Underage Driving

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how car accidents can be deadlier or equally damaging as gang violence, suicide, or drugs and alcohol and how, every year, thousands of teens die all over the world from motor vehicle crashes alone. It looks at how teenage drivers today are responsible for about five times as many fatal crashes per license holder as are drivers between the ages of thirty-five and sixty-four, and how, in many cases, carelessness, lack of experience, and poor decision making are the most likely contributing factors. It examines how teenagers are more at risk because of delinquency, irresponsibility, and peer pressure, and attempts to identify what measures can be taken to prevent these fatal accidents from occurring.

From the Paper:

"There appear to be several reasons or factors that can help explain the high teen crash rate: exposure, immaturity and risk taking behaviors, and lack of driving experience. Exposure, in this case, pertains to the time of day teens are on the roadways. (Mayhew DR, Simpson HM. New to the road: young drivers and novice drivers: similar problems and solutions' Ottawa (ON): Traffic Injury Research Foundation of Canada; 1990.) Teenage drivers do a greater proportion of their driving at night and on the weekends when the risks of crashing are the highest. Forty-five percent of all teenage motor vehicle deaths occur on weekends and 43% of all teenage motor vehicle deaths occur between 9 PM and 6 AM. Immaturity and risk taking behaviors of young drivers are also key factors in their involvement in motor vehicle crashes."

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