To be fair, teenagers are putting themselves in danger here in America every day too. I think young'uns have always tended to be reckless/naive at times, but nowadays the parents indulge them more with fast cars, parties and exotic trips.
When both parents have to work to keep a roof over the family, there's a tendency to 'give' the kids material things to make up for lack of attention. Happens all the time, and it never works.