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Article by Allison Aubrey
Terrified to see your teenager behind the wheel? You’re
not alone. But a new study finds tougher state licensing
laws have led to a decrease in fatal accidents, at least among
16-year-olds. That’s the good news.
But here’s the rub. Some kids are waiting until they’re
18-years-old to get their driver’s licenses. At this point, they’re
considered adults, and they don’t have to jump through the
hoops required of younger teens. They can opt out of driver’s
ed. And they are not subject to nighttime driving restrictions
or passenger restrictions.
“[Older teens] are saying, ‘The heck with your more
complicated process,”‘ says Justin McNaull, director of
state relations for the American Automobile Association.
At 18, teenagers can, in many cases, get their license in a
matter of weeks.
It’s one explanation for the latest findings published in
the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers
at the University of North Carolina and the California
Department of Motor Vehicles analyzed more than 130,000
fatal teen crashes over 22 years.
They found that tougher licensing laws have led to 1,348
fewer fatal car crashes involving 16-year-old drivers. But
during the same period, fatal crashes involving 18-year-old
drivers increased. They were behind the wheel in 1,086 more
fatal accidents.
States have made the licensing process more rigorous in
many ways: longer permitting times, driver’s ed requirements,
and restrictions on nighttime driving and carrying fellow
teenage passengers. Experts say all of these requirements help
give teenagers the experience they need on the road. “In the
last 15 years, we’ve made great strides in getting the licensing
process to be better in helping teens get through it
safely,” says McNaull.
California has seen a big drop in 16-year-olds getting their
driver’s license. Back in 1986, 27 percent got licensed. By 2007,
the figure dropped to 14 percent.”We have more novices on the road at 18,”says Scott
Masten of the California DMV and an author of the study.
And some of them may not have enough experience under
their belts to face risky conditions. Masten says this may help
explain the increase in fatal crashes.
It’s not clear whether there are significantly fewer 16-year-
olds behind the wheel in other states because there’s no
national database. But anecdotally, experts see this as a trend.
“There’s a belief that graduated licensing has led to a
delay,”says Anne McCart, a senior vice president at the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
A survey of teens conducted by the Allstate Foundation
found that there are many reasons teens are delaying the
process of getting a license. Some say they don’t have a car
or can’t afford it. Others report that their parents are not
available to help them, or that they’re too busy with other
activities.
But parents who do want to be more proactive can refer to
the tips the AAA has compiled on how to keep teens behind
the wheel safe. And they might also consider another recent
study, which showed that starting the school day a little bit
later seems to reduce the accident rate for teen drivers.
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Questions:
1. Lines 5-15: What type of reasoning does the author use?
2. Lines 21-25: What is the central idea of the article? What details in the text support the central idea?
3. Lines 37-41: What type of reasoning is the author using here? How do you know? In what way does the reasoning in the paragraph support the author’s claim?
