Re: Their brains are different

It's because they can't see how their actions might affect their future, even in life-threatening matters.

I would disagree. When I was a young driver, I knew very well... precisely... how my actions behind the wheel would effect my future. I became a professional driver before I turned 16. I had months of intense training do be able to do what I did. I still was a teenager.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety may have the numbers correct but the conclusion is incorrect. Consider: in Canada, we have a high number of immigrants coming here and getting new drivers' licenses. The number of vehicle accidents caused by these people (all are adults) is extraordinarily high. Why? Do they have teenage brains? No. They just don't know how to drive. Neither do your American average teenagers. It's a learning process, not a brain development problem. The insurance companies know this. A 19 year old Canadian citizen with a couple years of driving under his or her belt, in a minivan, will pay hundreds of dollars less in insurance compared to the 25 year old South Asian still waiting to get his PR card in a pumped up Honda Civic.

Kids can be very smart. Go to an elementary school's chess club and play a game or two with a third grader. Or, listen to 10-year old Emily Bear play the piano... not Chopsticks, for sure!