Driving is a risk; teens must learn the road’s rules

Wendy Leece

We asked our parent panelists this week: Should teen drivers have

greater restrictions placed on them, and if so, what should those

restrictions be?

Many teens are good drivers and obey the rules. But some, who view

driving as a right, when it is a privilege, are putting the rest of

us at risk.

We witness them drive recklessly and shudder to think what might

happen to them or an innocent person. Add cellphones and teens

driving under the influence of alcohol and the risk increases.

Expanding the rules on teen driving is a necessity, but I predict

enforcement will be difficult and expensive. The police have plenty

to do already.

Forbidding cellphones while driving, not allowing them to chauffer

their friends for a year after they get their licenses, and getting

them off the road at 11 p.m. are good ideas. Increasing fines and

community service time hopefully will make them want to be better

drivers. Maybe more parents will delay letting their kids drive at

16. I think teens should have at least a “C” average in school too.

My youngest daughter turned 16 last week and we have many

discussions about her future driving. I have told her she needs a “B”

average, a job to save money to buy a car and gas, and a history of

showing respect for me and others. She must obey house rules, do her

chores and keep her room in order.

But why the need for more laws for teen drivers who are

responsible for many traffic fatalities and injuries? I think there

are many factors, but that the heart of the problem is the moral

confusion in our culture.

Our teens grown up in a culture where ethics are situational. They

are told don’t drink alcohol or do drugs, but it’s OK if you do and

don’t get caught. Rather than tell them absolutely that practicing

abstinence is the only way to avoid STDS and pregnancy, they are told

to use a condom and get an abortion if there is a pregnancy.

So why should we be surprised when many teens don’t take traffic

rules seriously? They don’t realize the traffic rules are absolute

and not multiple choice.

Safe driving is a moral responsibility. If society gives kids

double messages on other moral issues, can we blame them for being

confused about driving rules?

* WENDY LEECE is a parent who lives in Costa Mesa and is a former

Newport-Mesa school board member.

I’m pretty satisfied with the restrictions currently in place. The

laws as written are far more restrictive than just a few years ago,

and they seem to be pretty effective.

Most of the teen drivers I know are careful and responsible. The

only problem that I often see is that many teens and parents don’t

actually follow the laws. Several of my teens’ friends have driven

with other kids in the car during the initial six-months, when they

are allowed to have only family members or older drivers with them.

Some parents seem to not worry about that, but I really believe

that the idea of removing some of the distractions from new drivers

is a good one. We enforced that rule for our kids. One of my kids

once swore to me via cellphone that he was alone in the car.

Unfortunately for him, I was in my car, stopped at the light

across the intersection from him where I could plainly see the other

two kids in the car. Oops.

That cost him some driving privileges, but he learned a valuable

lesson: Always look in all directions before lying to your parent at

an intersection.

One other thing I’ve observed is that lots of kids just don’t seem

to be highly motivated to get a driver’s license right after they

turn 16.

Many of my kids’ friends have simply chosen to just wait until

they’re 18, when they can get a license without any parental

permission and without the probationary period. That would have been

heresy in my teen years. I got my license on my 16th birthday and a

car the next day.

Most of my peers were also driving within days of turning sixteen.

I’m in no hurry to add new drivers to the local traffic mix, so I

don’t mind if some kids wait, but I sure couldn’t imagine just

casually waiting a couple more years to gain the freedom of the open

road.

* MARK GLEASON is a parent who lives in Costa Mesa