Teens Driving Irresponsibly

Teens
Driving Irresponsibly

Teenagers
today take advantage of their privileges to drive on the road. A car,
“a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an
internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of
people.” is a means of transportation for people to get to work,
go shopping, hang out with friends and do just about anything else
they please to do. But many of us teens that are given that privilege
take advantage of our freedom and participate in unsafe road ethic.

I know countless teens who do not wear their seatbelt, consume
alcohol while driving, speed and excessive amount, text while driving
and do not pay attention to the road at all, when that is all they
should be focused on. It is said that 29 people die everyday in the
united states due to impaired drivers. 390,000 individuals are
injured during an accident involving a person texting and driving. In
2002, of 43,005 motor vehicle deaths, 32,598 people were in fatal car
accidents related to not wearing a seatbelt. And in 2007, 13,040
people were involved in a fatal car accident due to speeding.

On
average, around 9 teens aged fifteen to nineteen are killed daily in
these related types of car crashes: speeding, drinking, texting and
not wearing seatbelts. Teenagers make up 13.2 million (or 6.4%) of
drivers on the road every single day; nearly 33% of these teens will
be in a fatal car accident, caused by that of previously mentioned.

Steps to help teens
become better drivers need to be taken. Reducing the number of teens
who get on their phone, don’t wear their seatbelt, drive while
impaired and speed will definitely cut down the number of accidents
and not only keep teen drivers safe, but the general public safe as
well. Being a safe driver does not necessarily only concern the
driver, far too many accidents involving a bad driver hitting and
killing a driver who is not in the wrong at all happen also. Reducing
the number of accidents will also reduce the amount of money going
towards these incidents and could possibly be used for beneficial
improvements such as new construction on roads and funding for city
events or functions.

I
personally have witnessed all of these things first hand. I have been
in the car with a driver who does not ever wear her seatbelt and has
received more than one ticket for it, I have been in the car with an
impaired driver, I have been in the car with someone who was speeding
excessively and I have been in the car with someone who paid more
attention to their phone than the road. All of these people had the
potential to end my life in the blink of an eye. And all the drivers
I have mentioned, were teen drivers. Our lives are far too precious
for us to end it over something that is so easily avoidable. And if a
driver isn’t in a fatal accident, their insurance could possibly
skyrocket, they could get arrested for underage drinking, receive a
DUI and not be able to drive for a few years or seriously damage
city/public property that they will have to pay for. We, as teen
drivers, need to take responsibility for our actions. That would be a
lot easier to do if we drove respectfully, followed the law, and did
not risk harming ourselves or others every time we got behind the
wheel.