Why Teenagers Should not be Able to Drive at 16 - Research Paper Example

?Introduction For many years, the relationship between road safety and the age of the motorists has attracted numerous research studies across the globe. Although motor industry plays a critical role in the growth and development of economies in the world by enhancing quick and convenient transportation mode, it is a leading cause of death to many teenagers in the world. According to Zasa and Thompson (8), most global transportation needs are provided by motor vehicles. Motor vehicles have broken the geographical barrier that hindered movement of people and cargo across vast distances. Although vehicles are predominantly applied for enhancing mobility of goods and people, they are also used for recreation and entertainment. Many motor vehicle industries are producing technologically enhanced vehicles in large volumes. This has dramatically reduced the cost of acquiring motor vehicles and they are no longer a preserve for the wealthy individuals. In this respect, motor vehicles are increasingly accessible to the people of different ages including teenagers. In United States for instance, 16-year-old teens are legally allowed to drive motor vehicles. However, road safety experts have in the recent past lobbied against this decree because of the high rates of accidents that these young drivers cause in roads across the country. This paper discusses the reasons why teenagers are not able to drive at 16 years. According to Peden, et al (17), teenage drivers are at the greatest risk of traffic crashes especially in developed countries. CDC (200) noted that road accidents is the leading cause death among teenagers in the United States. Both male and female teenage drivers from 16 to 19 years have the highest road accidents and violation of traffic rules in the country than any other group. In 2008 for instance, NHTSA (51) reported that 600,000 teenagers were injured in road accidents and 4000 of them died. In view of these alarming statistics, experts in road safety have elucidated various factors as the cause of accidents among this group. These include poor hazard detection, low perception of risks, uncalculated risk taking on the roads, failure to wear safety belts and lack of skill while driving. In addition, use of alcohol, hard drugs, driving at night and the carrying passengers while driving are other important factors that contribute to high rate of accidents among teenage drivers in the 16-19 age groups (NHTSA, 38). In this respect, the major underlying factors of this behavior on the roads are lack of experience and distraction of the teenagers while driving. Teenagers should not be allowed to drive at sixteen years until they attain a sensible age where there are reasonably mature and experienced to drive. At sixteen years, many teenagers are still under the care of parents or guardians and they do not have many responsibilities that warrant use of motor vehicles in their daily activities. One of the main factors that attribute to high use of cars especially in developed countries is the convenience that they provide when attending to various duties such as work and other commitments. In this case, most adults who comprise the largest proportion of working class people own cars to enhance speedy execution of their activities. Due to the crucial role that vehicles play to such individuals, it is apparent that they are more cautious and watchful than sixteen year olds who use vehicles for other reasons but not to attend work. Adults are thus more careful because they are also legally responsible for any offense that they cause on the roads by the careless driving. This is in contrast to sixteen year old who do not have much to lose when they violate traffic offense (DMV). Lack of foresight that dangerous driving could cost their lives and inflict permanent disabilities is some of the main shortcomings of sixteen-year-old drivers’ judgment (Abdel 63). Most teenage motorists drive for various reasons such as experiencing the thrill of driving at very high speeds. This makes them prone to accidents especially while driving in poor weather and in unfavorable traffic conditions. Research has documented various factors that increase the risk of a sixteen-year-old driver to road accidents. One of the factors is that these drivers have poor sense of detecting danger while driving. The ability to notice potential hazards while driving is one of the main reason that make mature motorists to have lower rates of accidents than their teenage counterparts. Besides the different vehicles that use road network at any given time, external interference such as poor weather, pedestrians and animals often present challenges while driving (CDC 237). In United States for instance, smog causes poor visibility especially in heavy industrialized urban centers, while ice present a major motoring challenge especially during the winter. These factors require the driver to be alert and exercise high sense of control to avoid road accidents. According to Evans (1394), the ability to anticipate or detect these hazards and others in any driving environment relies on perception and the ability to gather the information correctly, in order to identify and respond to the stimuli appropriately. This ability requires great experience that is acquired over long period of growing up and using the roads. In this respect, sixteen year old motorists do not have a well dev eloped hazard detection ability mainly because of their tender age and short experience. Evans (1398) noted that it takes many years for inexperienced drivers and long driving experience in order to develop this skill. According to Evans, the ability of detecting hazard determines the capacity to assess the intensity of the risk presented by the particular threat (1402). This implies that individuals with poor ability of detecting hazards have low ability perceiving the risks. The ability to perceive risk enables the driver to accurately examine or access his or her ability to maneuver under tricky traffic conditions with minimal or no risk. However, young and inexperienced sixteen-year-old drivers are highly culpable of underestimating potential hazards and overestimating their ability to deal with the risks that they identify on the traffic. This is one of the main reasons why many policy makers oppose the young and inexperienced drivers because they present imminent danger to themselves and other innocent road users. Taking uncalculated risks while on the road is another behavior that undermines the suitability of sixteen years old drivers on roads. Gravelle (37) reported that teenage drivers are normally overconfident of their driving abilities and this tendency makes them to engage in potentially lethal traffic offenses. As a result, most of these drivers drive at very high speeds, overtaking slow moving traffic haphazardly, tailgating, and driving on full red lights in addition to disrespecting the pedestrians’ right of using the roads. Other risky behavior exhibited by these young drivers include disrespecting traffic rights and other signs in addition to making risky turns and maneuvers on the roads. Research conducted by CDC (163) established most of these teenage drivers do not safety belts. Failure to wear safety belts exposes them to greater dangers of incurring heavy bodily injuries and even death after engaging in road accidents. According to NHTSA (58), safety belts prevent drivers from the risk of heavy inertia that occurs after a road crash by preventing them from being thrown out of the vehicle. NHTSA (63) estimated that about 32% of traffic fatalities in the United States to lack of wearing a safety belt. Another main shortcoming of sixteen-year-old drivers is that they have poor mastery and skill of the basic driving techniques necessary to use a motor vehicle safely. This makes them extremely prone to making unnecessary errors, such as misjudging distance while overtaking and controlling the vehicle in treacherous weather conditions. Moreover, teenage drivers often fail to check the safety of the vehicle before embarking on a journey. Some of the basic mistakes include driving vehicles that have uneven distribution of pressure in the tires, driving vehicle with faulty mechanical systems among other problems (Gregory 2) Lack of this foresight is mainly caused by insufficient knowledge about the conditions that are necessary for optimum and safe use of a vehicle on the roads. Competent and experienced drivers have acute sense of detecting a fault about an improperly working system in a vehicle while driving, this enables them to make relevant corrective measures such as slowing down, and stopping the vehicle before an accident happens. However, inexperience among sixteen-year-old drivers is a major factor that undermines their ability to make the necessary corrective measures especially after a vehicle malfunctions while driving (Kenneth 81). Sixteen-year-old drivers are at a critical adolescent stage that is usually characterized by an unpredictable behavior change. According to Gregory (2) adolescents at their prime exhibit a high degree of independence, that makes them highly rebellious to authority and the established social order in the community. This psychological change is also associated with a heightened sense of invincibility that motivates them into undertaking life-threatening maneuvers on the roads while driving (Loughry 53). Moreover, teenagers are prone to negative peer pressure, which makes them succumb to negative influences, such as drug abuse, drinking alcohol engaging in risky driving habits such as overspending in order to show off to their fellow colleagues (Loughry 59). Driving while under the influence of alcohol is one of the major causes of fatal accident among teenage drivers (Loughry 73). Teenagers who drive under the influence of alcohol have a greater risk of severe road accident than older drivers do with similar concentration of alcohol in their blood stream (Loughry 84). Alcohol and other drugs undermine the concentration of drivers and they can cause drowsiness and poor focus while under the wheel. Ironically, many teenage motorists’ abuse drugs to enhance their alertness on the roads but they eventually end up sleeping while driving because of fatigue and compromised ability to make sound judgments. Research studies on road safety indicate that teenage drivers increases the risk of being involved in road crashes while carrying passengers than when driving alone(CDC 103). According to NHTS, the fatality rate of 16 to 17 year old drivers is almost four times higher while driving with passengers than when driving without company (102). Moreover, the number of road crashes among the teenage drivers increases proportionately with an increase in the number of passengers. Psychologists and road safety experts attribute this trend to distraction that disrupts the concentration of the driver as the numbers of the passengers increase. Furthermore, younger passengers encourage the teenage driver to take more risks such as over speeding, careless overlapping and violations of other established traffic rules and regulations (NHTSA 109).According to CDC this behavior is very common especially among young teenage drivers, riding with their peers (113). Many teenagers are increasingly driving at night especially after 9 pm. During this time, the likelihood of driving under the influence of alcohol is very high and they are usually accompanied with other peers while attending night parties. For the inexperienced teenage drivers, driving at night presents major challenge and when other distracting factors such as alcohol and the company of other teenage passengers are included, the risks of being involved in road accidents increase dramatically. According to NHTSA (89), the rate of a teenage driver, getting involved in a road crash is three times higher per mile after 9 pm than during the day. Bowles(2) attributes these statistics to difficult driving environment at night characterized by poor lighting that compromise on the ability to detect hazards and risks in order execute the appropriate corrective mechanism. Driving at night lowers driver’s concentration due to sleep deprivation. Drunk driving, peer influence and unfamiliar driving environment complicate the situation further. A combination of these factors makes teenage driving especially among the 16 year olds a dangerous affair to the young drivers and other road users. Other factors that distract teenage drivers include using electronic devices such as mobile phones and music systems while driving. Car accidents are the leading cause of teen accidents in United States and these statistics indicate lack of competence among teenage drivers in the country. According to DMV (6), the death rate of teenagers per mile in United States is four times higher than that of adults. Although teenagers comprises of about 10% of the total population in the United States, they account to over 14% of the total motor vehicle fatalities and over 20% of the reported car crashes in the country (NHTSA, 89). These accidents cause heavy economic loses, and they deny the country the human capital that teenagers would provide the country in the adulthood. Peden, et al (261) estimated that in 2002, United States suffered an economic loss amounting to $40.8 billion in both fatal and non-fatal crashes reported by the police. These accidents involved drivers aged from fifteen to twenty years. The nature of vehicular accidents involving teenagers overwhelmingly indicate their incompetence or inability to drive at their tender age. While most accidents by adults involve two or more vehicles, teenage crashes are mainly single car crashes (Peden et al 268). Gregory (2) noted that teenagers have a higher likelihood of getting involved in a single vehicle crashes than any other group. This is a clear indication of their inability to control and use vehicles in an appropriate manner. Another indicator of teenage inability to drive is the number of motor accidents caused by the driver’s error. According to NHTSA (315), 33% of all deadly accidents involving teenagers are caused by over speeding. In addition, the number of fatalities in all teenage motor accidents doubles when the number of passengers increases from two to three. In all fatal accidents that took place in American highways in 2003, 61% of teenage passengers were killed in vehicles driven by their teenage counterparts (NHTSA 319). Failure to take precautionary measures is another important indicator of the teen inability to drive at sixteen years. According to Zasa and Thompson (49), the more than 60% of teenage fatalities in American roads in 2003 were not wearing seat belts. Similarly, most fatal accidents involving teenage drivers occur during the weekends accounting to over 53% of teen deaths caused by road accidents (NHTSA 29) Researchers on road safety indentify the first one thousand hours behind the wheel as the most precarious for teenagers (Gregory 2). With the total population of American 16 year old teenagers expected to increase by about 4 million in five years time, the number of teenage drivers on American roads is currently over 27 million (Kenneth 95). This implies that unless the federal government reviews the issuance of driving licenses to teenagers, the number of fatalities in American roads would be on an increasing trend, resulting to heavy economic and casualty damages. It is apparent that sixteen year old teenagers are are affected significantly by the aforementioned factors, resulting to high incidents of vehicular crashes on American roads. CDC(49) notes that most of the contributing factors include complexity of driving especially to the young drivers, increasing tendency of driving at high speeds in addition to the less inclination to use safety belts than adult drivers drive. Researchers have attributed immature behavioral traits of the teenagers to the increasing road carnage. According to Gravelle (83) the teenage brain is very vulnerable to external disruptions especially at 15 to 16 years stage. Although experts contend that, the reasoning of teenagers in this group is equivalent to that of adults, their young minds is very prone to external interference or influence. According to Gravelle (88) the emotional and social development of young teens is relatively immature. Therefore, their mindset is more inclined to getting immediate physical sensation than at evaluating the risks involved in their undertakings. As a result, teenagers seek thrilling activities aggressively in attempts to satisfy the physical desire. Moreover, the brain of teenagers is highly vulnerable to the influence from peers, and this makes them very prone to distractions that result to losing focus while driving. The front part of the brain that is responsible for logical reasoning, controlling impulses, coordination while doing multiple tasks simultaneously is not yet fully developed (Gravelle 94). The front part of the brain develops fully in the late twenties (Gravelle 107) Proponents supporting 16-year-old drivers argue that teenagers acquire the dangerous driving habits from the parents. However, this allegation fails to take into consideration that teenagers are not yet developed socially and emotionally like adults. Therefore, this makes them prone to making mistakes while driving that their parents would not commit. Although majority of teenagers causes considerable motor accidents, mature and able bodies people are also culpable of the offense. This implies that experience and age alone do not necessarily enhance mental judgment of drivers. In American roads, there are competent teenage drivers, just as there are reckless and adult motorists. Although drunk driving and using drugs are some of the leading causes of accidents, this problem is not limited only to the teenage drivers but the entire society. However, research studies on traffic safety have established that drivers make less traffic offenses as they become older. Whether this is a matter of experience or maturity is debatable, but driving at 16 years is very risky to the driver and other motorists. Conclusion In view of the current social and economic changes, teenagers are increasingly participating in activities that require driving vehicles. Some of these activities include attending school, work and games in distant regions and running other types of errands. Although driving to attend to such duties is more convenient, that using other forms of transport, the federal government should take more concrete measures than the current laws to ensure safety of all road users including teenage drivers. In particular, the government should consider increasing the minimum age for driving to 18 years to ensure that their social and mental development is at a more reasonable level. Teenagers are very vulnerable to external distraction and lack of driving experiences exposes them to greater risks while driving. Although allowing 16 year old to drive enables them to conduct various activities with relative ease, it equally exposes them to road accidents that claims thousands lives annually in addition to causing physical disability. Research has established that at 16 years, the brains of teenagers is not yet fully developed to make sound judgment and conduct multiple tasks while driving. These findings indicate that 16-year-old teens are highly incapable of driving especially in the sophisticated road networks that require total concentration. Work Cited Abdel, Aty. “Exploring The Relationship between Alcohol and the Driver Characteristics in Motor Vehicle Accidents.” Accident Analysis and Prevention, 32(2000): 317- 364. Bowles, S.” More Older Drivers in Car Accidents”. USA Today (2003, July 18-20): 2-4. California department of Motor vehicles.(DMV). “California Teens: Teenage Driver Crash Risk Factors. 2009. 2 July 2011. http://dmv.ca.gov/teenweb/more_btn6/traffic/traffic.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Motor Vehicle Safety: A 20th Century Achievement.” MMWR, 48.18(1999): 207-298. Evans, L. “Anew Traffic Safety Vision for the United States”. American Journal of Public Health, 9(2003): 1367-96. Gravelle, Karen. The Driving Book: Everything New Drivers Need To Know But Do not Know To Ask. Chicago: Walker Books for Young Leaders, 2005. Gregory Tend. “Should 16-Year-Old Drive? Report Says Raising Age Would Save Lives”. Chicago Tribune, 9 September 2008:2. Kenneth, Wade. Safer Roads: A Guide To Road Safety Engineering. New York: Avebury Technical, 1996. Loughry, John. Saving Our Teen Drivers: Using Aviation Safety Skills on the Roadways. Oxford: Seminee Publishing limited, 2005. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). “Alcohol and Highway Safety, 2006. A Review of State Of Knowledge”. Research and Evaluation. 2007. 2 July 2011. From http://www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Research+&+Evaluation Peden, M., et al. World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention. World Health Organization, Geneva, 2004. www.DriveHomeSafe.com www.cdc.gov/ncipc/whd2004 Zasa, S., and Thompson, R. “The Guide to Community Preventive Services: Reducing Injuries To Motor Vehicle Occupants: Systematic Reviews Of Evidence, Recommendations From The Task Force On Community Preventive Services And Expert Commentary. “ American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2.14. (2001): 4-96. Read More