🚀 go-pugleaf

Aeoleus wrote:
> 
>
> 
> Don't you know?  The 16-25 demographic has a less percentage of auto
> accidents than one demographic - people 50 and over.  Don't discriminate
> by age, and don't act like you know what you're talking about when you
> don't.
> 
> -- Brian Ream                                         Kalamazoo Michigan
> -- mailto:osiris@net-link.net            http://www.net-link.net/~osiris
> -- Never call someone stupid and misspell it.

OK Einstein.

 In every motorized country, teenage drivers represent a major hazard.
The problem is
 worse in the United States than elsewhere. We allow teens to get
licenses at an earlier
 age than in most other countries, and little driving experience
typically is required
 before licenses are issued. Licenses also are inexpensive and easy to
get. Access to
 vehicles is easier than elsewhere. The result is greatly elevated crash
risk among young
 drivers. Teenagers drive less than all but the oldest people, but their
numbers of
 crashes and crash deaths are disproportionately high. The risk of crash
involvement per
 mile driven among drivers 16-19 years old is 4 times the risk among
older drivers. Risk
 is highest at age 16-17. In fact, the crash rate per mile driven is
almost three times as
 high among 16 year-olds as it is among 18-19 year-olds.

 Crash rates are high largely because of young drivers' immaturity
combined with driving
 inexperience. The immaturity is apparent in young drivers' risky
driving practices like
 speeding and tailgating. At the same time, teenagers' lack of
experience behind the
 wheel makes it difficult for them to recognize and respond to hazards.
They get in
 trouble trying to handle unusual driving situations, even small
emergencies. More often
 than when older people drive, these turn disastrous. Crashes involving
young drivers
 typically are single-vehicle crashes, primarily run-off-the-road
crashes, that involve
 driver error and/or speeding. They often occur when other young people
are in the
 vehicle with the young driver, so teenagers are disproportionately
involved in crashes
 as passengers as well as drivers.

 The population of 16-19 year-olds decreased during the 1980s which, in
turn, held
 down the problem of teenage drivers. However, this trend ended in 1992.
Now the
 population of 16-19 year-olds is increasing, and so are motor vehicle
crash deaths. 

 The following facts are based on analysis of data from the U.S.
Department of
 Transportation's Fatal Accident Reporting System.





      5,670 teenagers died in motor vehicle crashes in 1995, more than
in the
      preceding 3 years but 35 percent fewer than in 1975.

      Teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. population in 1995
and 14
      percent of motor vehicle deaths. They represented 15 percent of
passenger
      vehicle occupant deaths in 1995 - 7 percent of pedestrian deaths,
8 percent of
      motorcyclist deaths, and 16 percent of bicycle deaths.

      Eighty-six percent of teen motor vehicle deaths in 1995 were
passenger vehicle
      occupants. The rest were pedestrians (7 percent), motorcyclists (3
percent),
      bicyclists (2 percent), and people in other vehicle types (2
percent).

      Thirty-three percent of deaths of 16-19 year olds in 1993 from all
causes occurred
      from crashes. This is the latest year for which this information
is available.



      Motor vehicle death rates per 100,000 people in 1995 peaked at age
18 (drivers)
      and 17-18 (passengers).

      About half of the teenage passenger vehicle occupant deaths in
1995 were
      drivers (51 percent), and about half were passengers (48 percent).

      Sixty-five percent of teenage passenger deaths in 1995 occurred in
crashes in
      which another teenager was driving. Twenty percent of passenger
deaths of
      people of all ages in 1995 occurred when a teenager was driving.



      About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes
in 1995 were
      males.

      Death rates were higher in 1995 among male teenage drivers than
among
      females - 13 per 100,000 people compared with 6 per 100,000.

      The rate of nighttime fatal crashes per 100 million miles traveled
in 1990 by male
      drivers 16-19 years old was about four times the rate for
30-54-year-old male
      drivers. The corresponding comparison for females is more than 3
times the rate.



      Among drivers who aren't legally permitted to buy alcohol (16-20
years old), 24
      percent of fatally injured drivers in 1995 had blood alcohol
concentrations at or
      above 0.10 percent - down from 53 percent in 1980. This decline is
greater than
      declines among older drivers.

      Among teenage drivers (16-19 years old), 20 percent of fatally
injured male
      drivers and 11 percent of fatally injured female drivers in 1995
had blood alcohol
      concentrations at or above 0.10 percent.

      Male teenage drivers with blood alcohol concentrations in the
0.05-0.10 percent
      range are 18 times more likely than sober teenagers to be killed
in single-vehicle
      crashes. The corresponding comparison for females is 54 times more
likely.



      Fifty-four percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 1995
occurred on Friday,
      Saturday, and Sunday.

      Forty-one percent of teenage motor vehicle deaths in 1995 occurred
between 9
      pm and 6 am.