Is the Teen Brain Too Rational?; December 2006/January 2007; Scientific American Mind; by Valerie F. Reyna and Frank Farley; 8 Page(s)

Adolescence is a dangerous time. Some of the most life-threatening risks that people take--drunk driving, binge drinking, smoking, having unprotected sex--are especially common during the teenage years. The following statistics illustrate the enormous toll in human suffering caused by adolescent risk taking:

Both males and females between the ages of 16 and 20 are at least twice as likely to be in car accidents than drivers between the ages of 20 and 50 are. Auto accidents are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year-olds, and 31 percent of young drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2003 had been drinking.