Driver Education
Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers across the United States. Accidents are caused when students don’t take Driver’s Education while they’re in school and wait to get their license at the age of 18. “Studies show that 1,651 drivers age 16 to 20 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2013.” That’s just two years ago and each year accident rates goes up rapidly. Youth don’t have the sources and the class time to take in all the information to help prepare them for the actual driving test. I argue and believe that Driver’s Education should be mandatory in schools now, and at a free cost. All teens should be able to take Driver Education classes at the high school they currently attend.
Now, in the state
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Segment 2 normally cost $50-$70, which isn’t bad. I have noticed from most families in my area, are not fortunate enough to pay the expensive Segment 1 prices that Driver Ed offers. Now as the teens wait until they’re 18, what experience do they actually have? Do teens actually take their time to study how to drive or wait until they are taking the actual test to study? I believe it can save a lot of teen’s lives, it could all be so simple. The government was so concerned about the finance that they were not even thinking about how many accidents they could help prevent if they had Driver’s Education in schools …show more content…
Too many distractions in the vehicle also causes accidents such as loud music and noisy friends. When I took my Driver’s Education test the instructor made me operate the vehicle and have conversations with my parents while I was driving. It was a test to see if I let distractions distract me while I’m on the road. After a person takes Driver’s Education and gets their license they only allow one person to be in the car for at least six months. I didn’t like that idea but I respected it because instructors just wanted to make sure that beginner drivers are focused on the road. So when teens wait until they’re eighteen and get their license and actually pass the test, why don’t they have six months until they can drive with more than one passenger? Is it because they’re fully grown and don’t have to go by the rules? That’s another big reason accidents are caused. Most of the time unexperienced drivers have accidents that first six months. The government fails to realize what’s causing these problems each
In this article written by the author Bruce Feiler, titled “Teenage Drivers? Be Very Afraid”, he talks about how he suggest the parents to stop being helicopter parents and allow their children to be independent. However, other professionals’ suggestions are the opposite when teenagers start to drive. As a result of the teenagers’ immaturity, the parents are told to be more involved because their child’s life may be in danger. As stated in the article by Nichole Moris “the most dangerous two years of your life are between 16 and 17, and the reason for that is driving.” There are various factors that play huge roles through this phrase of the teenagers’ life: other passengers, cellphones, and parents. In 2013, under a million teenage drivers were involved in police-reported crashes, according to AAA. The accidents could have been more but many teenage accidents go unreported. As a result, one of their recommendations to the parents is to not allow their children to drive with other passengers: other passengers can big a huge distraction and could increase the rate of crashes by 44 percent. That risk doubles with a second passenger and quadruples with three or more. Furthermore, as technology has taken over teenagers’ lives, the parents should suggest to those teenagers who insists on using the phones that the only safe place for it to be: in a dock, at eye level, on the dashboard. The worst place is the cup holder, the driver’s lap, and the passenger’s seat. Next, professionals also suggest that the parents implement their own rule and even continue the ones like the graduated driver’s licenses regulations. This regulation includes restrictions like not allowing their children to drive between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. To
Maturity and rationalization is not yet achieved or experienced by teenagers. In the era of technology there are several distractions for drivers of any age to maneuver. Parents can play an educational role by enrolling their teen into a driver’s educational program. Some states require students to complete a comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) program prior to receiving their license. The brain function is still developing in teenagers and may impede the quick thinking process necessary to become a responsible driver. For the safety and welfare of teenagers the age requirement in Arizona for a driver’s license should be increased from 16 to 18 years of age.
In the news article ¨Is 16 Too Young To Drive A Car?¨ Robert Davis explains the science of of legal issues surrounding teen driving. To begin with, Davis points out many support raising the driver age in order to decrease the number of further car crashes involving 16 year olds. The Author Robert Davis also reports that politicians want to avoid inconvenient parents who would have to drive around their unlicenced teens. Also he describes teen drivers error are linked to undeveloped parts of the brain that thinks about the future, controls emotions, and manages designs. In addition the Author Robert Davis “graduated licensing” limit took teens driving priveleges until
Just like the teenage boy that died in the wreck, most young teen drivers think they are invincible and are owners of the road which is all due to lack of maturity. The mind set of young drivers now days is “I’m too young to die”, or “it wont happen to me” and they are so blinded by the immature thinking that it gets them in trouble. Some traits generally linked with the immaturity are: chance taking, testing limits, poor-decision making, overconfidence, speeding, following to closely, and dangerous passing (Williams). When you have youthful age and immature characteristics combined the crash possibility is enlarged. The 15-16 age groups are among the most accident prone of most groups (“Don’t”), so why then would we want them behind the wheel? “Most U.S. states license at age 16, but the minimum age for a regular license is 14 in South Dakota and 15 in five other states including: Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, and South Carolina”, stated Allan F. Williams. Youthful age and immature thinking is part of the reason wh...
One of the major reason why the legal driving should be raised because of peer pressure as it showing in text 3. Teens thinks that they’re ready to drive but they are not because their brain is still developing. Also, teens mostly wants to drive because of their friends which is peer pressure. This can be shown where the author states, “the teenage brain is particularly vulnerable to distraction and peer pressure, and is undergoing explosive development.” (Gregory, text-3) This quote shows that teens are distracted from what’s outside of them and not inside of them. The author also states,” … they point to statistics to back up the position that raising the driver age makes
In some states, a program known as driver education is required. The program varying from a week or two in length to a whole year of curriculum can make a very large difference in the driving experience and knowledge of the driver. According to the national DMV website, teenagers who participated in a driver education course are fifty percent less likely to occur in an accident if they have completed a year long course of driver education. I think that a driver education course should be a requirement in schools across the nation in the student 's year when they would apply for their learner permit. By completing that course, future driver would share the same sort of education as well as having a vast knowledge of driving. By doing that, the legal driving age would not need to change as it should not need to change. I also believe that in addition to the mandatory driving hours spent with a parent, guardian, or adult, a new driver needs to spend time with a driver education certified teacher. By doing so, they will learn and maintain the proper skills needed to drive safely. Again, making that happens will only make the roads safer as driver will share the same knowledge on the road. Another stipulation that should take place before a teenager can apply for their license is drug and alcohol education and testing. Furthermore, students need to be aware of not only the dangers of drug and alcohol, but the dangers of drugs and alcohol in relation to driving. As projected, more and more higher school students are drinking under age and driving while intoxicated. In addition to that, drug use and abuse rates are going up causing more and more students to drive while under the influence of mind
Teens need to be taught that driving is a task that is complex and demanding. Parents know how much experience a young driver has, and they know exactly how inconvenient it is when they have to drive with their teen everywhere while they have their permit. Teens tend to cause most traffic accidents in adults’ eyes. They are not experienced yet, and often fail to pay attention to others on the road. They often think of a car as being some type of toy, but they do not know how powerful it really is. The driver education programs must be strengthened in order to make sure that students really have safer habits, behind the wheel experience, and by having a better understanding of all the laws on the road.
There are many options other than raising the minimum age that are very effective and less damaging; such as, an increase in the use of graduated licensing systems, using driving simulators to teach novice drivers, and allowing states to set their own minimum age for different areas. Increasing driver’s education requirements while adding in new teaching methods is an excellent alternative to raising the driving age. Along with those additions, the learner’s permit and restricted licenses could be given more requirements to make sure that the problem of experience is addressed. In their article “Minimum Driving Age: An Overview” (2016) Chittom, Lynn-nore, and Laura Finley point out that, “In August 2006, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported that statistics for the state of California since the implementation of graduated licensing laws showed a 27 percent drop in late-night crashes and a 38 percent drop in crashes involving teen passengers.” Also, according to “Assessment of an Automotive Driving Simulator to Educate Novice Drivers, (2013) ”Transportation system simulators, such as aerospace, automotive, and rail, have been used effectively over several decades in support of operator training and research
Although studies by Dr.Masten and his colleagues show, “75 percent of the fatal crashes we thought we were saving actually just occurred two years later,” (paragraph 4). This was stated when the minimum driving age was sixteen and this effected the number if fatal crashes in eighteen-year olds. Dr. Masten suspects that teenagers are waiting to get their license and skipping the restrictions, (paragraph 7).
We do have an increase in the number of vehicle accidents, but it can always get better. If we leave it the way it is then these young adults get the practice they deserve. Long highways and busy interstates are prime road for accidents to happen, but if we leave the limit the way it is we won 't see more accidents. If anything we will see a decrease in accidents. From my previous experiences with driving I personally feel that more driving time and practice could benefit everyone. Especially when in the means and terms of a safer environment for everyone. If we were to change the age to eighteen or twenty one then we could potentially see an increase in accidents. If the debate is over whether the percent of accidents would go down or up we have to keep it the same to see a decrease or break even. Furthermore, we need to keep the legal driving age at sixteen to see an sort of improvement and
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 to change 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.
Sixteen year olds have a higher crash rate than drivers of any other age. “ in 2011, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths” (Teen Driving Statistics). For this purpose, Many states have begun to raise the age limit by imposing restrictions on sixteen years old drivers. For example, limiting the number of passengers they can carry while driving. “The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety released a report in May 2012 that showed that the risk of 16- or 17-year old drivers being killed in a crash increases with each additional teenage passenger in the vehicle. The risk increases 44 percent with one passenger; it doubles with two passengers, and quadruples with three or more passengers. The study analyzed crash data and the number of miles driven by 16- and 17-year olds” (Teen Driving Statistics). Another example, is that many people believe that teenage drivers have a race boy/girl mentality. This mean that when any teenager gets into a vehicle of any kind they get some type of thrilled or that the driving laws do not accommodate them in any way, shape, or form. They would go drag race ...
As expected, most if not all teens will disagree with that. But there are some safe teen drivers that are thrown into the bad teen driving category just because they are a teenager that drives. If there are some good teen drivers, then do all teens really need more drivers education? Samantha Williams is a senior at Winchester Community High School that has an answer to this question. “I do consider myself to be a safe driver. I’m always aware of my surroundings when I’m driving, and I always stay away from any distractions” (Question 1). She is intentionally aware of her surroundings and stays focused while driving. The government should not make more regulations and rules for all teen drivers when there are many teen drivers like Samantha on the roads. There are even some adults that believe not all teen drivers are bad drivers. Gregory explains, “ The teen driving issues are not about age and maturity as they are about making good choices and demonstrating exceptional behavior, whether they start that driving experience at 16, 17, or 18” (1). Many teens and parents seem to think the government has not made the best decisions recently when it comes to
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 article Should 16-year-olds drive? written by Ted Gregory, describes that “the front portion of the brain—which includes control of impulses, judgement and decision-making, and the coordination of multi-tasking—matures when 18.” Eighteen is at the beginning of adult life and that is when people grow and develop. According to the possible contributing circumstances listed on crash reports, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation detailed that sixteen year olds are more likely to be reported as “exceeding the speed limit, driving too fast for conditions, failing to yield right-of-way, failing to control, following too close, and driving inattentively.” Sixteen year olds underestimate the dangers of the road. Some people would say that teens now a days are more cautious and aware of dangers of the road due to social media awareness. However, Edgar Snyder, a law firm representing injured people, revealed that 32.8 percent of high school students aged sixteen to seventeen have admitted to texting while driving. Other than the fact that sixteen year olds are not mentally independent, they are also not financially