Teen Drivers: A Sociological Issue
The issue of teen drivers is very important because thousands of teens die every year as a result of automobile crashes, so many, in fact, that they are the leading cause of death for American teenagers. In the last decade, over 68,000 teens have died in car crashes.(1) Even though this age group makes up only seven percent of the driving population, they are involved in 14 percent of all traffic fatalities. On the basis pf miles driven, teenagers are involved in three times as many fatal crashes as are all drivers. Why do young drivers have such poor driving performance? Three factors work together to make the teen years so deadly for young drivers. These factors are: All young drivers start out with little knowledge or understanding of the complexities of driving a motor vehicle. Learning to driver, like any other skill, takes a lot of time and effort. Technical ability, good judgement, and experience are all needed to properly make the continuous decisions, both small and large, that add up to safe driving.
More teenage fatal crashes involve speeding or going too fast for road conditions There are three stages to the graduated driver licensing program. These three steps are: Increased time in supervised, behing-the-wheel training during daylight and nighttime hours Education in basic and advanced driving skills and safety knowledge Practice in developing driving skills over an extended period of time, leading to greater experience, maturity, and judgement Effective remedies exist for controlling these risk factors and reducing traffic crash fatalities amoung novice drivers without seriously enroaching on their need to get around. One method of doing this is the traditional driver licensing system. In this method, an individual applies to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) or other licensing agency for a driver's license. He or she must usually pass a written knowledge test and a vision test before scheduling an on-the-road test with the license examiner. New drivers must demonstrate basic driving skills in a road test. In 35 states, a learner's permit is required for novice drivers. Teenagers under the age of 18 must have their parent's permission to apply for a learner's permit. These Learner's Permits, commonly referred to as "Permits", expire somewhere between 60 days and six years. The only state in which they do not expire is Virginia. Most states place only minimal limitations on driving with a learner's permit. Only 19 of the 35 states have any limit on nighttime driving. Regarding the traditional licensing system, most highway safety experts agree that "...it is too easy to get a driver's license on this country." Driving a motor vehicleis dangerous, but the requirements and testing are minimal.(2)
Some common words found in the essay are:
North Carolina, Driver Licensing, Inexperience Risk-taking, Drivers Issue, Exposure Teens, Learner's Permits, Motor Vehicles, System Effective, Intermediate License, Learner's Permit, driver licensing, graduated driver licensing, graduated driver, learner's permit, licensing system, driving skills, teen drivers, fatal crashes, north carolina, safe driving, risk exposure, driver licensing system, drunk driving national, north carolina driver, driver licensing method,
Approximate Word count = 1234
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|