This week, Gary Richards reports for Mercury News that teens these days aren’t just excited to become drivers, but rather, that they’re also nervous about being good drivers. Richards writes the column Roadshow, and says he has taught classes for drivers over age 50 before, but didn’t know quite what to expect from the younger crowd.
What he found was that they had thoughtful questions about how to be safe drivers–not what one would usually expect from teens who seem to think driving fast is cool, and that an accident won’t happen to them. Teenagers are, after all, immortal, right?
It’s definitely encouraging to see teenagers so concerned with safety. The reality is that teenagers make up only 4% of California’s drivers, but when they are involved in a crash, 66% of the time they are at fault. On top of that, auto crashes are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 20. Teaching the new generation of drivers to be responsible, safe drivers is key in preventing accidents and injury. And this generation seems to get it.
If Richards is right, and teens these days are really interested in safety, that would be a good thing for all of us.
Andy Gillin received his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is the managing partner of GJEL Accident Attorneys and has written and lectured in the field of plaintiffs’ personal injury law for numerous organizations. Andy is a highly recognized wrongful death lawyer in California.