Teenicide (1950 ca)

Sergeant Bruce reporting. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] It's just about as easy to fill out a dead body report as it is a traffic ticket. And in many cases, the violation is the same. Speed. I've been checking some figures for a report. And I'd like to show you what I found. It's important to you. Look at these changes in the motor vehicle death rate of our population per 100,000 for the past 25 years. Between the ages of 5 and 14, there was a 37% drop. Between the ages of 25 and 44, 25% increase. But get this. In the 15 to 24-year group, the increase was more than 85%. Those are the actual figures from the ages 15 to 24. An increase in death per 100,000 of 86%. Let's face it. A car in the hands of some teenagers today produces a serious problem. So serious has this problem become that we have a new word in our language. It's teenacide. A noun meaning death caused by an automobile driver under 20 years of age. And habits that cause teenacide seem to carry on with many drivers up to the age of 25. And let's talk about teenacide a minute. Let's see why and what can be done about it. The teenager can do things the middle-age group cannot hope to accomplish. His reactions are good. His eyes are sharp. He is definitely in better physical condition than the person between 40 and 50. Because of this, he could be a better driver. He sees better and can react more quickly than an older person. The teenager is at the time of his life when he learns the quickest and retains the most. He's at a learning period. It should therefore be easier to teach him good driving and make him a safe driver. Not only now, but for the rest of his life. With ability both mental and physical at its peak at this period, something must be radically wrong when a teenager is not the best driver, but the worst. And I think we know what the answer is. It's lack of experience and training. Some teenage drivers get into the family car and learn to drive by trial and error. Mostly error. Because frequently, they learn from dad himself. And dad might not be such a good driver. Others learn from the kid who owns his rattle trap. He points it down the street and lets it go. That's one way of living dangerously, except the chances are you won't live very long. These teenagers are learning driving at school from the engine up. They're learning what makes the car run and also how to run courteously and safely. They're not learning someone else's bad driving habits. They'll quickly realize that respect for the law and the officers who enforce it will save them from the serious consequences of a traffic smash. They'll learn that the traffic officer is there to protect them. If the teenager has excess spirit, this is the place to use it. Here a crack-up, even at top speed, is not too serious. But this same sort of enthusiasm has no place on a highway. No matter how clear the teenager's eyes or how quickly he reacts. The shocking statistics prove that. It has been proven that trained drivers have about one half the accidents untrained drivers have. We know from statistics that with proper training, the teenagers will be among this country's better drivers. The solution of teenacide must be through proper driver education. Parents and teachers must act together. By so doing, the teenager will develop good driving habits before he learns the bad ones. Teenagers can't look to the older people for examples of good driving. Oldsters are a problem, too. But teenagers can, without much effort, wipe out the word teenacide and become the first generation of good drivers this country has ever had. [Music]