| Generally speaking in terms of a physically fit teenager | | | | leading the study, which released its first results in April. |
| they are limber, muscles are strong and flexible, | | | | That makes adolescence "a dangerous time, when it |
| reflexes are quick. This combination should help a teen | | | | should be the best." |
| driver to be quite good at driving a car. Think again! | | | | A driving-style test study from Temple University was |
| The teenagers number one cause of death is car | | | | used to show that "young people consistently take |
| crashes in the US. So, what's up with that? Some | | | | greater risks when their friends are watching". |
| scientists think it's the maturity of the brain in the area | | | | Other studies indicate supporting evidence that the |
| that inhibits risky behavior. It was thought that this area | | | | judgment of teenagers further deteriorates with |
| of the brian was mature at 18, but a study by UCLA | | | | distractions. |
| and the National Institute of Mental Health shows that | | | | According to the Insurance Institute for Highway |
| "the region of the brain that inhibits risky behavior does | | | | Safety teens are four times as likely as older adult |
| not mature as quickly as previously thought". Now they | | | | drivers to be involved in a crash and three times as |
| are thinking it may not be fully formed until the age of | | | | likely to die in one. |
| 25. | | | | Lets hope the studies and scientists keep going and |
| "We'd thought the highest levels of physical and brain | | | | help us to figure out the way to save more young |
| maturity were reached by age 18, maybe earlier -- so | | | | lives. Perhaps armed with more proof from studies the |
| this threw us," said Jay Giedd, a pediatric psychiatrist | | | | driving age will be increased to 25 years of age. |