Teenage Driving

Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in teens ages 15 through 20. The licensing process should be much more restricted. Teens should be sufficiently educated on the rules of the road and should be trained to respect traffic laws and learn to drive safely. Teens should also begin driving instruction at earlier ages in controlled areas. There is evidence that the longer a person drives the safer and less prone to accidents they are. Even though new teen drivers only make up 7% of people who drive they account for 14% of all driving fatalities. In 1998 5600 teens died in automobile accidents (“Teen Driving”). That amounts to 15 teens lost per day. In most states teens can drive unsupervised by 17,but in some states such as Alaska or Montana teens can be on the road as early as 14. I believe this would be acceptable if I was sure that teen drivers have had received proper training and had passed rigorous licensing exams. Statistics show that teens and people in their early 20s are far more likely to be in fatal automobile accident than people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, . Many experts believe that teenage immaturity and recklessness lead to the cause of these accidents. I believe that this immaturity stems from the lack of training and respect for the road many teens don’t believe that they can die on the road. 80% of all accidents involving teens in 1998 were result of driver error. Speeding plays a role in many of fatal automobile accidents involving teens, 36 percent of all accidents involving teens were a result of a speeding teenagers. Only 22 percent of all adult accidents are a result of an adult speeding. (“Teen Driving”).

Some people believe that alcohol abuse in teens play a major role in teen accidents. Alcohol is illegal for all persons under the age of 21 to purchase or consume, even though the law prohibits this more than one fifth of automobile accidents involve intoxicated teens. (“Teen