| OPINION | TODAY • September 9, 2000 |
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LETTERS OF THE WEEK: YOUNG DRIVERS
Make sure teens are well prepared to get behind wheel
As I stood before an impromptu memorial at the site of the most recent teenage driving deaths in Duluth, the magnitude of what occurred at that spot could not have been greater.
Being a dad, twice blessed, with my oldest just having earned the privilege of driving, the loss of teenagers behind the wheel could not feel closer to home. From the moment of birth, we raise our kids in the hope they will be prepared for that fateful day when freedom awaits them. At the age of 16, there is no greater freedom than the privilege of driving.
As parents, we must use every tool within our grasp to prepare our teenagers for the awesome responsibility of driving. For the common good, it is time for our state legislators to tighten the rules for young drivers by implementing a graduated licensing system. The specifics: Make driver's education mandatory; provide a stringent on-road driver's test; require parental involvement each step of the way; and release full driving privileges over time with restrictions and repercussions for noncompliance.
A quarter was lying on the street among the shattered glass at the crash site. It may have belonged to one of the kids who died. It reminded me of the lyrics from a song by a local artist: "Here's a quarter, call someone who cares."
They're calling on you to care. Let us not allow these lives to be lost in vain.
BRIAN LUDERS, of Duluth, is organizing an effort to require driver's education classes for all new drivers.
ON THE WEB: More information on driver's education and testing: http://www.geocities.com/scared_ga
Ignorant adult drivers deserve the blame
I am 16 and have had my license for six months. In those six months, I have encountered many bad drivers. The surprise is that all of these bad drivers have been adults.
I have seen adults run red lights, make left turns from the right-turn lane and vice versa. Recently, however, I got the biggest shock of my life: An adult did not yield to oncoming traffic while I was in front of her. I was hit from behind. Another accident will go into statistics as a teen accident.
Many people are now suggesting the driving age be pushed to at least 17, in light of the accident on Sept. 1 that killed four teens.
I don't think any amount of experience could change Atlanta's bigger problem: ignorant adult drivers.
KATIE HALL
Hall, of Roswell, is a senior at Centennial High School.
Tougher test would cut the number of incompetents
Yet another fatal auto accident involving a teenage driver. "I wish none of them could drive until they were 21," said one parent. That would make little or no difference because the problem is not age, but lack of competence.
The driving test is so absolutely easy that most parents look upon it as a 16-year-old's additional birthday gift. Until that changes, things will not improve.
Tighten up the test --- get the many incompetents off the road, and the reduction in accidents will be remarkable.
PETER BURRIDGE
Burridge, of Lawrenceville, is vice president of a Norcross company.