*Teen Killed, 7 Injured In Wreck - Oct. 9, 2006

* Accident Raises Questions Of Blame, Responsibility- Oct. 15, 2006

* Wreck Kills Teen, Injures Girlfriend -Oct. 16, 2006

* Family Celebrating A Teenager’s Milestones Now Mourns His Loss - Oct. 19, 2006

*Teen’s Suicide Try Nets Murder Charge - Oct. 21, 2006

These headlines hit our local newspaper within a two week period. The first article tells of a group of 7 kids at a co-ed sleepover (which to me is another issue altogether, but not one I will discuss here today), who decided to pile into a 1995 Jeep Sahara, a vehicle built for 4, for a midnight snack run. None of them wearing seatbelts and some of them in the laps of others in order to fit. The driver lost control of the vehicle while he reached for the radio dial, the Jeep clipped a concrete median, flipped several times, tumbled down an embankment and crashed into a tree. The 17 year old driver was pronounced dead at the scene. All seven passangers were taken to a hospital and treated for injuries.

The second article is one that came after an article that was putting partial blame for the accident on the contractor who built the median, but had not yet painted it, thereby making it difficult to see. The article references another article called “Failing Our Children” in the Sept 4 issue of Autoweek magazine, which devoted 18 pages to “Back to school teenage driving.”

As quoted from the beginning of the article, “Since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, about 2,600 American troops have been killed in combat and war related incidents. The count is well known and updated regularly in news reports. Did you know during the same 41-month period, more than 22,000 teenagers, ages 15-19, died in traffic accidents on U.S. roads?”
(Click on the following link to access the full 18 page packet, free of chargewww.autoweek.com) 22,000! That number just boggles my brain!

In the third article the driver was 18, his girlfriend 16. He lost control of his Jeep, flipped it and died. In the fourth article the driver a 16 year old male, hit a 15 year old male bicyclist, both on their way to school, the bicyclist died.

In the fifth article, the 16 year old female was trying to commit suicide by driving head on into oncoming traffic. Her attempt at suicide failed, tragically a life was lost in the attempt. The life of a 30 yr. old wife and mother to three young children, her middle child a 6 year old girl, also in the vehicle was injured. (And yes, I know, not all kids are unstable like this girl. But there are a lot of teens who are. Depression is very common amongst teens and the point is that she was also a young driver and nothing more…the rest of her story is once again, another issue altogether.)

All of these accidents have one thing in common. The drivers responsible for the loss of life, were young, between the ages of 15 and 19.

I once mentioned in a group of people that I thought the age for obtaining a driver license should be raised. I was met with groans and comments of “But what if they work, how will they get there?” and “What if they are in after school activities, how will they get home?”, etc. You get the picture. My response… The same way they did before they had a license. Mom and dad. What would be so wrong with that? We don’t allow our kids to own a gun, buy cigarettes, serve alcohol (and drinking alcohol doesn’t happen until 21 in most states), operate heavy machinery at a job, enter into a legal contract or live on their own until they are 18 years of age. So why, oh why, are we more than willing to put them behind the wheel of heavy peice of machinery, with a sattelite radio, a cd player, a cell phone and several other teens in tow, on the same road as hundreds of other vehicles (some containing all or most of the same things as above), alongside bicyclists, pedestrians, and public and private property. All of this at the tender age of 16. SIXTEEN! Alright, we all (or at least most of us) got our licenses at 16. But that for me, was 22 years ago! I didn’t have a cell phone, or 50 million radio channels to distract me. Beyond that, who here thinks that we had it all figured out back then anyway. There were no carseat laws when I was an kid. And as a result, my sister (age one at the time) figured out how to open the car door and did just that as my mom was making a turn. Thank goodness she was taking the turn very slowly and also for the cop who was behind her who stopped to pick my sister up after she tumbled out of the car. (Yeah, sis was okay. Mom on the other hand….) So um, yeah, I think we may have learned a thing or two since I was a kid! With that said and since I’m pretty sure the driving age is not going to change anytime soon; it’s up to us as parents to ensure that our kids are armed with knowledge and as much experience as possible before we turn them loose on the world, this includes behind the wheel! Florida law requires 10 hours of driving time before a license will be issued to someone under the age of 18. Ten. That’s TEN, one-oh. Not 100, not even 50, or 20. Just ten. THAT’S INSANE! Ten hours is nothing! Not when you consider that when driving, a person is not only responsible for his or her actions, but also for any passengers and must be considerate of everyone else sharing the road. (I know, not that most people are, but hey, let’s tackle one issue at a time please, K? Anyway, we have to start somewhere…no?) So why not raise the driving age? They raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 when I was 16 almost 17. Bummer, I know. But guess what? I got over it pretty quickly, I had no choice. And so will all of the teens and parents of teens who will have to adjust their lives if that were to happen. And guess what else? It’s called being a parent. Yup. Being responsible for the safety of your kid…what a novel idea! I personally, am happy to drive my 17 year old daughter around for as long as she wants me too. She also thinks the age to obtain a license should be raised and is (on her own), waiting to get her license. Go Bri! And that’s all for now.

Ciao! Hasta la pasta baby!

*All of these articles can be found on tbo.com