Reference no: EM133556628

Case Study: Teenage Driver Auto Accident Rates Teenagers have the highest accident rate of any group of drivers. This results in expensive auto repairs. The more serious dimension of the problem, however, is deaths and injuries. At the national level this problem is so serious that it has been termed "the major health problem for teenagers in the United States." According to a 2006 study published in CQ Researcher, "Drivers between the ages 15 and 20 make up about 6.4 percent of the nation's population, but for the last 10 years they have been involved in approximately 14 percent of all fatal car crashes." Alcohol is a factor in almost a third of all fatal crashes involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 20. Teenage drivers involved in accidents injure not only themselves but their own passengers, as well as other drivers and those drivers' passengers. Recent studies estimate the national number of fatalities from accidents involving a teen driver at 9,000 people annually. Approximately one-half of the states provide direct financial support to high schools that teach driver education, and almost as many states allow teenagers to obtain driver's licenses at a younger age if they have successfully completed driver education. Typically 16- and 17-year-olds may obtain a driver's license if they successfully complete the course. In a few states 15-year-olds who complete the course can obtain a license. Without such a course one usually has to be 18 years old to obtain a driver's license. Politicians and officials in various states are concerned about the high accident rate among teenage drivers. In this chapter you were introduced to the debate on the topic between Secretary of State Chris West and challenger Val Lawrence (see Figure 2.6). Figures 2.6-2.8 provide a brief overview of the problem. Although they do not present the entire picture, they provide information about some of the problem's key dimensions.

Questions:

• Defining and detailing the problem
• Establishing the evaluation criteria (public interest, environment impact)
• Identifying the alternatives
• Assessment of Alternatives (include quantitative and qualitative material)
• Decision and Display
• Monitoring, Implementation, and Evaluation