Why is the auto accident rate higher for teenagers than for all drivers? (Essay Sample)

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Why is the auto accident rate higher for teenagers than for all drivers?
Adolescence is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood. Numerous crisis and numerous experimentations as the young person searches for an identity characterize the period of adolescence. With a lack of proper guidance, these experimentations have drastic consequences. Driving is one area that adolescents familiarize with during the period. The relationship between age and driving has been a concern for road usage policymakers for a long time. Drivers that are too young (adolescents) and drivers that are too old cause most accidents. Adolescents are responsible for the highest numbers of accidents due to their low perception of risk and irrational decision-making. Slow decision-making and slower reflexes on the other hand affect old people and account for most accidents involving the elderly. In the United States of America, the number of fatalities because of adolescent accidents in the year 2008 was 6,428 people (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics).
Most these people were in other vehicles or passengers of the accident causing adolescents. The states of Florida and California recorded the highest numbers of accidents involving adolescents in the year 2008 at 516 and 593 respectively. Of these people, 2793 people were the young drivers, the rest either their passengers or outside parties involved in the accident (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). Clearly, there is need for action to bring these numbers down. However, to improve the statistics, it is important to understand young drivers and the factors that lead to their involvement in road accidents.
Poor hazard detection
Owing to their inexperience in the roads, young people have low abilities to detect hazards, such as slippery roads (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). This makes them vulnerable and in some cases results in accidents. For example, the case of slippery roads, due to rain or any other factor reduces friction between the tires and the roads and between the brakes and the wheels. This results in brake failure that in turn leads to accidents and loss of life. Loss of friction between the road and the tires also results to loss of control of the car, change of direction at relatively normal speeds may result in skidding and consequently an accident. Failure of perception of this risk by adolescents therefore results in road accidents. Adolescent egocentrism also leads to poor hazard detection. Adolescents have naïve idealism, which leads to perception of things, as they would be in an ideal world. For example, an adolescent is likely to ignore the driving of another driver on the road because he or she feels that he or she will be fine if he or she drives well, regardless of other drivers. This exposes them to further risks because twice as many people die from accidents that they did not cause directly (the above statistics demonstrates this).
Low risk perception
Risk perception entails assessing hazards and adjusting to them based on ones ability to deal with hazards (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). Young people over rate their driving abilities. Adolescents are more likely to ignore a risk because they feel they can “handle it” than older, more experienced drivers. For example, an adolescent may ignore the pressure of their tires because they feel they are able to drive on those tires the way they are. They are not aware of the effect of unbalanced wheels on the stability of the car, especially when using brakes. This poor perception of risk also leads to assumptions, which affects the mental register. The effect is that the young driver is unprepared when the hazard becomes threatening, leading to accidents.
Risk taking
Adolescents are more likely to try new thing than older drivers are (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). For example, tailgating and racing, or attempting to pull stunts such as drifting are all risky driving maneuvers that young drivers engage in, as well as ignoring traffic rules, such as disregarding the traffic lights. They take these risks because of pressure from their peers, the need to prove themselves and impress their peers as well as to “have some fun”. These risks often result in accidents involving the young drivers (Sigelman, et al., 228).
The road conditions are not ideal to support most of the stunts they try to pull. The young drivers also lack the relevant skills to engage in these risks, such as drifting and racing (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). In addition, the cars they drive are not for such acts by design, which stretches abilities of these cars to breaking point, resulting to failure of some systems in the cars and consequently resulting to accidents. Psychologists propose that adolescents are likely to engage in these activities due to adolescent egocentrism. For example, the invincibility fables. Adolescents, according to psychologists, take more risks because they fail to perceive real danger (Sigelman, et al., 227). They exempt themselves from rules of nature and think they are unlikely to die or suffer any real consequence because of their actions. Their need to make an impression, which leads to taking risk, also arises from an adolescent fable, imaginary audience. According to psychologists, adolescents feel that they are constantly under scrutiny from people around them, this leads to them doing things to draw attention (Sigelman, et al., 227). If they knew that no one really cares how they drive, then they would feel that taking risks is unnecessary and they would not take as many risks.
Not wearing seat belts
Seat belts reduce the probability of a fatality incase of an accident. Adolescents are less likely to wear seat belts than older or younger people are. This could be a sign of defiance to their parents or they do not wear the seatbelts because of their restraining effects (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). Adolescents are very active, and because the seat belts restrict their body movement, they refrain from wearing them. The reason could also be a perception. They perceive wearing seatbelts as “un cool” and therefore refrain from wearing them (Sigelman, et al., 227). The reason why they do not wear seatbelts, whether they are driving or they are passengers is not clear. What is certain is that few adolescents wear seat belts and it results in more fatalities in the event that an accident occurs.
Lack of skills
Most young drivers are ‘learners’. They lack the skills relevant to have proper control of a car and they are therefore more susceptible to road accidents (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). Driving is not all about balancing the clutch and the accelerator, or learning the rules. It is a life long experience enhanced by experience and knowledge about the inner workings of a car. For instance, an experienced driver can usually tell when a car develops mechanical problems, even if the problem does not affect the smooth running of the vehicle. They are therefore better suited to perceive risks and deflect them before they occur. Failures of young learners to detect these problems lead to road accidents. Experienced drivers also have the ability to get out of tight situations without panicking. Young drivers on the other hand loose their composure, which leads to erratic decision and this result in accidents.
Alcohol and drugs
Driving under the influence of alcohol, or recreational drugs reduces the perception of danger (Teenage Driver Crash Statistics). Research also shows that drunk drivers experience blurred vision and their reflexes are not as fast as when they are sober. Adolescents are common abusers of drugs, and since it is illegal to drink at their age, they are unable to ask their parents to drive them home. The result is that they have to drive even when they abuse drugs, which increases the probability of accidents involving young drivers. Young people have a natural willingness to take risks and try new things. Addition of drugs amplifies this willingness and results in irrational risks, increasing the probability of accidents. Some drugs also lead to drowsiness. If a driver falls asleep while driving, an accident is certain to occur.