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America's Teen Car Crash Epidemic

Posted by: Nate Berg
Thanks to: Streetsblog
13 December 2007 - 11:00am

Automobile crashes are the number one killer of teenagers in the United States, with nearly 6,000 deaths a year for the past decade, and more than 300,000 injuries annually.

"New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and localities including Westchester have enacted restrictions on teen driving, with mixed results. Oddly -- or perhaps not -- for all the anguish, there is little discussion about the fact that driving is a voluntary activity, particularly for school-age children."

Full Story: Driving: Teenage America’s Deadliest Preventable Epidemic
Source: Streetsblog, December 12, 2007
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Safety measures

Submitted by freeyoke on Fri, 12/14/2007 - 11:10.

"Oddly -- or perhaps not -- for all the anguish expressed in these articles, there is little discussion about the fact that driving is a voluntary activity, particularly for school-age children."

Presumably the audience for this message is New York City but in most part of the country, the car isn't a luxury but a necessity. In any case, kids will eventually be adults behind the wheel so they need experience driving.

"Writer Gerri Hirshey's son, for example, accumulated a number of citations shortly after getting his license, though she exposed him to daily newspaper accounts of teen crashes. Despite his record so far behind the wheel, he still drives himself and his 15-year-old sister to school, "aided by four-wheel drive, seat belts, lectures, prayers" and "the morning's maternal cliché -- be careful, go slowly, pay attention."

So a writer's solution to her teenager's causing accidents is to read newspaper stories about teen accidents? Wrong answer. She should have gotten the message when her son started accumulating citations but no. Driving a four-wheel drive vehicle in NYC isn't necessary either. Revoke the kid's right to drive unsupervised. Why didn't the article stress seatbelt use, the role of drinking and driving for teens, not talking on cell phones while driving. . .? An abstinence only policy for teens (driving) isn't the solution because they do it anyway.

The Necessity of Driving

Submitted by Matthew Lyons on Fri, 12/14/2007 - 11:48.

"Presumably the audience for this message is New York City but in most part of the country, the car isn't a luxury but a necessity. In any case, kids will eventually be adults behind the wheel so they need experience driving."

No driving at age 16 is not a necessity, though our poorly planned built environment reinforces this perception, hence it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. I didn't learn to drive until I was 18 and didn't start driving until the age of 20 when I obtained my first automobile. I have an impeccable driving record, while most of my friends that started
driving at 16 have multiple accidents, moving violations and perhaps a more serious offense such as a DUI under their belts. Based on such anecdotal evidence and the statistics presented in this article, I'd say the whole "kids will eventually be adults behind the wheel so they need experience" argument is likely a fallacy.

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