Teenage Reckless Driving

Introduction:
Many people underestimate the severity of teenage reckless driving issues. These people also believe that, if they are of age and passed the driving test, teenagers are more than capable of driving safely and taking care of themselves. This is true for some new drivers, but most take months before they are comfortable with handling a car. I am not suggesting that we raise the driv#1ing age, but I do believe that we need to do a better job of educating new drivers about safe driving habits. Teenage reckless driving is a serious problem on today’s roadways and we need to do something to change that.

Area of Support #1:
This section will focus on a study that focused on teen driving behavior. I will discuss the findings of the event-triggered video intervention system used in the study. Its results show that most of the problems that the teenage participants encountered were coachable events; meaning that giving new drivers feedback on these events could prevent them from happening again.

Area of Support #2:
This section will discuss some of the laws and regulations relating to new drivers that different states have. It will also include data from these places to see if the new regulations made a difference in teen driver safety. The answer to making the roads safer for everyone may involve enacting new laws regulating new drivers.

Area of Support #3:
This section will talk about the distractions that teens are more susceptible to, which include texting and peer pressure. Both of these issues are all too present in a teenagers driving experience and lead to thousands of fatal accidents each year. We need to stress the importance for teens to give their undivided attention to the road and no one else.



Area of Support #4:
The last section will focus on Neurological research on the teenage brain and explain why teenagers are much more likely to give in to dangerous behavior. I will discuss how understanding this information could help us work around these immature tendencies to help solve the problem.

Conclusion:
Teenagers do not only face external distractions and inexperience while driving, they also have a mental crutch that makes dealing with these issues more difficult. Though many people are not aware of it, teenage reckless driving is a huge danger not only to the new drivers, but also to all the other drivers on the road. The laws that try to prevent unsafe driving behavior are not effective enough. We need to test new laws and new forms of education to try to help teens make better decisions on the road.

A Mask on the Face of Death

I found this essay very intriguing. I never new how big of a problem AIDS was in Haiti. Selzer did a great job of giving a lot of new, shocking facts about the disease and the effect it is having there. The numbers and percentages were astounding. I understand that AIDS has spread all over the world, but I thought only countries in Africa would have problems to this extent. Selzer also did a great job of presenting the full size of the issue without directly saying it. The numbers of people who came to the hospitals and clinics for AIDS care spoke volumes about the state that Haiti is in. Another thing I liked about the essay was how Selzer visited so many different places and questioned many different people about the topic. he did an excelent job of thoroughly researching the issue and getting opinions from all sides of the spectrum. As he put it, he "fastened [himself] to this lovely fragile land like an ear pressed to the ground." I was surprised that he went to such lengths. Starting off the story in a brothel was a great hook. It really surprised me when I found out why he was actually there.
The fight against AIDS is a difficult one and may seem impossible to win. This is especially true in counties such as Haiti where the disease is spreading so rapidly. I agree with the two doctors that Selzer quotes who believe that only education could slow the growth of the problem, but this will only work if the populous will accept the information provided.

Unspeakable Conversations

I thought that this essay topic was very interesting. It is amazing that these two groups were able to have civilized discussions about such a serious topic that they are both passionate about. Johnson must have had an even harder time because this topic could have effected her existence.