Do Teens Have Better Reaction Times Than Adults When Driving?
Most teens will be the first to tell you that they have excellent reflexes and reaction times, which makes them better drivers than you and most other adults. While it's true that reflexes slow down as you get older, what adults have that teens don't is experience and judgment. Teens are also prone to distractions when driving, whether it's from friends in the car with them or friends at the other end of a text message.
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Limitations of Quick Reaction Times
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Teens do have quicker reaction times than adults, but because they know they have faster reaction times, they often take more risks when driving, assuming they can handle situations that arise. Teen drivers often follow other cars too closely, decreasing the amount of space needed to stop if the car ahead stops or slows, which also contributes to teen accidents, according to the Maryland Highway Safety Foundation website. Teens are also less likely to drive defensively, scanning traffic to either side as well as up ahead to avoid dangerous situations, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reports.
Teen Distractions and Reaction Times
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Teens have a higher risk of being distracted drivers than adults do, and distraction costs teens and adults alike dearly when it comes to reaction times. Texting while driving doubles a person's reaction times, according to a Texas Transportation Institute study; talking on a cellphone decreases the reaction time of 18 to 25 year olds to near that of a 65 to 74 year old not talking on a cellphone, a University of Utah study found. Researchers found that talking on the cellphone decreased young adults' reaction times by 18 percent.
Other Factors that Affect Reaction Times
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Distractions in the car aren't the only cause of slower reaction times in teens. Lack of sleep can also affect reaction times while driving. A study published in the December 2008 of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that teen accidents decreased by 16.5 percent in one county when schools moved start times back by one hour, allowing teens to get more sleep. Alcohol or drug use also slows reaction times; low doses of marijuana slowed reaction times by 0.9 seconds, which translates to a stopping distance of 78 feet at 59 miles per hour, according to a Maryland Highway Safety Foundation report. The combination of alcohol and marijuana slowed reaction times by 1.6 seconds.
Statistics
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Although they might feel their quick reflexes will help them in emergency situations, statistics prove that teens are involved in more accidents than any other age group, especially when they first start driving. Teens aged 16 to 17 have twice as many fatal accidents per mile of driving than 18 to 19 year olds, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reported in 2011. Teens between the ages of 16 and 19 have three times the number of fatal crashes compared to those over age 20.
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