In this thread driving was discussed as essentially safe, and my cite of highway death statistics was dismissed as misleading.
Yet still we have threads like this one.
Sailboat
True, but why do they have to rely on others to drive them around? Because American suburbs are so dependent on cars. They have very poor, if any, public transport. As a consequence, parents have to let their kids drive, because the only alternative is for them (the parents) to drive the kids. And teenagers learn to think of cars as a symbol of freedom and independence.
I was in Japan as a teenager and had no desire to drive. I never needed to ask for rides either. I could go anywhere in the city by bus and train. I could go anywhere in the country - my junior high school astronomy club frequently went on unsupervised field trips by train.
And as a grownup I could go into town with friends, get drunk and take the train home. No need for a designated driver, no danger of drunk driving. I still miss being able to do that.
I think you’ve just officially abused the ampersand.
In the mid 90’s, Plano, a suburb of Dallas. seemed to have an epidemic of kids OD’ing on heroin. It was literally about one a month for 2 years.
Then there is this story currently on CNN. Shotgun blast to the chest because he didn’t stay off his neighbors lawn.
If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t write the OP as pro or con on the safety of driving, by teens or anyone else. 
I looked for some data on the subject of accidental death trends in the U.S. but wasn’t able to sift out much. I did come across an article which contained an interesting graph which plots accidental deaths and motor vehicle deaths for the period 1900 - 2000. The accidental deaths decrease over this period, while the motor vehicle deaths increase then level off. The file is here. WARNING: PDF !
The graph can be found on page 26.
Perhaps we’ve accepted elevated motor vehicle deaths because the overall rate of accidental deaths has declined, so that we don’t notice it.
A few summers ago a teenager was killed less than a week before the new school year started. He was a friendly and popular guy - the kid that everyone loved to be around.
He was fooling around on a SeaDoo - trying to spray/splash water up onto a nearby boat and fell off the watercraft. He went under the boat and the propeller hit his head. He died on the life-flight to the hospital.
I heard the news on the radio and at that moment I prayed that I’d heard the name incorrectly. I was thankful to find out that it wasn’t my friend… but sad to find out that it was his younger brother. My friend changed after that. The liveliness left him.
Janie and I cheered together in 9th grade. After that she moved onto a different school. We didn’t hang out much anymore but I’d always run into her at random places. Usually the mall. It seemed like every time I went to that mall I’d see her. We’d chat for a few minutes - just long enough to catch up on life - and go on about our shopping.
After going to the mall one night I recall telling another friend, “That’s odd. I didn’t see Janie.”
She died the night before. The car she was riding in hit a pole. I never did hear the whole story about the wreck. She was the friendliest, ditzy little blonde girl I’ve ever met.
Death is necessary, unavoidable and difficult to understand… especially when it’s the death of a young person who hasn’t had the chance to have a life’s worth of experiences.
I was thinking about my experiences as a new teenaged driver and hit upon the answer to all our problems: every new driver should be issued a 1980 Oldsmobile Omega. That car absolutely refused to go faster than 77 MPH under the best of circumstances, and would over heat if you idled for too long. It was small enough to be maneuverable, but had enough real metal in it to protect you at least somewhat if you were hit. Add undefeatable seatbelts and you have a good teen car.
I went to a high school that was probably 15 miles away from my house, with no bus service (private school). On top of that, I worked and had to drive there. The nearest grocery store isn’t within walking distance, and even if it was your cold food would spoil on the walk home 9 months out of the year. I agree that public transportation could be improved, but it’s unlikely to take off in sprawling metropolises like Houston. Not only is the heat/humidity unbearable in the summer and not conducive to standing at a bus stop, but I also wouldn’t feel safe putting a teenage girl on a bus alone. You take your life in your hands if you ride a bike since there aren’t any bike lanes on the roads, or bike racks at any given destination.
I spent a summer studying in England when I was in college, and the public transport was fabulous. We walked a lot, and used buses, trains and cabs to get all over the place. They’ve had a couple centuries to work out a system, so it’s nice. Also, it’s not a godforsaken hell swamp like Houston.