" Youth Keys" are Needed!!

     According to Maryland Department of Transportation in "Young Driver,""Did you know that 15 to 20 year-old drivers are the highest risk group for a fatal crash? Seventy percent of fatalities in this age group involve the use of alcohol. Night driving statistics are even worse."(1) Young driver's are making the mistake of being over confident in their driving skills when they are really novice driver's. Teens assume because they have passed their driver's test that they are pros at knowing how to safely drive a vehicle. That is not the case at all, driving will always be a skill that you are tested on and overlooked by peers. One way to decrease fatalities caused by novice teen driver's is a "Youth Key." This is an amazing technology that was made for parents to put in cars that their teens will be driving. The "Key" has the ability to limit a cars speed and performances for certain settings. It also has a feature called "after- dark mode", which is for teens with a curfew for driving, it came make the car set to crews only at low speeds such as 40mph. 

     As California Department of Motor Vehicles says in "Young Drivers,""The ability to detect hazards in the driving environment depends upon perceptual and information-gathering skills and involves properly identifying stimuli as potential threats. It takes time for young novice drivers to acquire this ability."and " Risk perception involves subjectively assessing the degree of threat posed by a hazard and one's ability to deal with the threat. Young novice drivers tend to underestimate the crash risk in hazardous situations and overestimate their ability to avoid the threats they identify."(1) I have personally seen this first hand when I drive or a passenger of a novice driver, that we do not have the skill yet to see potential threats from all views in a vehicle. In the first two months of driving, I had to learn fast and early that I need to always be focused on cars in front and to my sides while trying to focus converging into a lane. These skills take longer than nine months to develop and practice before given a test on them, so it is no surprise that after being tested we still are not able to fully develop this skill until a later time in our driving experience. This "Youth Key" will give parents and novice driver the feeling a protection for them and other driver's. A problem this safety feature can cause is making teens feel like they can not be responsible and independent for themselves. But teens should try to remember this is for their safety and is removable when it needs to be. It is time parents become more responsible in caring for their teens safety while driving and should make this there priority when the time comes in their teen taking the next step in being an independent driver.

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References:

Ritchie, Gayle. "IT'S A NICE BIT OF KITT; 'YOUTH KEY' FOR SMART CARS." Global Issues in Context. N.p., 15 May 2010. Global Issues in Context. Web. 21 Oct. 2013. <http://find.galegroup.com.libproxy.howardcc.edu/gic/retrieve.do?sgHitCountType=None&sort=DateDescend&tabID=T006&prodId=GIC&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchId=R1&searchType=¤tPosition=1&qrySerId>.

Teenage Driver Crash Statistics. California Department of Motor Vehicles, n.d. Google. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dmv.ca.gov/teenweb/more_btn6/traffic>.

Roockie Driver. Maryloand Department of Motor Vehicles, n.d. Google. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.mva.maryland.gov/Driver-Services/Rookie-Driver/youngdriver.htm>.

Children in Danger from Vehicle!!

Marie A. Kalmine

Seth McCartney

Blake W. Hofer

 












Marie Anne Kalmine, Seth McCartney, and Blake William Hofer are just a few names of children who have suffered a death from backovers. Backovers, children dieing from people not being able to see behind their vehicle while backing up, are become more frequent but is being over looked bu many people who think it can not happen to them.  According to Kids and Cars program in "Backovers," "In the U.S. at least fifty children are being backed over by vehicles EVERY week. Forty-eight (48) are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least two (2) children are fatally injured every WEEK."(1). FIFTY CHILDREN!! If this does not show we need to improve our safety issues for cars then nothing will. People need to start think of the possibility that fatal accidents such as this can happen to them, but to prevent it we need to take action upon ourselves to fix it. Review camera's, child safety locks, and Latch are safety features made to keep children safe for driving in a vehicle, so why do we not buy these features?Is it because of the price? But ask yourself, can you put a price on a child's life and their safety? No one wants or ask to backover their love ones and it happens but should not. James Robertson in "Car technology leads drivers to distraction" says "it was difficult to legislate against driver distraction and there should be more investment in solutions that disable devices when cars are moving"(1). I agree with his statement on the issue of using technology while driving but not on removing it all from vehicles when we really need them. Cars now have the ability to be able to prevent accidents from happening by having "Collision Warning Systems," which basically stops a moving vehicle by applying the brakes from potential accidents from occurring. We are living in a new era where we need to use technology for human errors because if this does not change then we are always going to be living in a system where human errors become a normalcy.

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References:
Fennell, Janette. Kids and Cars. N.p., n.d. Google. Web. 28 Oct. 2013. <http://www.kidsandcars.org/back-overs.html#Fact%20Sheet>.

 Whittenly, Hannah. "Protect Your Child: The Top Five Safety Features to Look for in a Car Seat. ." Dumb Little Man Tips for Life. N.p., 5 Sept. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.dumblittleman.com/2013/09/protect-your-child-top-five-safety.html>.

 Robertson, James. "Car technology leads drivers to distraction." Drive. N.p., 29 Aug. 2013. Google. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://news.drive.com.au/drive/roads-and-traffic/car-technology-leads-drivers-to-distraction-20130828-2squn.html>.

 Edmunds, . "Collision Warning Systems Anticipate and Help You Avoid a Crash." Technology That Prevents Accidents Waiting To Happen. N.p., 7 Jan. 2010. Google. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. <http://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/technology-that-prevents-accidents-waiting-to-happen.html>.