Name: Terri Simone Daniels
From: Lawrenceville, Georgia
Votes: 0
Every
day, six teenagers die in a car accident. Six futures are lost
forever. Twelve parents will never experience the joy of seeing the
person they raised gore up. Unfortunately I have been in a few
accidents as a child. To me it seems that the cause of these
accidents are due to at least one of the drivers not paying
attention. The risk of crashing is extremely high within the first
six months but there are precautions teens can take to protect
themselves and others on the road. First and foremost, driver
education is one of the most important things to know considering
inexperience is one of the main things that caused crashes among
teenagers. Knowing things like traffic signs, blind zones, and speed
limits can help reduce the number of collisions. Another safety
precaution that saves lives is wearing a seatbelt. According to the
CDC, “research shows that seat belts reduce serious crash related
injuries by half.” This is something that takes little time and
focus to do that saves the lived of everyone in the vehicle. Another
step that can be taken to reduce deaths among teens is having less
people in the car. Since young teens haven’t been driving for long,
their inexperience causes them to have slow reaction times, therefore
it’s best to limit the number of people in the car with the driver
in order to reduce the number of distractions. Other distractions
that can be eliminated is the use of phones while driving and the
radio. These are practices that everyone, both teens and adults can
employ in order to be safer on the road. These are also things I will
do in order to keep myself and others safe. Safe driving isn’t just
about yourself. You also share the road with other people. This why
learning how to drive safely is so important. Your unsafe driving
habits could put another person or family in danger. Not only could
you take your own life but the lives of others. Another major cause
of crashes among teens is speeding. According to the CDC’s website,
“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).” Speeding combined with a slow reaction time
and an ability to not recognize dangerous situations or make critical
decisions drastically increases the number of injuries and deaths
among teens. Although adults should not speed either, it’s
incredibly important that teenagers not do it because they are the
most likely to make decisions that will lead to errors. They also
don’t have enough experience to be able to assess a situation and
then make the right maneuver in order to avoid danger.
