Part+1+-+Monitoring+Teenage+Driving


 * Keeping our roads safe from Teenage Drivers!**


 * 1) Read the Bakersfield.com report entitled "Spy parents: AAA rolls out free program to monitor teen drivers"
 * 2) Read my comment below.
 * 3) Using a minimum of 200 words (not including references):
 * 4) Respond to my comment and defend your position (for or against).
 * 5) If you argue for my comment, you can find further sources to strengthen the argument. If you argue against, you can choose to argue that these technologies represent an invasion of privacy, you can try to find statistics that show these technologies do not change accident/injury/mortality rates, or you can search for an alternative method of educating teenage drivers.
 * 6) You must site at least 3 sources to strengthen your argument.

Between the years 2000 and 2004 14, 082 people in Canada died in car accidents. Nearly twenty-five percent of these people were between the ages of 15 and 24 (Statistics Canada, 2008). According to MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving), “road crashes are the “leading cause of death among teenagers and more 19 year olds die or are seriously injured than any other age group.” Furthermore, young adults between the ages of 19 and 24 have the highest rate of impaired driving (Janhevich et. al., p. 1). In “nearly 2/3 of the alcohol involved multiple vehicle crashes it was the fatally injured teen driver who had been drinking (MADD, 2010).” Statistical data shows that teenagers are an at-risk group when driving. They are not only a danger to themselves, but also to all other vehicles and their passengers.

One possible method to curb these dangerous statistics is to use AAA Onboard designed so that "parents can watch their kids' driving habits and talk with them about how to be safer behind the wheel." (Cook, 2011) With this technology, parents will receive up-to-date reports on how their teenage children are driving and can then take steps to educate their teenage son or daughter about safe driving.

Many teenagers may consider this an invasion of privacy. However, given the high rate of accidents and death, and the fact that the hardware only generates reports when driving has become unsafe, this should not be an issue.

References: Cook, Rachael. (Saturday, November 12, 2011). Spy parents: AAA rolls out free program to monitor teen drivers. bakersfield.com. Retrieved November 13, 2011 from []

Janhevich, Derek, Gannon, Maire, and Morisset, Nicolas. (2002). Impaired driving and other traffic offences. Statistics Canada – Catalogue no. 85-002-XIE, Vol. 23, no. 9. Retrieved December 8, 2010 from: []

MADD Canada. (2004). Youth Statistics. Retrieved December 8, 2010 from: []

Statistics Canada. (July 16, 2008). Study: Motor vehicle accident deaths. Retrieved December 8, 2010 from: []


 * My Response **

There are plenty of teen driving statistics that can be found to point the dangers for young adult to drive. According to Basic National Statistics, in the category of teen drivers between the ages of 15 and 20, over 7,000 teenagers were killed in car accidents in 2004. These teen drivers accounted for almost 13 percent of all drivers in fatal car accidents in 2006. Good use of statistics.

Teenage often eager to drive around with their friends once they got their driving license, and it also meant freedom for some of the teenager, however, their distractions from electronic devices while driving and speeding without buckle up their safety belt are the main cause for car crash. Buckling up a safety belt does not directly lead to accidents, but may lead to more serious injury or death.

“Anytime you have immaturity combined with inexperience, you have the potential for disaster,” says Nicole Nason, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “And that’s what you get with a 16-year-old behind the wheel." Similarly, Allison Curry, an epidemiologist at CHOP also stated that "the first six months or 500 miles of driving is a crucial time when teenagers are at the highest risk for having car accidents" compared to other drivers because of speed, distraction and driver inexperience. Teenage driving not only led to cause of death or injury for themselves, they also need to concern about their passengers and people in the other car that they hit into. Very good.

Even though teenage driving gave the high rate of car accidents and death in most of the countries, but the use of AAA Onboard designed technology is not a pleasant method to monitor teenage driving and prevent car accidents. This method is an invasion of privacy for teenagers and unfair to them, when their parents were once a teenager, they did not get supervised or monitored with up-to-date reports of the details on how their children are driving and their exact location. Good argument about privacy, however, making the argument about parents is not fair as the technology did not exist. This may make the teenager feels uncomfortable because every moment in the car driving, he/she is constantly being monitored by their parents. "You don't suddenly become a good driver when you turn 16," Nason stated, "we need to ease teens into a lifelong habit of good driving." Therefore, solutions for preventing the rate of car accidents to increase should start from the parents.

Parents play a very important role in preventing teen driving accidents. No matter how well-behaved, good and convincing their children are, parents still need to set limits, rules and restrictions on the use of car with their teens because after all they are still inexperience in driving and the children judgement is based on their experience, not trustworthy.

Nevertheless, parents need to take actions to set a good example for their children in driving. Every tips parents provide to their children about the cause of alcohol, the need to buckle up for safety, danger of speeding and ban of cellphones while driving meant nothing to them unless the parents are doing so. If a teenager was told to slow down in driving and buckle up seat belts while driving but the parents do not do either of these things when they drive, he/she will not listen to the parents suggestion, it will not be useful even if the parents get to monitor their children actions with the Onboard technology and reminded them to not speed and buckle up seat belts. Very good point!

Therefore, the possible solution to prevent more car accidents still depends on the parents, they should set a good example to their children since they were young and provide them with good driving program to get education about the safety in driving and also provide restrictions on the use of car since the teenagers do not usually owned a car yet. The children should have curfew in driving and also limit number of passengers and more importantly they should not have passengers under 18 with them. At the beginning, teenagers will have difficult time to deal with different driving conditions and scenarios on the road, their parents should gradually help them to increase their driving experience by taking them out for a drive in different weather conditions, this will help the parents to monitor more closely on how they handle driving in more challenging situations such as during heavy rainfall or snowy day.

Overall, a very good response! You hit on some good points about surveillance and the direct correlation to privacy.

**References:** "Car Accidents Involving Teenagers : 6 Easy Ways to Prevent Teen Auto Crashes." Car Accident Compensation Claim, Personal Injury Settlements, Auto Insurance Attorney. After Car Accidents, 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .

Direnfeld, Gary. "Parenting | Ages & Stages | Teens | Parents Can Help Prevent Teen Driver Car Crashes." Family Fun, Craft Projects, Kid's Recipes, Parenting Advice, FamilyCorner.com Magazine. FamilyCorner.com, 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .

Kotz, Deborah. "Four Ways Parents Can Help Prevent Teen Car Crashes - Daily Dose - Boston.com." Boston.com - Boston, MA News, Breaking News, Sports, Video. Boston.com, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .

"Teen Driving Statistics." Auto and Homeowners Insurance Information for Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming. Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association, 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .

"Teenager Car Accident Statistics – What You, As a Parent, Must Know." Car Accident Injury Claim. WordPress Admin, 10 May 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .

Vetter, Joseph K., and Fran Lostys. "Dangerous Teen Drivers | Reader's Digest." Health Tips, Food and Recipes, Funny Jokes and Cartoons, and Sweepstakes | Reader’s Digest. Reader's Digest, Aug. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2011. .