[AndyBarbee-GFN]

The following is the research paper that goes with this article. It has some very interesting statistics about teen driving.



The Dangers of Teenage Driving
Teenagers and other inexperienced drivers pose a great danger to both themselves and others on the road; therefore the improvement of teenagers’ driving is extremely important. “Teenage drivers have the highest crash risk of any age group,” and “per mile traveled they have the highest involvement rates in motor vehicle crashes” (IIHS “Beginning Teenage Drivers” 2). Fifteen to twenty year olds make up 7% of licensed drivers, 14% of fatalities and 20% of all reported collisions. In 2004, over 7,386 people were killed in crashes involving young drivers ages sixteen to twenty (Teen Driving Foundation); from 1994 to 2003, 57,142 teenagers were killed in motor vehicle crashes (Allstate “The Facts”). Dr. Jeffery Runge MD, a former director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, noted, “If this was a disease that was wiping out our teenagers at the rate of thousands per year, there would be no end to what we would do as a society to stop that” (Teen Driving Foundation).
Though inexperience is a huge obstacle for teens’ safe driving, a lack of maturity and responsibility in these young drivers cements their image as dangerous. Wearing a seatbelt in a motor vehicle crash can reduce the risk of fatality by 45%, but teens have the lowest seatbelt use out of all age groups (Allstate “The Facts”). In addition, the number of vehicle crash related deaths for teens tends to spike on holidays and special occasions (such as Prom night). On New Years, an average of twenty-three teens die in crashes every year and twenty-eight die on July 4th (All State “The Facts”). In 2001 alone, the estimated economic cost of police reported crashes involving drivers between fifteen and twenty years old was $42.3 billion (Teen Driving Foundation). In a personal interview, Jay M. Robinson High School’s Student Resource Officer, Officer Tracy Blalock states that she has written about ten accident reports this year for car crashes on the high school’s campus. She also said that many of the traffic officers have commented to her on the increased amount of speeding and reckless driving around Robinson, particularly when school is about to start, or immediately after the school day ends. Overall, the majority of teenage motor vehicle crashes are a result of driver errors caused by general inexperience. Some critical factors include lack of speed management and control, distraction by passengers, driving at nighttime, and intoxication.
A 2005 survey of 1000 teenagers, ages fifteen to seventeen, revealed that “55% of teenagers admit to exceeding the speed limit by more than ten miles per hour, and 17% of those surveyed stated that they thought speeding was fun. Furthermore, 69% say that they speed to keep up with traffic and 64% admit to consistently speeding up to go through yellow lights” (Allstate “The Facts”). Not only is speeding illegal, but it is also responsible for 34% of fatal car crashes involving sixteen year olds, and 33% of those for teens ages seventeen to nineteen. Single car crashes usually transpire when the driver is speeding considerably and as a result, loses control. (IIHS “Beginning Teenage Drivers” 2)
One of the most common mistakes that Officer Blalock sees teens making when driving is not paying attention to the road. She says that this lack of attention is often a result of “cutting up with friends” and other passengers in the car. When it comes to young drivers, the risk of a fatal crash increases with every additional passenger. Twenty-nine percent of fatal accidents involving sixteen year olds were a result of having too many passengers, and twenty-three percent of crashes for seventeen to nineteen year olds (IIHS “Beginning Teenage Drivers” 2).
The percent of fatal crashes that are caused by intoxicated teenagers is actually lower than the rates of those by adults (IIHS “Beginning Teenage Drivers” 2). It is still, however, a pressing issue in both safety and responsibility. 23% of teen drivers who were killed, in driving fatalities in 2005, were intoxicated (Allstate “The Facts”).
The use of cell phones is quite possibly the most prominent threat to safe teenage driving. When talking on a cell phone, a driver is four times more likely to crash than when focusing on the road. In addition, using the phone slows the average person’s reaction time to that of a seventy year old. Fifty-six percent of young drivers use their cell phone while driving and thirteen percent send and respond to text messages (Allstate “The Facts”).
Many people would assume that driving drunk is much more dangerous than driving while on the cell phone. But, last year, the Discovery Channel television show Mythbusters, took on the myth, “Is driving and chatting [on a cell phone] just as dangerous as driving under the influence?” To test the validity of the myth, two of the show’s hosts, Adam Savage and Kari Byron, preformed an experiment. First, they both took a controlled road course. Then they took the course again, this time having a conversation on a cell phone. Finally, after consuming enough alcohol to be slightly under the legal limit, Adam and Kari drove the course a third time, legally drunk. Each time the hosts drove the course, they were scored by a driving expert. According to the expert, Savage and Byron not only failed the drunk driving test, but they also failed the cell phone test by an even larger margin. By analyzing the results of both driving tests, they determined that using a cell phone while driving was potentially as dangerous as driving drunk, ergo proving the myth to be true (Mythbusters).
Throughout the country, states are taking the first steps to stop the use of cell phones while driving. California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah, and the District of Columbia all have a jurisdiction-wide ban on driving while talking on a hand-held cellular phone. Localities can ban cell phones in six states. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have outlawed talking on a cell phone while driving a school bus. Most significantly, seventeen states and the District of Columbia have outlawed the use of cell phones for young drivers in graduated licensing programs (IIHS “Cellphone Laws”). In North Carolina, cell phone use is prohibited to drivers under eighteen, except in the event of an emergency or calls to parents.
In a personal interview, Carl Kircher, head of the Richard Petty Driving Experience Teen Safe Driver Program stated, “Skill levels are high in beginning students I think, but their experience level is very low. While basic skill is all that is required to do the most beginning of tasks such as staying on the road and in your lane, experience is the key to understanding the consequences of a bad decision, and the effects of an unexpected happening.” In effort to prevent dangerous teenage driving, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, along with 43 other states and the District of Columbia, have recently developed a Graduated Licensing Program for new drivers (NCS). Officer Blalock considers North Carolina’s licensing program a good idea because it gives young drivers experience under supervision instead of “cutting them loose all at once.” The Graduated Licensing is divided into three sections, the Learner’s Permit, the Provisional License (Intermediate), and the final unrestricted license (NSC).
The first stage of North Carolina’s graduated license is the Limited Learner’s Permit. This permit is obtained when a driver turns fifteen and completes driver’s education. This learner’s permit incorporates parents and other responsible drivers in the training of new drivers. For at least one year, the level one driver must be supervised by an experienced driver who has been licensed for over five years. For the first six months, permit holders may only drive during the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm with their supervising driver in the passenger seat. For the second six months the new driver may drive at any time, but must still have an experienced driver in the car with them (NCDOT). This learner’s permit is especially critical because crash rates are at their highest for the first six months or thousand miles that a teen drives (NSC). In addition, the regulation against nighttime driving is important because it is a very risky time for beginners. The nighttime fatal crash rate for sixteen year olds is about twice as high as it is during the daytime (IIHS “Beginning Teenage Drivers”). In 2003, forty-one percent of teenage fatal crashes occurred between the hours of nine at night and six in the morning (Teen Driving Foundation).
After turning sixteen, completing the twelve months of the Limited Learner’s Permit, and passing a DMV road test, young drivers may receive their Limited Provisional License. The limited provisional license allows young drivers to drive alone, without an experienced driver’s supervision. However, with the Limited Provisional License, drivers may not operate a motor vehicle between 9:00pm and 5:00am. In addition, only one passenger under the age of twenty-one is allowed in the car, excluding family members (NCDOT).
Before moving on to the third stage and full license, a level two driver must have a Limited Provisional License for six months and have no citations, moving violations, seatbelt convictions or cell phone violations. Finally, after completing levels one and two, a young driver may graduate to the third level and receive his/her Full Provisional License. Under this license, unsupervised driving is allowed without passenger or time restrictions. However, the use of a cell phone is banned until the driver turns eighteen, and there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving (NCDOT). Officer Blalock suggested that the only additional stipulation that she would add to North Carolina’s Graduated Licensing Program is the continued restriction of passengers, even after a new driver receives a Full Provisional License. She recommended that this restriction be in place until the age of eighteen, when drivers are more mature and have had three years of driving experience.
Over all, graduated licensing programs are making improvements for teenage driving. In 2005, fatal crashes involving 15 to 20 year olds were 6.5% lower than the 7,979 crashes in 1995. In addition, 2005 had the lowest crash rates than the ten years prior (RMIIA).
The Graduated Drivers Licensing Program relies on the support, supervision, and dedication of parents and guardians to help prepare young drivers. Therefore it is important for adults to set a good example for teenagers. In fact, “89% of teens say that their parents are influential in encouraging safe driving. Three out of four teens say that their parents would be the best influence in getting them to drive more safely” (Allstate “Talk to Your Teen”).
“Sixteen to nineteen year olds have a fatality rate four times higher than the rate of those ages twenty-five to sixty-nine and based on current population trends, there will be 23% more sixteen to twenty year old drivers on the road in 2010” (Teen Driving Foundation 1). This increase in young drivers, inexperience and reckless driving, has the potential to place thousands of lives into jeopardy. Perhaps adults could effectively learn to use their power of influence on their teens and young drivers. The enrollment of teens in supplementary driving courses, especially those who are skill and experience based, is also extremely beneficial. Mr. Kircher mentioned that Swedish studies show that advanced car control skill type schools might decrease crash statistics by as much as 50%. In a personal interview, Joe Foster, head instructor at the Skip Barber Two Day Teen Advanced Driving School, explained what and how the course teaches young drivers. Foster explains that, during the two days of the class, teens are taught vehicle control and how to manage a vehicle when reaches its limits. They receive hands-on experience in car control skills, driving a manual transition, and accident avoidance while driving new Mazda RX8s, MX5s and Mazda 3s. Braking, Lane Change, and Off Road Recovery exercises help students learn how to properly react to a situation without panicking. Exercises at the autocross course and the slalom give teens practice on “looking ahead” which is important in accident avoidance and, according to Mr. Foster, is the biggest problem he sees in teen driving.
During the interview, Foster pointed out, “I always find it interesting that parents are willing to buy their kids $30,000 cars but aren’t willing to pay the extra $1000 for a driving course that will prevent the car from being wreck and their kid from being hurt.” It is essential for parents to have an active interest in their children’s progress in order to improve teen driving skills. Eventually, through the combined influence of parents, the graduated licensing program, additional driving schools, and police, America’s roads can become safer for all those who use them.



Works Cited

Beginning Teenage Drivers. 2007. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. 8 October 2007.

Blalock, Tracy. Personal Interview. 11 October 2007.

Cellphone Laws. 2007. Insurance Institute for Highway Safely. 11 October 2007.

Driving Statistics. 2004. Sean Mullsteff Teen Driving Foundation. 8 October 2007.

Foster, Joe. Personal Interview. 28 October 2007.

“Killer Brace Position.” Mythbusters. Discovery Channel. 22 June 2005.

Kircher, Carl. Personal Interview. 31 October 2007.

License Eligibility/Requirements. 2007. North Carolina Division of Transportation.

Talking to Your Teen. 2007. Allstate Insurance. 9 October 2007.

The Facts. 2007. Allstate Insurance. 11 October 2007.

National Teen Driving Statistics. 2007. Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association. >www.rmiia.org/Auto/teens/Teen_Driving_Statistics.htm>

Young Drivers. 2005. National Safety Council. 8 October 2007.