| METRO | TODAY • August 28, 2001 |
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Lane Ranger: Celebrities drive teen safety
effort
Joey Ledford - Staff
Tuesday,
August 28, 2001
It had all the atmosphere of a celebration or a high school pep rally. The Tucker High School band played, cheerleaders preened for the cameras and did their routines and the guests generated plenty of excitement.
It was a safe teen driving promotion with star power --- Gov. Roy Barnes, NASCAR legend Richard Petty and hometown NASCAR hero Buckshot Jones --- all appearing at Tucker on Monday to advocate crash- and violation-free teen driving.
Maybe a memorial service would have been more appropriate. Ten Georgia teenagers have died in car crashes in just eight days.
Teens are their own worst enemies when it comes to giving lawmakers more ammunition to even further strengthen the state's tough teen driving laws.
"There's no question it's time to raise the driving age (to 17)," said Barnes after the event. "I've said that at every opportunity."
Barnes said he won't try to shoehorn the issue into the already busy special session of the Legislature, but emphasized he'll be back in January seeking an age hike.
"I do not understand the reluctance to do things that save lives," said the governor. "How many kids have to die before we do what needs to be done?"
The Monday event staged a friendly competition between Tucker and Lakeside high schools that goes beyond Friday's football showdown. Students register online and then log their driving, with each student eligible to log up to 500 crash- and violation-free miles in the next five weeks.
Students can earn free fast food, while the schools will receive prize packages from corporate sponsor Georgia-Pacific that includes MP3 players, movie rental coupons and up to $1,500 in cash.
Petty bristled a bit when a questioner asked him if it's a contradiction for NASCAR drivers to be promoting slower, safer driving among teens.
"The best salesmen safe driving can have are NASCAR drivers," said the seven-time stock car points champion. "These drivers think about safety all the time. They are safety-oriented people."
Jones, 30, struck a chord with the Tucker students because the school is his alma mater. And he offered the event's most sobering note when he told about what happened to his best friend from his high school days.
"He'd had a few beers," he said of his friend, who was then seriously injured in a crash.
"He sat in a coma for two weeks," he said, adding his friend survived, but is legally blind as a result of his crash injuries. "I tell you it's something you never want to see with your friend, or yourself."
Jones said he could have easily been a victim himself. He didn't even wear seat belts as a teen.
"If you're not around, you can't accomplish your dreams," he said.
Andrae Hull, a Tucker senior and football player, called the promotion "a neat concept."
"There's a lot of teen accidents," he said. "This might prevent some of it."
Hull said teens drive recklessly because of peer pressure and showing off in "fancy cars. They don't have a lot of experience."
Michael Mepharn, a 17-year-old Tucker senior, said he thinks the competition will accomplish its goals.
"It will make them start to think when they get behind the wheel," he said. "It will make them more conscious of what they are doing."
But Danielle Mooney, a sophomore, hadn't picked up on the message at all, asking a reporter what the news conference had been about.
She was starstruck with Jones. "It's cool that Buckshot remembers us," she said.