Teenage Driving and Accidents

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“Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time,” said by Steven Wright. Teenagers look forward to their sixteenth birthday so they are able to drive. Everyone has felt that feeling where they can hardly wait to get behind the wheel and start driving. Little do people know teen drivers are more likely to die from a car accident than from a homicide, suicide, or cancer combined (Littlefield). They are mostly inexperienced with the road and how to handle distractions. If the age were moved to eighteen teenagers would have more driving experience (Sostarecz). Teenage drivers are extremely eager to drive because of freedom, but they are not aware of the distractions and peer pressure on the road; their experience of driving is not as well as others and statistics show how many deaths are caused due to teenage driving. Most teenagers are excited to get their license so they are able to be with their friends. They believe it is fun to have a car full of friends and drive anywhere and everywhere. However, most teenagers are not aware that three or more teen passengers quadruples a crash risk (National). When others are in the car with a driver it causes a myriad of distractions. Teenagers are subjected to peer-pressure and therefore do not make mature decisions. For example, teenagers wear seat belts less often than older drivers because of peer-pressure (Millward). The seat belt is a restriction so if an accident were to occur the outcome of it will not be as extreme with it on. Wearing a seat belt is also a law and teenagers pressure each other to break that law. The fatality rate for teenagers is 3.6 times higher than driving alone (California). Teenagers are pressured to break laws and do illegal actions while others are in t... ... middle of paper ... ... n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2014. Littlefield, Jamie. "Promote Teen Driver Safety: Discourage Reckless Driving." Volunteer Guide. Charity Guide, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014. Millward, David. "Driving Age Could Rise to 18 under New Proposals." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. National Safety Council. "Teen Driver Safety - Education & Resources." Teen Driver Safety - Education & Resources. National Safety Council, n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. Rocky Moutain Insurance Information Assosiation. "Teen Driving Statistics." Teen Driving Statistics. RMIIA, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014. Sostarecz, Alexander. "Alexander Sostarecz: Raise Driving Age to 18 When Teens Are More Responsible." The Morning Call. N.p., 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. Texas A&M University System. "The Problem." The Problem. Texas A&M Transportation Institution, n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2014.

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