May
31
the statistics are crazy, something like 5000+…why is this? Is it because of reckless driving or just bad luck? is there a way to avoid this, or is it just a way of life for us young people because we can’t force having road experience…we need years behind the wheel to get better…at any case, what steps can I take to avoid having this fate?
Answer:
It is a combination of factors. Main factor is experience — both lack of and too much of! http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s1073.pdf The rate of accidents per licensed driver is highest for 17-year-olds. From the teens onward the rate drops steadily, with just a slight burp at 21. Lack of experience has new drivers getting into more accidents than anyone else. However…. when you look at the rate of fatalities per accident it is a different story. The LOWEST rate of fatal accidents is the 16-year-olds; with the rate steadily rising as you get older to a peak at age 21. After which it drops until you get to the fossilized 65+ where we tend to break easier. As you gain experience you get into less accidents, but those accidents are a lot deadlier. 16 and 17 year-olds have the highest rate of accidents; but their rate of fatal accidents is lower than any age group 18-23. The Fatality rate for teenagers in car accidents is far less than the fatality rate of 75+ in car accidents. No one cares about old farts dying in car accidents since they break so easily and are about to die anyhow. They have retired from productive lives and are again a drain of the resources of society. Teenagers, on the other hand, are just about to start their productive lives to pay back to society the costs of raising them. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s0114.pdf In 2005 in the U.S., for the age group 15-24: 4,212 deaths by suicide 5,466 deaths by homicide which almost add up to the 10,908 deaths by motor vehicle accident. To put these 20,586 deaths in prospective, in the 75-85 year age group we lost 166,421 to Cancer and another 256,362 to Heart Disease. Twenty times as many deaths. If you look are deaths overall, teen car deaths are nothing. But teen are not suppose to die, which is why the deaths get such hype. …………………….. Want to drastically reduce your chance of a fatal accident? Do not exceed speed of traffic. Do not drink and drive (the reason for the hump at 21!) Do not drive distracted — that last means no cell phones, no TV watching, no reading, no eating while driving, and NO listening to the radio. Driving is a full time job. Safe driving is no accident.
