The Young Killers

"It hit us like a torpedo," says Dr. Stanley H. Schuman, member of a four-man team of doctors and social scientists that has just finished a study of young male drivers for the University of Michigan. "Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for young men between 16 and 24. Although young male drivers amount to only one-eighth of all registered drivers, they are responsible for a third of all fatal accidents." As a result, they are being killed in epidemic proportions. Last year the total was 12,200--more than double the number of U.S. servicemen who died in Viet Nam.

Faster Cars, More Chances. Every bit as astonishing, adds Schuman, is what the Michigan team has learned about the young men who are still alive. Of the 288 unmarried male drivers under 25 interviewed, more than a third had had accidents during the past year, and nearly half had received tickets for moving traffic violations. "When they begin driving, they are aglow with new skill and somewhat careful," says Schuman. "If they have accidents, they are usually merely fender benders. Later, they want faster cars and take more chances." Accidents for drivers over 21 and under 25 are fewer--but more often fatal.

The scientists also gained some insights. "The most dangerous young male driver is one alone in his car," says Schuman, "because he will take amazing chances alone that he wouldn't take if someone were with him." The researchers found that the young male driver is using the car as an "expressive" instrument to blow off steam after an argument with his family or girl, or to gain relief from problems caused by school grades or draft worries. In finding an outlet for his frustrations and anxieties, he is also unconsciously releasing suicidal and homicidal impulses.

Mark of Cain. One root of the problem, Schuman believes, is that young Americans "are raised to believe life is a matter of risk taking." Says he: "Driver training today is as outmoded as the dinosaur; we've got to teach youngsters to live with their cars, to 'cool it.' " The high accident rate and death toll of young male drivers also bothers insurance companies. Richard G. Chilcott, vice president of Nationwide Mutual Insurance, recently suggested that "mark of Cain" license plates be issued to drivers with bad records, restricting them to essential trips. And New York State now issues new drivers of all ages a six-month "probationary license," rescinding it for a serious traffic violation, restoring it only after obligatory driver clinic and reexamination.

Auto Expert Ken VV. Purdy, author of the recently published Young People and Driving, believes that tougher, more realistic driving tests are the best bet. Most drivers, Purdy says, only learn to start, stop and steer. Tfte mark of a good driver is his ability to handle a skid, which almost no U.S. driving school teaches. And as a near infallible rule for staying out of trouble, Purdy cites the old truck drivers' maxim:

"Drive as if the other fellow hates you and is trying to kill you."

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