You know what frightens me and threatens my way of life? Well, it never was the folks in Iraq or Iran or China or the Soviets back in the day. It’s not Hamas, the Tamil Tigers or even global warming.
It’s teenage drivers.
Everyday this summer 17 teenage drivers will die in cars.
Here’s what the CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention) has to say…
-
In the U.S. during 2004, 4,767 teens ages 16 to 19 died of injuries caused by motor vehicle crashes. During 2005, nearly 400,000 motor vehicle occupants in this age group sustained nonfatal injuries severe enough to require treatment in an emergency department (CDC 2006).
-
The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash (IIHS 2006).
-
In 2005, teenagers accounted for 10 percent of the U.S. population and 12 percent of motor vehicle crash deaths (IIHS 2006).
-
The presence of teen passengers increases the crash risk of unsupervised teen drivers; the risk increases with the number of teen passengers (Chen 2000).
So here’s to you George Bush. Your war in Iraq may really be helping. With gas at four bucks a gallon maybe less kids can afford to drive anywhere.
And besides the $100 tankfills its only costing us another 12 billion a month.