The automotive club AAA released the results from a so-called teenage driving study today.
New teenage drivers are more dangerous than previously thought: Nearly two of every three people killed in crashes involving 15- to 17-year-old drivers are people other than the driver, auto club AAA will announce today.
The newspaper USA Today began its article about the study with this paragraph. From the beginning, we must question the validity and authenticity of the study because of the notable bias. The study does not state that the teenaged drivers were at fault in the crashes. The adults could have been at fault, but would the newspapers have reported that? No.
AAA plans to use the findings to push state legislators to enact tougher teen-licensing laws. Thirty-two states restrict whom new teen drivers can transport and when they can drive.
The AAA or the news media has yet to release the factual and unbiased ‘findings’ to the public. A study by the AAA must be seriously questioned in the first place because of a conflict of interest.
“They just lack the experience and the maturity to multitask,” Reeves says of young drivers. “Limiting the number of passengers gives them the ability to concentrate.”
If teenagers are to be restricted from ‘mulitasking’ while driving, so should adult drivers. Teenagers are usually new drivers, and of course they would have more to concentrate on while driving. But why just limit the restriction to teenagers? Why not limit it to all new drivers, including teenagers and adults? Better yet, why don’t we just restrict the ‘amount of multitasking’ for all drivers? By doing so, it would allow all drivers to focus on the road, and shouldn’t they be doing so anyway?
“It’s tempting to be lured by the convenience of having other options for getting kids to and from school and practices, but the risks are just too great,” AAA’s Darbelnet says.
There are many advantages for teenagers to have their own car. Not only can they use it to get to school and practices, but they can also use it for any personal needs they might have to attend to. If the parents of the teenaged driver became impaired in some way, who would be driving the parents around or to the hospital? The teenager.
A lot of studies are biased and always manipulated for the advantage of the people who are doing the study. Teenagers are no different than new drivers. They are inexperienced. There should not be restrictions for teenagers simply because they are teenagers. If there are any restrictions at all, they should be for ALL new drivers. Regardless, the government shouldn’t punish the drivers who consistently do not break the law or drive recklessly.
I completely agree with NYRA’s viewpoint.
Just an example of what I’ve come across in my 8 years of being a driver:
– My own mother had a worse driving record than mine, as she always seems to get into an accident every 3 years (ironically just before her liscense is up for renewal), whereas I have never been in an accident
– Recently, my husband Jeremy and I were discussing the responsibilities of the younger population with a former city councilor (who’s also running again: russellis.vermontdems.org/page.php?id=frontpage)
who is adamant that the younger generation cannot be trusted with any responsibility. Just 10 minutes after this discussion, a friend of his points out while leaving the meeting that his vehicle’s inspection sticker is several months overdue!
Talk about being responsible!
Heavenly
Vice Chair of NYRA-Vermont