Are the states at fault for lousy drivers?
Across the United States, teenagers are becoming licensed drivers. They practice for months with parents, they take the written test, and then they take the driving test. In some states they are required to also take a driving course. But is this enough? Why are the requirements to become a licensed driver different from state to state? Why are some more lenient on requirements than others? Are these differences the cause for so many deaths among teen drivers?
According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 36 percent of deaths among teens is due to motor vehicle accidents. In 2004, 4,767 teens. aged 16 to19, died of injuries from vehicle accidents. I think the reason all of these accidents and deaths happen is because teens are not taking hard enough driving tests. In some states the requirements to get a drivers license is harder than in others. For example, in the state of Georgia the minimum score a driver can get is a 70 and in Washington they have to get an 80. According to Stateline, the restrictions that are placed on states cut the fatalities of drivers by 19 percent.
After going to the different DMV websites for different states I realized just how different the requirements were. In Washington, the teen must be 15 1/2 to get their learners permit. The driver must be in the car with someone 21 or older and must have 50 hours of supervised driving, including 10 night hours. They are required to take a driving course before they can take any of the exams. When the teen goes to get their drivers license they must take a written exam and make an 80 percent and a driving exam and also take a drivers exam which also requires them to make an 80 percent.
In Georgia, teens must be 15 years old to get a permit. They must have 4o hours of supervised driving and 6 hours of night driving. When the teen goes to get their license they must take a written exam and a driving exam, that only requires them to get an 70. Although these Georgia regulations are not as tough as the Washington regulations, the licensed driver has a lot more rules to follow. These rules include passenger restrictions, time restrictions, and time of day restrictions.
Arkansas has one of the most lenient driving requirements that I have seen. Teens there can be 14 to get a learners permit. I don't know why they would want to, but that is their policy. There is no amount of supervised driving time, no supervised driver restrictions, and no passenger rules. The leniency of these rules has given Arkansas second place to having the most teens deaths in 2001, according to state master. I don't know if Arkansas is still in bad standings, but if their driving requirements are still the same, I doubt it.
These are just a few of the state requirements in the United States. Could these requirements be the cause of the 36 percent of teen deaths from motor vehicle accidents? I think so.
According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 36 percent of deaths among teens is due to motor vehicle accidents. In 2004, 4,767 teens. aged 16 to19, died of injuries from vehicle accidents. I think the reason all of these accidents and deaths happen is because teens are not taking hard enough driving tests. In some states the requirements to get a drivers license is harder than in others. For example, in the state of Georgia the minimum score a driver can get is a 70 and in Washington they have to get an 80. According to Stateline, the restrictions that are placed on states cut the fatalities of drivers by 19 percent.
After going to the different DMV websites for different states I realized just how different the requirements were. In Washington, the teen must be 15 1/2 to get their learners permit. The driver must be in the car with someone 21 or older and must have 50 hours of supervised driving, including 10 night hours. They are required to take a driving course before they can take any of the exams. When the teen goes to get their drivers license they must take a written exam and make an 80 percent and a driving exam and also take a drivers exam which also requires them to make an 80 percent.
In Georgia, teens must be 15 years old to get a permit. They must have 4o hours of supervised driving and 6 hours of night driving. When the teen goes to get their license they must take a written exam and a driving exam, that only requires them to get an 70. Although these Georgia regulations are not as tough as the Washington regulations, the licensed driver has a lot more rules to follow. These rules include passenger restrictions, time restrictions, and time of day restrictions.
Arkansas has one of the most lenient driving requirements that I have seen. Teens there can be 14 to get a learners permit. I don't know why they would want to, but that is their policy. There is no amount of supervised driving time, no supervised driver restrictions, and no passenger rules. The leniency of these rules has given Arkansas second place to having the most teens deaths in 2001, according to state master. I don't know if Arkansas is still in bad standings, but if their driving requirements are still the same, I doubt it.
These are just a few of the state requirements in the United States. Could these requirements be the cause of the 36 percent of teen deaths from motor vehicle accidents? I think so.
posted by Sexy Sandi at 3:54 PM on
Saturday, June 2, 2007
