Why Teens Get Into Fatal Accidents at Ages 15-17

Many teens are interested in being able to drive at a younger age, but it is still unclear if they are able to handle it. If the legal driving age is lowered, are we endangering the lives of teen drivers, as well as the passengers with them? Most teenagers don’t think so and want to drive as soon as they can. However, the government recently has been trying to pass laws that may change the current driving age of sixteen to eighteen. Others believe driving is a privilege that all sixteen year-olds anticipate as teenagers. Raising the driving age to eighteen would deny teens that much awaited responsibility. Thus, the driving age should be raised to eighteen because teens are unprepared, emotionally unstable, and the fatalities to them will be reduced.

To begin with, teen drivers are involved in an alarming number of crashes because they are unprepared. Which leads to the many deaths among adolescents today. It has been known that sixteen-year-olds are more likely to be involved in heavy car crashes. This may be explained in part by teens making the wrong judgements and impulsive behaviors. These misjudgements can lead to the cause of death among other innocent people. Fifteen to seventeen year olds still lack the judgment and the experience needed to evaluate situations fast, especially in times of peer pressure; which often makes them take wrong decisions while driving. Many of these teenagers have either died or been injured in a car accident. Yet, one third of these deaths are most likely to involve pedestrians or people in other vehicles. Proving that new teens drivers behind the wheel, who are younger than eighteen; are at significant risk on the road not only for themselves, but also for others.

In addition, teens at the age of sixteen are usually very emotional and unstable in their moods. While driving they can play loud music, talk on the phone with friends or even cry believing they have many problems in their lives that can’t be solved. At this stage of their lives they usually have many friends, go to their first real parties and have their first attempts at using drugs and alcohol. Teenagers show off in front of their friends how powerful and fast their parents’ cars are leading to fatal crashes, killing not only themselves, but also endangering the lives of other people on the road. Teens are not afraid or even thinking of the terrible consequences from a potential car crash. Most teenagers have not had a chance to witness a car accident thus, giving them the potential thought that this terrible would never happen to them. This sad exhibition would probably convince some adolescents to be more careful, but its doubtful that the effect for most of them will be long lasting. Without thinking for too long about what