We Must Do Better at Preventing Teenage Car Crashes
By Katherine Diaz
September 27, 2006

One of the most important issues facing the nation today is the number of preventable car crash deaths, especially the number of teenage crashes and deaths and ways to prevent them. Teenagers between the ages of 15 and 20 make up about 7% of the driving population in the United States. They also make up 14% of all fatal crashes and up to 20% of all reported crashes in 2003. I believe that a better driver’s education program needs to be created to help prevent some of these accidents. Also, the Department of  Motor Vehicles (DMV) should make a national standard on granting driver’s licenses.

Most teenage car crashes usually happen within the first year of getting their licenses. Since there are a lot of accidents within the first year of driving, I believe the DMV’s and driver’s education programs in schools and other places that teach driving skills need to be reformed. Obviously, what they are teaching in driver’s education is not good enough for day-to-day driving. A lot of the accidents are caused by reckless driving, tailgating, speeding and improper lane change.

Another thing to help reduce the number of car accidents for teenage drivers is that the DMV needs to make a national standard for granting licenses. Right now, the driver’s licenses are run by the state and each requirement for the license varies among states, which means different levels of competent drivers in each state. All DMV’s require the person to pass a vision, hearing and some form of traffic and law test. In California, to get a license, you have to take a driver training class, have a permit for six months, have parents sign for liability for their teen, have insurance already and get a score of 39 out of 46 on the traffic laws and signs test. In Florida, a teenager must hold a learner’s license for 12 months, not charged with any traffic violations and have at least 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training, with ten hours at night with a parent. There is also a 40-question test on road rules and road signs.

In summary, we should reform the driver’s education program to teach more teenagers more important skills like how to merge in traffic correctly or what to do in an emergency. If we can make a better driver’s education program and standardize driving licenses, driving on the road should be much better and safer. This plan will give teenage drivers a lot more experience on the road and greatly reduce the number of accidents. If we do nothing, then the number of crashes and fatalities of teenagers will continue to rise and get worse.

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