes your mind and attention away from driving. The main 3 types are visual (taking eyes off of the road), manual (taking your hands off the wheel), and cognitive (taking your mind off what you are doing). The under 20 age group represents the proportion of distracted drivers. Distractions were the cause of about 16% of fatal crashes for drivers younger than 20 years of
age. What can we do? I believe we can require harsher traffic laws and requirements for teenagers to get there license. Put regulations on them, like where they go, who they are with, and what time they drive. I think we should use the license as a privilege and not a rite of passage. Require graduation as a reason for having a license. In conclusion I have given you facts about teen drivers. The 3 most common dangers with teen drivers and what I think can be done to save them.

Works Cited
About the Teens in the Driver Seat program. 5 April 2012. .
Distractions. 5 April 2013. .
Teen Car Accidents. 5 April 2012. .