Archive: Opinions

Thousands of teenaged drivers die every year.  Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people between 16 and 19 years old.  According to the U.S. Centerfor Disease Control (CDC) seven teens aged 16 to 19 died every day from motor vehicle injuries in 2011.  Around 2,650  were killed in accidents and nearly 292,000 were treated for motor-vehicle crash injuries in emergency departments.  While the 15-24 years old group only represents 14% of the population of the United States, they account for 30% of the cost of auto accident injuries to males, $19 billion.  Females do better, but the cost of their injuries are still a whopping 28%, or $7 billion.

If you have young drivers in your family, where is the safest place for them to live.  Surprisingly, a Wallethub study finds that New York is the best state for teenaged drivers.  New York ranks #1 as the safest state for the demographic, ranking #3 in safety conditions, 2 in economic environment, and #6 in driving laws.

The analysis finds that New York has the second lowest insurance premium for adding a teen to a policy, and the second fewest teen fatalities per teen population.  It is one of the best states ranked with at least five out of seven 'Graduated Driver Licensing' program laws.  The seven include a minimum learner's permit age of 16, a six month holding period, 30 to 50 hours of supervised driving before obtaining a license, a restriction on night driving, a restriction on carrying passengers, restrictions on cell phone usage, and a requirement that drivers be at least 18 years old before being granted an unrestricted license.

In my family our children independently opted to wait until the last minute to get their licenses.  I don't know why.  When I was a kid I couldn't wait to turn 16 so I could get my permit, and I got my license as soon as legally possible.  I suppose I should be grateful, since I haven't had to worry about my kids driving as much as most of my peers do.  But it is a relief to learn that our state is statistically the safest once they do get licensed.

But maybe it is another thing that makes it safer for young drivers.  Have you tried to get an appointment for a driving test lately?  The DMV is backed up for weeks, and sometimes months.  What a great accident deterrent!  If you can't get an appointment to get your license, the chances of getting in an accident go way down.  Yay New York!

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