A significant amount of people see driving as nothing more than a way to have fun and show off their vehicles, but there are dark and harmful results of not taking driving seriously. According to the website for National Highway Safety, over 30 thousand people were killed in car accidents in 2013 alone. If that fact is not enough to make us see that a change needs to be made to drastically reduce this number then maybe we need to also take into consideration that death by automobile accident is the leading cause of death for teenagers in America, putting it right above homicide and suicide. The young people of this country are taking the majority of the suffering caused by this problem. Everyone in America uses cars to get to their destinations on a daily basis so it is vital that we do everything in our power to prevent automobile deaths. Though the problem may seem like an overwhelming one, it can gradually be solved by identifying whether the main cause is speeding, drinking, being distracted, or underage driving, and then proposing a well thought out solution that will solve it once and for all.
What could be causing so many vehicle casualties? Drunk driving might be the obvious answer for many due to the fact that being drunk renders a person incapable of having the same reaction time and driving skills as if they were sober. Driving is an activity that almost always ends in a wreck for a truly drunk driver. According to Andrew Leibenguth of Times News "In 2011, 9,878 died in drunk driving crashes. That is one person every 53 minutes" With this is mind it is clear that drunk driving is a major problem that has already been combated worldwide. Others may speculate that the main reason for automobile accidents is underage driving. Teenagers are encouraged at very young ages to get behind the wheel so they can get a feel for driving. Unfortunately this is not always done in secluded areas and the teen may hit another car while still trying to figure out how to handle their own car.