Most adults who drive admit to engaging in distracted driving behaviors, according to a HealthDay poll from November 10-14, 2011. More than 2,800 American adults responded to the poll. Results showed the following statistics:
Approximately 86% of drivers said they ate or drank while driving at some point, and 57% said they do it “sometimes” or “often.”
Over 1/3 of drivers (37%) have sent or received text messages while driving, and 18% said they do it regularly.
Forty-one percent of adult drivers have set or changed a GPS system while driving, and 21% do it “more frequently.”
Many adult drivers (36%) have read a map while driving, and 10% do it “sometimes” or “often.”
One in five drivers have combed or styled his or her hair while driving. One in ten does it regularly.
Have you ever seen a driver putting on makeup? Approximately 14% have done it once, and 7% do it frequently.
About 13% of adult drivers have surfed the Internet while driving.
Results of the poll showed that younger drivers were more likely to engage in distracted driving. Men were more likely to drive while drowsy, drive after drinking, read a map, use a GPS system, and use the Internet.
A large percentage of the people said they know distracted driving is dangerous, but do it anyway.
Adult Driver Cell Phone, Texting, and Car Accident Information
Talking on a cell phone causes nearly 25% of car accidents.
The Essay on Cell Phones Phone Driving Drivers
Cell Phone Regulations are not needed Full commercial use of the cell phone in the United States began in 1983. Today an estimated 80 million people own cell phones and surveys indicated that 85% of these owners use them while driving. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that at any given time during day house 500, 000 passenger vehicles drivers, or 30% of all such drivers ...
One-fifth of experienced adult drivers in the United States send text messages while driving.
A study of dangerous driver behavior released in January 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. found that of 1,200 surveyed drivers, 73 percent talk on cell phones while driving.
The same 2007 survey found that 19 percent of motorists say they text message while driving.
In 2005, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that ten percent of drivers are on hand-held or hands free cell phones at any given hour of the day.
A study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that motorists who use cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
In 2002, the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis calculated that 2,600 people die each year as a result of using cellphones while driving. They estimated that another 330,000 are injured.
According to the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, drivers talking on cell phones are 18 percent slower to react to brake lights. They also take 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked.
An estimated 44 percent of American drivers now have cell phones in their automobiles.
Of cell phone users that were surveyed, 85 percent said they use their phones occasionally when driving, 30 percent use their phones while driving on the highway, and 27 percent use them during half or more of the trips they take.
84 percent of cell phone users stated that they believe using a cell phone while driving increases the risk of being in an accident.
The majority of Americans believe that talking on the phone and texting are two of the most dangerous behaviors that occur behind the wheel. Still, as many as 81% of drivers admit to making phone calls while driving.
The number of crashes and near-crashes linked to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening. Dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening.
Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400 percent increase in time spent with eyes off the road.
No Driving Licenses for People Under 18
The Term Paper on Cell Phone Use While Driving
... conclusion, it is clear that using the cell phone while driving is dangerous. Cell phone use distracts a driver, making him lose his focus on ... the court suspended my license, so to release the suspension off my license I had to attend a driving improvement clinic. In ... to Death: Texts, Phones Kill 16,000: Study.” Sep. 2010. Web. 15 Apr 2013. Halsey, Ashley. “28 Percent of Accidents Involve Talking, ...
Do you know that one of the leading causes of the death of many teenagers is car accidents? “National Teen Driving Statistics” showed that 16-year-old teenagers are three times more likely to die in car accidents than the average of all drivers. In 2002, 40.8 billion dollar was the estimated economic impact of auto accidents involving drivers who are 15-18 years old. The possibility of parents losing control of their children, the immaturity of teenagers, and the history of the teenagers’ accidents and deaths are three main reasons why driving licenses should not be given to people under 18.
First, when adolescents get their driving licenses, parents will not be able to guide them. Most of these children are in high school or in college; they tend to be looking for freedom. As soon as they get their driving licenses, they will have the feeling of being independent and free. This results in more self-confidence than is warranted. Their parents will not have control of their children the way they want. And they will no longer able to guide them the way they want anymore. Matt Sundeen, an attorney and program principal in the transportation program of the National Conference of State Legislatures, reported that “When the children are at the age of 15 or 16, they do not have enough experience in life, and without their parents’ guidance, these young people can easily go in wrong directions; to drugs and alcohol, for example.” For example, Alicia Betancourt, sixteen years old high school girl, got her driving license. Then she started to go out without her parents knowledge. In June, 2008, she got caught with a group of young boys and girls because of being drugs addict.
Second, adolescents generally are not good drivers because they tend to be childish and less mature. An article written by Garry Boulard, an American journalist and biographer, indicates my hypothesis had some truth in it. Boulard states the “inexperienced teenagers are usually more distracted than other drivers and they are less likely to react quickly to the dangers on the road.” Also, young people are known to be adventurous. As soon as they sit behind the wheel, they tend to show off and speed up. This is particularly true of young men. They are prone to take risks. In addition, drivers under the age of 18 distract themselves while driving with various activities, such as messaging, watching videos, and even reading books. Many studies done by Geico, an insurance company, show that drivers between the ages of 15 and 18 are more likely to use the phone while driving than older drivers. Using the cell phone has caused many accidents in the US.
The Essay on Bad Drivers People Driver Driving
People have varying skills when it comes to driving, but many fit into one of two major categories: the good drivers and the bad drivers. Good drivers are courteous on the road, obey the traffic laws, and are not easily distracted while driving. A good driver will wave another motorist by when they both pull up to a four-way stop at the same time. They will not excessively speed, but they will not ...
Finally, the most important point is the high number of accidents and deaths of teenagers because of driving. Statistics have shown that teenagers have a higher chance of accidents. According to American Automobile Association (AAA) studies conducted between 1995 and 2004, crashes that involve 15 to17-year-old drivers took the lives of 30,917 people nationwide. It also showed that during the decade of the 1990s, 63,000 youngsters between the age of 15 and 18 died in traffic crashes. This means that more than 120 children die every week. In 2002, the National Center for Statistics and Analysis reported that 8,278 adolescents were involved in fatal crashes. In 2003 alone, teenagers were involved in an estimated 1.5 million accidents. Those studies show that the number of children who die because of car accidents is increasing.
Opponents of the idea claim that these teenagers are old enough to drive a car to school and do their own activities by themselves. Also, they are no longer considered as children. These criticisms are all valid, but they are only part of the story. After reading the statistics and the reasons, there is no intelligent person who will agree with these criticisms.
In conclusion, there are many reasons why people under 18 years of age shouldn’t get their driving licenses. The possibility of parents losing control over their children, the immaturity of teenagers, and the history of the teenagers’ accidents and deaths are the main reasons. Statistics show that people under 18 are more likely to die than older people. Those accidents could not only kill those teenagers, but also can take the lives of many innocent civilians. Many people’s lives might be in danger by giving those immature people licenses to drive. The government should think about the huge risk of giving these children license to drive.
Why does GDL apply only to teens?
Minnesota teen drivers are overrepresented in traffic crashes due to inexperience, immaturity, distractions, night-time driving, speeding, and seat belt non use. Young drivers tend to overestimate their own driving abilities, and at the same time, underestimate the dangers on the road. Teens are more likely than older drivers to take risks such as speeding, and because they are inexperienced behind the wheel. Teens are much less able to cope with hazardous driving situations.
The Essay on Real Experience for Real Teen Drivers
Young drivers lack experience in driving situations that will occur outside of the mandatory, cookie cutter training they complete during the time of holding their learners driving licenses. The lack of inexperience plays a major role in teen car accident fatalities and injuries. Whitelegg (1987) has shown “The United States alone is in running of about 50,000 deaths a year from teen-driving ...
In-vehicle distractions, especially teen passengers, can increase the risk of crash by distracting the driver and by creating peer pressure to take more risks behind the wheel.
***Should the age to receive a driver’s license be raised and, if not, should graduated licensing be instituted? This is a growing question across America as well as other countries around our globe. The percentage of teenage accidents involving automobiles is on a constant rise. Whether caused by the lack of experience or under the influence of alcohol, death has become all too common among teen motorists. This problem is not going to go away by itself; action needs to be taken. The state must raise the age requirement to receive a license or institute graduated licensing because teens are not mature enough to handle the dangerous responsibilities of driving.
We allow teens to get their licenses at an earlier age than in most countries, and little driving experience typically is required before licenses are issued. This is not very smart on our part considering that according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 16 year olds have the highest percentage of crashes-involving speeding, the highest percentage of single vehicle crashes, the highest percentage of crashes with driver error, and the highest vehicle occupancy (NHTSA ).
Compared with older drivers, teenagers as a group are more willing to take risks and less likely to use safety belts. Many experts blame the young teens immaturity, impulsiveness, and lack of proper training and experience as contributing factors to the high rate of teen involved accidents. Teens don’t need to be victims of there driving inexperience. During 1975-96 the death rate among 16 year-old drivers was trending upward. The rate increased from 19 per 100,000 in 1975 to 35 per 100,000 in 1996, and this increase occurred in both males and females. The number of 16 year old driver deaths increased about 50 percent during 1975-96 (from 362 to 547 annually) while deaths among 17-19 year olds declined 27 percent (CNN ).
The Essay on Teen Driving Safety
... teen driving reports show that any of these laws are being broken, such as speeding or not wearing their seat belt, the driver ... 24 months of receiving a drivers’ license. ” (Becerra, 2012). There are many aspects that put teen drivers’ at risk. Inexperience and poor ... Permit stage and includes the driver to be at least sixteen years of age, completion of basic driver training, thirty to fifty ...
“ Any way you look at it, 16 year-old drivers represent a growing problem,” adds Allen Williams, senior vice president of the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (CNN).
Accidents that involve 16 year-old drivers are not like those involving older drivers. For one thing, 16 year-old get in trouble trying to handle unusual driving situations, even small emergencies. More often than when older people drive, such situation turn into disasters. Eighty-two percent of all 16 year old-drivers in fatal crashes during 1996 made at least one driving error that contributed to the crash. This compares with 68 percent of drivers 17-19 years old and 52 percent of drivers 25-49 years old (CNN).
Training and educating programs can help teens learn driving skills, but these programs do not produce safer drivers. The only thing that’s taught in driver education is how to drive legally and not responsibly. It’s often not poor skills that cause the crashes in the first place. Its teenagers’ attitudes. A vast majority of teens are thrill seekers, thinking they are bullet proof and invincible. “Thus the potential for death and destruction is great”(Grant14).
Teens naturally tend to rebel against adult standards and regulations. Peer pressure influences teenagers much more than advice given by an adult. Today’s teachers have either forgotten or they ignore the fact that 16 year-old drivers show off as soon as they get in the car with their friends. Teen passengers can be a big distraction encouraging the driver to tailgate or pass inappropriately, increasing the chance of a crash.
Raising the age to receive your driver license would be a giant leap in the direction of reducing the number of accidents, not to mention fatalities caused by immature teenage drivers. “The percentage of accidents involving teenagers drops each year form age 16 to 19”(CNN).
The only sure way to lower teenage involved accidents, not to mention fatalities, is to raise the legal driving age. Teens are restricted from voting and purchasing tobacco until they reach the age of 18 years old and teens are not aloud to purchase alcohol in the United States until they are 21 years old. These restrictions are mandated because Americans reason that teens are not mature enough to make responsible decisions. Shouldn’t this reasoning apply also to driving a one ton automobile 60 and 70 miles an hour plus down a highway? Sixteen-year-old teens need time to mature before driving a loaded gun down our neighborhoods.
The Essay on Drunk Teen Drivers Drinking Age
Teenagers Drinking Issues The drinking age is fine, if anything is should get raised. It is hard to ignore the fact that this law is broken everyday. It's the 21 st century all teens just want to fit in. Kids are drinking at a much younger age. Now, even 10 year olds and 11 year olds are trying to fit in with us older kids. It's amazing and sometimes funny what kids will do just to fit in with the ...
Teenagers are not only inexperienced drivers, they’re inexperienced drinkers too. And when adding the two together it makes a deadly combination. “Drinking and driving is the most often committed violent crime in the nation and a significant cause of death among our youth”(Golden 106).
One strategy to deter teenagers from drinking and driving is the Zero Tolerance Law, also know as the “ Use it and loose” law. This law takes away the privilege of driving from anyone under the age of 21 caught drinking and driving. Parents can play a major role in reducing teen drinking and driving by offering a way out. They can sit down with their teenager and discuss with them the option of calling home for a ride when they or whoever else in the group driving has been drinking. The parent must do his or her part though, by promising to not discuss the matter until everyone has calmed down. If Ryan Sanders would have called home for a ride he would still be alive today. Ryan was only 18 and he had his whole life ahead of him. He had plans of going to school at University of Texas and was exited about it. But, one night he had been drinking and decided to drive himself home. On his way home Ryan missed judged a turn and rolled his mustang into a ditch. He was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown threw the window killing him instantly. Police said that if he would have been wearing his seat belt that he might have survived. Ryan was a friend of mine; we would have graduated from high school together.
What can parents do? As a parent, one of the most important things you can do for your teenage driver is to spend as much time as possible helping them to mature behind the wheel. Parents should discourage the teen from allowing friends to ride along in the car with them or limit the number aloud to ride until they have had enough supervised practice. Insist that they are to wear seat belts at all times. Limit your teen’s driving during high-risk times of the day and limit the area a teen can drive. Set curfews for your teen and encourage your teen to use good judgement. Parents can also use 4MYTEEN, a teen driver’s monitoring service. Designed by Officer Tom H. Deats of the Arlington Police Department, this tactic uses a bumper sticker which reads “HOW’S MY DRIVING—CALL 1 800-4MY-TEEN”, and is placed on the car that the teenager uses. This encourages other motorist and pedestrians to call the number and report how the teen is driving, good and bad. “Teens who complete an entire year with 3 or less complaints are eligible to compete for a scholarship, which can be applied toward the teen’s college education(4MYTEEN ).”
Another program that has recently been introduced to the United States is “Graduated Licensing”. This program is doing extremely well and has had a positive effect on teen driving. Graduated Licensing is a conditional or intermediate license given to teens between a learner’s permit and a regular license. “This system was designed to introduce beginning drivers to progressively more extreme driving conditions (nhtsa).” Graduated licensing has firm restrictions and laws that must be followed by the new driver. Including six months of crash free and conviction free driving, a zero tolerance for blood alcohol concentration, and no driving between midnight and 6 a.m. without authorization . The hours between 9 p.m. to 6a.m are the most common time for accidents involving teenagers, “accounting for forty-one percent of teenage automobile accidents in 1997(CNN).” The program also uses color code licenses and a mandatory successful completion of a driver education course. Some violations can be waived depending on the circumstances if the teen writes a 3 thousand word essay on safe driving. “There are three stages in graduated licensing: a supervised learners period; an intermediate license (after passing the driver test) limiting unsupervised driving in high risk situations, and a full privilege driver’s license given only after the first two stages are completed” (NHTSA).
The NCUTLO (The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Laws and Ordinances) model law calls for a minimum of six months in the learner stage and a minimum of six months in the intermediate stage with night driving restrictions. A new driver also has restrictions on the amount of passengers allowed at a given time and the beginning driver must drive a minimum number of hours before they can receive their license. All beginners need time to sharpen their skills and this program gives just that. Driving is a skill that is harder to acquire than most teens think and they cannot learn how to drive overnight. It takes time to mature into a responsible decision-maker.
Today’s teens seem to lack the maturity and responsibility needed to safely operate an automobile. Most teens say that the system is not fair because it keeps teenagers from obtaining a license. It is easy to appreciate why teens feel this way, until you consider the statistics. They show over 6000 teens, aged 15 to 20, died in car collisions last year (nhsta).
Risk taking is at an all time high and when teens take the time to gain more experience behind the wheel chances are they will have a healthier future. The state does grant waivers for teens needing to get to work or school activities during restricted times. Teens driving to work are less likely to have young passengers causing all kinds of distractions riding with them. Parents enjoy this program because it gives them piece of mind that their aggressive driving teen will not be on the road during high risk hours. Parents also enjoy not having to fight with their teen over when to have the car in because the state sets the curfew and it is the law. There are always the parents though, who do not care and cannot wait to stop chauffeuring around their teens so they lie by signing papers stating that their teen has completed the minimum amount of supervised hours in a car. States that participate in programs such as this have found that the benefits exceedingly outweigh all cost. One state that has seen drastic improvements is Oregon. “In Oregon, administrative cost were estimated at $150 thousand and the benefits were estimated at almost $11 million making the benefit to cost ratio better than 74 to 1”(nhsta).
“License to Learn” is another similar program that is advocated by AAA. License to learn also uses three stages. Teens can be issued a learner’s permit after passing a vision and a knowledge test. Once the teen has received the permit, driving is legal if accompanied by someone of at least 21 years of age and can not carry any other teens as passengers. The teen would be limited to daytime driving only as well as take a driver education class. Parents are required to be a part of and even give some of the training. If the teen completes six months without a violation or accident then the teen is eligible for an intermediate license. The teen then would be allowed to drive at night with supervision of someone age 21 or over and an advanced driving course must be taken. Again, parents would be expected to help with some participation and no more than two additional teens could ride along as passengers in the vehicle. When the teen turns 18 a full license could be obtained if the driver has completed at least 12 months with an intermediate license and has no accidents or violations (Vehicle choice).
Driving is a privilege, and should be treated as such. Too many people treat driving like a constitutionally protected right; driving is too serious an activity to be placed in the hands of teenagers who do not know what they are doing, regardless of how much training teens may receive. Raising the required age to receive a driver license or instituting graduated licensing is a must if the United States wants to save the lives of teenagers. This would also lower the number of teen involve accidents that occur every day. Driving is a huge responsibility for persons of any age and the choices that are made by teen drivers could make the teen years the best of times or the worst of times.
What factors put teen drivers at risk?
Teens are more likely than older drivers to underestimate dangerous situations or not be able to recognize hazardous situations.7
Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and allow shorter headways (the distance from the front of one vehicle to the front of the next).
The presence of male teenage passengers increases the likelihood of this risky driving behavior.8
Among male drivers between 15 and 20 years of age who were involved in fatal crashes in 2010, 39% were speeding at the time of the crash9 and 25% had been drinking.10
Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use. In 2011, only 54% of high school students reported they always wear seat belts when riding with someone else.11
Compared with other age groups, teens have the lowest rate of seat belt use.
At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of involvement in a motor vehicle crash is greater for teens than for older drivers.12
In 2010, 22% of drivers aged 15 to 20 involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes were drinking.10
In a national survey conducted in 2011, 24% of teens reported that, within the previous month, they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol and 8% reported having driven after drinking alcohol within the same one-month period.13
In 2010, 56% of drivers aged 15 to 20 were killed in motor vehicle crashes after drinking and driving were not wearing a seat belt.10
In 2010, half of teen deaths from motor vehicle crashes occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight and 55% occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.2
How can deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving teen drivers be prevented?
There are proven methods to helping teens become safer drivers. Research suggests that the most comprehensive graduated drivers licensing (GDL) programs are associated with reductions of 38% and 40% in fatal and injury crashes, respectively, among 16-year-old drivers.14
Graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems are designed to delay full licensure while allowing teens to get their initial driving experience under low-risk conditions.
When parents know their state’s GDL laws, they can help enforce the laws and, in effect, help keep their teen drivers safe.
