Term Paper on "Driving Age Limits for Teenagers and the Elderly"

Term Paper 6 pages (1958 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Driving Age Limits for Teenagers and the Elderly

For teen-agers who seek liberty and thrill and elderly people who want to escape loneliness and isolation, car driving can be and has, as statistics showed, been a very dangerous weapon (the Boston Globe 2006). In 1998 alone, statistics showed that 10% of the driving population in the U.S. was in the youngest age group and accounted for 14% of all motor vehicle deaths (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 1999). Trailing them were drivers over age 75 with the second highest rate of fatal accidents nationwide in 2001 and 2002. With one in four American drivers exceeding 65 by the year 2024, the National Older driver Research and Training Center estimated the figure and the problem of fatal elderly crashes to increase (Murphy 2004).

The Registry of Motor Vehicles reported that approximately a third of 16-year-old drivers got involved in serious crashes in Massachusetts alone (the Boston Globe 2006). A National Institutes of Health study found that the brain of a 16-year-old is not developed enough to adequately respond to impulse control and parental admonition or pressure cannot control that part of their youngster's brain, which weighs risks. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also reported that 16-year-olds crash their cars thrice as much as 17-year-old new drivers and alcohol was not a major factor in the phenomenon. Despite it, no state has banned this age group. Instead, more than 30 states adopted a "graduated driver licensing" system for 16 and 17-year-olds. They have not been taken off the road from midnight to 5 in the morning. The National Safety Council said the time of the highest risk of teen accidents and fatalities was between 9 in the evening to midnight (the Boston Globe). The risk of crash involvement per mile among drivers aged 16 to 19 was found to be four times more than older drivers. Deaths from crashes increased by 36% between 1975 and 1998 alone, peaking at age 18 for both drivers and passengers. Two out of three of them were males at a 21:10 ration per 100,000 persons. The accidents occurred mostly on weekends, between 9 in the evening and 6 in the morning and more than half of the accidents occurring against other cars being driven by teenagers (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety 1999).

Sixteen was considered a dangerous age especially by the people of Kansas as the time when the teenagers declare they could acquire full licensure and begin to drive (Rothschild 2006). Robert Foss, director of the Center for the Study of Young Drivers at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, urged the people of Kansas to reconsider age qualification for the full licensure. Foss helped lead the graduated driver's license movement throughout the U.S. And the action resulted in the establishment of new restrictions in 45 states. In 32 of these states, new drivers were prohibited from driving at night and the number of passengers was restricted or a license adult needed to be with them for a certain period of time. Kansas was not one of these states and motor vehicle crashes by teen drivers aged 15 to 18 was its number one killer. State tallies for a five-year period ending in 2004 revealed that teenage drivers aged 14 to 17 were involved in 60,013 crashes, 26,050 injuries and 273 fatalities, representing 20.1% of all crashes. Foss and other observers concluded that young people at this age group were just not mentally developed enough to make sound judgments on the road and should gain more experience under restricted and supervised conditions. This view incurred opposition from people in the rural areas and the teen-age drivers themselves. They argued that they needed to drive for several miles from school or work. They opposed the Cody Law, which would raise the age qualification for full licensure from 16 to 18, age for instructional permit from 14 to 15 and a restricted permit from 15 to 16. The lobbyists said they would support restrictions on night time driving and the number of passengers a new driver would be allowed. Statistics showed that the accident rate significantly grew when there was more than one other teen passenger (Rothschild).

Half of the States observe some form of driver restrictions among older people, usually requiring them to renew licenses more often and having their vision checked (Murphy 2004). Imposing special driving limits on accident-prone teen-agers proved less difficult than on elderly drivers because of policy-making details on age discrimination and the assessment of one's driving ability. Records said that drivers 75 years old and older had a higher rate of fatal accidents nationwide in 2001 and 2002, second only to teen-agers, as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported. Florida and Virginia now require vision tests for drivers over 80 years old. Most other states focused on renewing licenses more than road accidents. Illinois and New Hampshire require a road test for hose over 75. Fifteen States require accelerated license renewal for older drivers, some every two years, some four and the rest, annually. Some State licensing laws prohibit the use of age for re-examination. The Hawaii Legislature would study the feasibility or banning driving after a certain age and restricting license renewal requirements. New Jersey has not set limits on older drivers and, through a Senate bill, would even allot $3 million to develop safe driving health centers for senior citizens and where they can acquire hospital-based medical and diagnostic services to improve their driving capacity. These centers would assess the senior's car for adjustments in brakes, mirrors, seating and steering. The said Bill would also offer auto insurance premium deductions for three years to older drivers who would complete a safe driving program. On the other hand, Indiana removed the road test requirement for older drivers in 1998 when its Bureau of Motor Vehicles decided it did not have the authority to ease out older drivers. In most other States, the elderly drivers themselves were given the liberty to give up driving. The Department of Transportation said that one in five Americans was a non-driver. But to the Americans, the car meant freedom and drivers generally and voluntarily make changes and reduce their driving so as to continue to drive safely. Some elderly drivers respond more slowly, lose clarity of vision and hearing, have reduced muscular strength of suffer from drowsiness because of their medications. Sandra Rosenbloom, director of the Roy P. Drachman Institute for Land and Regional Development Studies at the University of Arizona, observed that predicting these drivers' problem could not be an exact science. Training sessions were no guarantee. Testing practices at State level would not predict the problem, either (Murphy).

Wisconsin does not have special rules for issuing older driver's licenses yet older drivers in this State recorded a higher accident rate per mile then every other age group (Associated Press 2006). Representative Sheldon Wasserman recognized the seriousness of the problem and said that he would introduce a legislation, which would require older drivers to be tested more often. A review showed that drivers aged 81 and older between 1998 and 2000 had a higher accident rate per estimated number of miles than other age groups, except the youngest drivers. Drivers with standard licenses are required to renew them every eight years and the only way an elderly driver could be restricted was for a family member, doctor or a law enforcement official to refer him or her for a retest at the State Bureau of Driver Services. Other State restrictions on age would include limiting driving to daylight only or from freeways. A 1996 study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration analyzed that nine elderly drivers were involved in a crash for every estimated 1 million miles traveled, or twice the figure for drivers 40 to 60 years old. The study recommended a better screening of drivers over more frequent testing for older drivers, although they should also be tested annually to make sure their eyesight and driving skills have not deteriorated and could respond to the demands of safe and efficient driving (Associated Press).

A sound proposal should, first of all, restrict the use of the automobile by a youngster by their parents (Insurance Institute of Highway Safety 1999). They should also share the expenses with the teen-ager so that he or she would understand and respect the cost of owning and operating a motor vehicle, such as paying for gasoline, repairs and maintenance and auto insurance premium. As in Ohio, a new driver under the age of 18 should take an approved training course, consisting of a minimum 24 hours of classroom instruction and eight hours behind the wheels. The graduate would and should be required to complete 50 hours of driving with a parent or guardian, including 10 hours of night time driving. Parents should also set the example of always buckling up, not speeding and not using cell phones while driving and avoiding… READ MORE

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