| OPINION | TODAY • October 1, 2000 |
Dan King, Camille Cranson, Rebecca Hendrix, Glenda Doty, Walter Boyd, Sheila Winner, Jennifer Allen, Mark Boyd, Bob Bowen, Colleen Ware,
Sunday, October 1, 2000
Beyond tears for teenagers: Readers offer views on what's behind fatal crashes and propose ways for reducing the carnage.
Parents need greater role
There is no simple answer on how to prevent teenage driving deaths. Stricter driving laws might eventually have some limited effect, but we, as parents, need more.
We must understand root causes before attempting to provide fragmented solutions. Teenagers have yet to develop a clear concept of mortality. The correlation between choices made and consequences has not been fully developed in a teenager's mind. Whether it be driving fast, jumping from a cliff into the Chattahoochee, riding a mountain bike down steep hillsides or skateboarding without a helmet, kids take chances. Kids will get hurt, and yes, sadly, we have not seen the last traffic fatality.
Therefore, even in the midst of this tragic rash of highway deaths, we cannot expect young people to dramatically change their behavior and suddenly put safety before all else.
Responsible parents are already doing many of the right things. You judge when your son or daughter should be allowed behind the wheel. Should a newly licensed teenager be transporting other teenage passengers? Parents need to decide.
DAN KING, Atlanta
Wake-up call needed for parents
Parents, wake up. It's not the 16-year-old driver who's to blame for wrapping his or her car around a telephone pole. It's you and you alone. Where on Earth do these children get these high-powered cars? You don't get a $20,000 muscle car working at McDonald's.
I cringe when I hear some politician, in the wake of some teenager dying at the wheel, who suggests raising the driving age from 16 to 17. Do you really think he or she is any more mature and better equipped to handle the complexities of a hurtling 80-mph, 4,000-pound bomb?
Perhaps, in addition to an attitude adjustment on behalf of mindless parents, we should require a 21-year-old licensed driver in the car until a driver reaches his or her 18th birthday.
MARK BOYD
Boyd, of Atlanta, is a software publisher and former race car driver.
Establish discipline
Instead of raising the driving age, we should demand that parents be responsible for their children's behavior. Discipline starts at home.
When more parents accept responsibility for disciplining their children and control their driving habits, we will see a better driving record among teenagers. Perhaps even legal action against the parents might help.
BOB BOWEN, Athens
Add driver's ed to curriculum
Raising the driving age simply won't help. Why punish the responsible teen drivers because some fool didn't think before he acted? And what good would raising it do? Instead of the statistics saying 100 16-year-olds were killed in car crashes, they will say 100 17-year-olds were killed.
I would gladly add driver's education to my schedule in exchange for not raising the driving age.
REBECCA HENDRIX
Hendrix is a freshman at Cass High School in Cartersville.
Make it harder to get a license
I am from Maryland, where the driving test is difficult, and once you pass, numerous restrictions still apply. The best one, which should be in place in Georgia, is the "Cinderella Clause." The clause stipulates that until a driver is 18, he or she must be in a car with a licensed driver older than 25 if driving past midnight. To even get a license at 16, people must complete driver's education.
Georgia highways are some of the worst, but it is one of the easiest states to get a license. Georgia needs stronger requirements for licensing. If the laws don't change, more teenagers will die.
CAMILLE CRANSON, Smyrna
Dangerous act at root
The article on two teens killed while drag racing missed the entire point ("Teen lost control of car," Metro, Sept. 24). These kids could have killed you, me or any member of our families while they were drag racing on Chastain Road. Instead, the article focused on what "respectful, kind young men" they were.
No respectful, kind young man threatens innocent people by acting in this manner. Your story made no mention of this.
These kids are not heroes. Their actions are analogous to randomly shooting rounds from an AK-47 out the window. That is the point of this story.
WALTER BOYD, Suwanee
Saying 'no' can save teens
I was very saddened when I heard the story of the car crash that took the lives of the two teenagers in Kennesaw. I have heard this story too many times, and each time I have to wonder: What were the parents of these teens thinking when they bought these very powerful cars?
These cars have too much power for anyone with little driving experience. Then to install an intake valve to give the car even more power, more speed . . . again, what were the parents thinking?
Maybe the insurance companies need to change their policies and not cover kids who drive a car with more than four cylinders.
But I think it just comes down to parents learning to say "no." You may have the money to give them the biggest the best and the fastest there is, but at what cost?
SHEILA WINNER, Loganville
Training is pivotal
When my 38-year-old son was 16, he signed up for driver's training. We were told there would be only one class and names would be drawn for the class. The others would be a control group whose driving records would be followed for some years to determine whether driver's training was helpful.
My son was not chosen, and when I called to complain, I was told I would receive a letter so I could get a discount on my car insurance anyway. I replied that insurance was not the issue.
If the school officials still wonder whether driver's training is helpful, I suggest they read the newspaper.
GLENDA DOTY, Decatur
Test on real roads
When I immigrated to the United States from Canada, I was surprised to discover that I was required to take a road test to obtain a Georgia driver's license. I was even more perplexed when I found out that the road test took place in a parking lot. I was then horrified when I was informed by the instructor that this same parking lot was where new, young drivers were also tested because the roads are too dangerous.
Georgia residents and officials wring their hands and wonder how we can prevent so many teen deaths. An obvious place to start would be to test new drivers on the real roads and highways.
Mandatory driving instruction, actual road tests and more restrictive probational driver's licenses would help tremendously to keep dangerous, inexperienced drivers from jeopardizing the safety of our roads and the lives of our teens.
JENNIFER ALLEN, Alpharetta
Web can help
Added supervision for teen drivers through Web sites is what Atlanta needs ("Safety webs for teen drivers," Joey Ledford column, Sept. 24).
As a teenager edging closer to receiving my permit, I grow more and more concerned each day by the number of teen deaths. I commend the parents who care about Atlanta's youth and have put the effort toward making our roads safer.
COLLEEN WARE, Alpharetta