Did you know that about 70% of driving-related-deaths each year are the elderly or their passengers? Each year, nearly 6,000 seniors are killed and 221,000 are injured in automobile accidents. One major reason that seniors get in so many accidents may be that they have not taken a driver's test, or even class, in fifty years. If seniors were required to take a driver’s test, there would be far less deaths and injuries. However, not all seniors would pass the test. Some elderly drivers are reckless because they don't know the rules of the road, but some merely have slow reaction time or bad eyes. Requiring drivers to retake their driving test would be beneficial in both teaching the elderly new rules, but it would also pick out the drivers that are physically unfit for driving.
People over the age of 60 are known to have difficulty making quick decisions in a short period of time; something that occurs often when driving. After conducting tests on reaction times throughout people of all ages, Livestrong.com reports that “ As people reach their late sixties and seventies, reaction times increase markedly” (Jessica Ramer). From the time of birth to the age of twenty, reaction time decreases,
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According to the American Foundation for the Blind, “Blindness or low vision affects approximately 1 in 28 Americans older than 40 years” (“Aging and Vision Loss Fact Sheet”). As age progresses, eyes grow worse. Since 1 in 28 Americans older than 40 have blindness or low vision, there must be many more with inadequate eyesight at the age of 60. One may argue that any senior with bad eyesight could get surgery or glasses to improve their vision, and many seniors do have glasses to improve their vision, yet 1 in 28 Americans over 40 still have blindness or low vision, meaning either that not enough seniors get glasses or surgery, or that their glasses or surgery is not strong enough to
Statistics show 16- to 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger, which is due to distracted driving. Taking your eyes off the road for 2 (two) seconds, at 60 mph, means you have driven blindly for half the length of a football field. The risk of fatality is 3.6 times higher, when they are driving with passengers than when alone. For many years, the correlation between driving behavior and age has interested highway safety researchers and administrators. It is general knowledge that the greatest risk of motor vehicle crash...
Motor vehicles accidents are the leading cause of deaths for teenagers in the United States. According to Vivian Hamilton, “Car crashes kill more teens each year than any other cause” (1). In 2010, seven teenagers from ages 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle crashes. In 2011, approximately 1972 young drivers, ages 15 to 20, were killed in motor vehicle crashes (Facts About Teen Drivers”). The age of which a person can drive legally varies from country to county. In the United State, individuals are allow to take a driving test before their legal voting age which is eighteen or legal ...
Most people look forward to their 16th birthday because they are legal to drive. In 2012 there was 13,891 car crashes were reported but over 900 people were killed. Alcohol played a role in 260 fatal crashes. Speeding was a factor in13.2 percent of fatal crashes. So should we Michigan raise the driving age? Yes, Michigan’s driving age should be raised because of the number of people getting killed , having distractions and the fact that teens don’t care what could happen.
The car accidents you see on the roads are most likely caused by an elderly person as they are unaware of their surroundings and what is actually happening on the road. Elderly drivers are not aware of the dangers they put themselves and others into every time they drive. Most elderly take medications that are known to impair driving. Most elderly have trouble turning and have a hard time seeing things correctly, therefore this causes ultimate risks to them and their surroundings. If you have an elderly loved one that is above the age of 80, don’t wait until it’s too late to save your parents and other’s
So they tend to start new activities, visiting family and friends more often, and taking more vacations. Driving is an important part of staying independent do things such as goes shopping, do errands, and visit the doctor (Older Drivers , 2012). Older adults 70 and older have driver’s licenses and they tend to drive fewer miles than younger drivers. Yet, they are driving more miles than in the past and keeping their licenses for a longer period of time. There will be more elderly drivers on the road as the overall population ages (Older Drivers ,
Driving is something people do everyday. Although many people do it well, some do not, that being said the legal age to drive should be raised to twenty one years of age. The driving age should be raised because teens at the ages of fourteen through twenty should not be behind the wheel for the simple fact that they are just too young and too inexperienced to drive, also someone of that age can get more distracted than a person who is twenty-one or older and has had some time to mature and become responsible enough to operate a motor vehicle. “In the United States, 16–19-year-olds have the highest incidence of motor vehicle deaths among licensed drivers and motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15–20-year-olds.” (Haggerty
I. Introduction A. Should 16 year old teenagers be able to drive? B. “Those who favor raising the driving age say that statistics show teenagers are more likely to get into accidents than adults. What they don't say is that statistics also show that men of all ages are 77 percent more likely to kill someone while driving than women.
From the March 2003 invasion of Iraq until September of 2006, about 2,600 American troops were killed in combat and war-related incidents (Wilson 18). Did you know during that same 41-month period, more than 22,000 teenagers, ages 15 to 19, died in traffic accidents on U.S. roads? (Wilson 18). That number has now escalated to approximately 4,500 soldiers and over 40,000 teens lost. Parents in the United States have relied on driver’s education and training to prepare their teens for the responsibility of driving. In fact, we rely too much on driver’s education. Recent studies have indicated that driver’s education, or DE, has failed to produce safe drivers. Even though the common form of driver’s education and training has been cited as ineffective, there are efforts being made around the country that have the ability to profoundly change driver education as we know it and prepare young drivers, create safer drivers, and ultimately save teen lives.
Again, it makes the headlines; an older driver causes a dangerous automobile crash. As the amount of elderly driving has increased in the past decade, the risk for others to be out on the road has increased. In 2012, there were 36 million licensed older drivers in the United States. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)) As a 34% increase from 1999, it has been noted that seniors are driving past their ability by an average of 10 years. (Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation (US)). Elderly continue to drive despite the prominent physiological changes that worsen as they age. The amount of automobile collisions suggests that prevention must occur in order to make the roads safer. By examining older drivers’ medical complications, older drivers must be retested to be able to drive a vehicle.
Teens only make up seventeen percent of the population today, but almost twenty percent of fatal crashes are due to teenagers behind the wheel. Growing numbers suggest changing the driving age to eighteen and some even believe that changing it to twenty-one may save even more lives. With a sixteen year old behind the wheel, accidents are even more likely to occur when compared to a seventeen year old (Boulard). With so much new technology in today’s society there are more distractions on the road than ever before; therefore the legal driving age should be raised to save more lives. If we do not act quickly, then more lives will be lost.
Drunk Driving: A Blatant Mistake Drinking and driving has become an epidemic leading to multiple fatalities in the United States. Drivers under the influence are much more likely to suffer from a car crash. Drinking and driving is a significant problem in our country and is often times overlooked. Driving under the influence is also against the law and is not treated lightly if caught.
Have a second? Fantastic. That can also be all it takes for an intoxicated individual to choose to drive while they have been drinking. Drunk drivers nearly cause 10,076 people to be killed in drunk driving crashes, 1 every 53 minutes. Such decisions can be avoided by perusing these statistics.
Many accidents are caused because teenagers are unaware of driving risks and hazardous situations. One piece of evidence that shows that teenagers need driving experience appears in the following quote, “Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations,” ("Teen Drivers: Get the Facts"). Teenagers will not have enough driving experience if the driving age is lifted. If teenagers are allowed to drive at sixteen then they will be prepared to drive later on. The longer one waits to drive, the longer it takes for them to become prepared for the risks and hazards of
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers.” - Dave Berry
“Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional deaths for teens (16-17),” reported The New York State Department of Health. The most exciting thing about being sixteen in the United States is driving. Teenagers can not wait to be sixteen to drive, however, they do not understand the dangers that come with driving at such a young age. Sixteen is the age between child life and adulthood. It is a time when they are not stable and undergoing change, which makes them unsuitable to drive. Many teenagers would say that they need to get to places. In response to that claim, there are public transportation systems and bikes as available alternatives for young drivers. The financial stability and matureness of eighteen year olds proves