Teens behind the wheel are more likely to cause accidents due to lack of experience and knowledge of how dangerous the road can be. It's sad to think that 50% of teens will be involved in a car accident before they even graduate high school. How will it happen? Just a late night drive or driving home from prom, maybe even an accident not caused by the new driver, but an experienced one. These catastrophes don't only affect the people incarcerated, but it affects families and loved ones, and it warns drivers involved to be more careful because a car is not just a big bumper car or a race car; It's a responsibility.
Teen accidents are most likely due to an inexperience in driving, but teens are also exposed to all kinds of distracted driving. Texting or calling on a cell phone, applying makeup, eating, even something as simple as listening to music or talking to the passenger is distracting for someone new on the road. Everything I listed sounds pretty stupid, but being a permitted driver or a licensed driver is nerve wracking! Not only are you held responsible for your own life, but you are responsible for everyone else's life in the car and everyone's life around you. According to studies, teenagers are more accident prone because they have less experience driving, and they have yet to recognize a dangerous situation than drivers who have more experience driving.
About 23% of teen drivers who have died in car accidents had a blood alcohol content over .08%, which means they were legally intoxicated. According to statistics, about 10% of teenage drivers don't even wear seat belts while driving. Teenagers tend to be more careless behind the wheel because we spend years in the passengers seat watching our parents drive. They just make it look so easy, so we think it is that easy because they have had a lot more experience than us. Teenagers also have a lot less experience driving at night, which is when more accidents among teens tend to occur. Teenagers are also unaware of the hazards of driving in different weather conditions. It can take a while to know what your car is capable of and what conditions your vehicle will still be okay to operate under. Even the most experienced drivers tend to have fender-benders once in a while. The same way it takes a while to know the size of your car, it takes a while to know your car in general.
Everyone has that one accident that has the power to change their life and make them more aware of why it's important to be more careful driving. For me, I crashed into a pole at my high school and all the other kids who pulled in while I was waiting for the police to arrive stared at me. Also, for my brother, he slid on black ice and his car flipped over into a ditch. No matter how minor or major the accident may be, a lesson is always learned by the casualties that come with handling a license.
