Posted on 05/19/2006 8:32:12 PM PDT by devane617
May 18, 2006
Albany -- There is talk of raising Georgia's driving age to 17 or 18.
Why? Because so many teenage drivers are killing themselves-- and others. Six thousand teen fatalities in the United States last year. The biggest threat to their well-being seems to be distracted driving. So what can we do to protect them from themselves?
Teens behind the wheel give new meaning to multi-tasking. Phones, CD players, and friends, distract young drivers-- who can least afford it.
Stephanie Phillips has, not one, but two teenage girls. 16-year old Amore is already driving. and 15-year old Charity is just beginning. Stephanie worries about driving distractions. "They're young and they're carefree, and nothing can happen, they think."
They think, but they're wrong. "The accident rate has been basically off the scale." Bill Hammack is the continuing education director at Albany Tech and is in charge of the driver's education program. "They lead the pack when it comes to, statistically, more of them get injured and killed than any other category of people that drive in the United States."
Every day, he and his instructors try to convince teens the importance of focusing on their driving. "Driving is a full-time endeavor, not something that you can pay attention to part of the time. You've got to be on top of the game all the time when you're driving."
In Albany Tech's driver's ed classes, students spend 40 hours learning the rules of driving. "Most of them, believe it or not, know how to drive. The big challenge is getting them to pay attention to what they're doing when they're driving," says Hammack.
What they're doing when they're driving, he says, is the problem. "Cell phones, I-Pods, changing CDs in their dash player, all those things are big distractions."
Big distractions that worry Stephanie Phillips. "The thing is not getting so caught up in the fun activities going on in the car with your friends, you know, the radio going, the dancing.
So, like many other parents, she has rules. "Seat belts are a must for every person in the car. No speeding. Be off your cell phone, which I think is probably one of the hardest to abide by."
And she's right. "With the cell phone issue, I mean, I answer my cell phone because it rings, and my cell phone is, like, my life," said Amore'.
"Cell phones are right at the top of the list. Or, right now, it's called distracted driving," said Hammack. Distracted driving that we, as parents, are partly responsible for. "I think we have failed. We have not built that pay attention factor into driving because we've been guilty of it ourselves."
So what can be done to make teen drivers safer? "Senate Bill 226 states all 16 year olds must have completed driver's ed before they can be licensed in the state of Georgia," said Hammack.
Beginning January 1st, driver's ed classes will be mandatory to get a Georgia license. "If they don't understand the hazards and how to recognize them, they're never going to be in the position to minimize those hazards or avoid them altogether," he said.
Avoiding hazards is something Amore Brock knows about. "You gotta be aware of that and be aware of your surroundings because anything can happen even if you're doing everything right."
And everything right includes buckling up. "It's just standard, you know. It's seatbelt on and you know if the person beside me doesn't have it on I make sure they have it on," says Charity.
Right now, there are more than 4,000 14 to 16 year olds in Dougherty and Lee Counties alone. They'll soon be on the roads, driving. That affects us all. That's why it's up to us all to help them. "Everyone that comes in contact with these youngsters has got to make them see somehow that the hazards are there and those hazards are 'gonna bite you if you don't accept responsibility as an adult driver," says Hammack.
Adult driving responsibilities that may one day be reserved for adults. "I can see the driver's age, if things don't get better soon, maybe going to 17 or 18 years of age before they're even allowed to drive."
If that happens, Georgia will become the strictest state in the nation for teen driver's licenses. A law change that won't affect the Brock girls, but it could well be the key to saving young drivers' lives.
ping
That is really good, I only lasted a year.
Maybe instead of a wholesale "age" rule, there should be some kind of required COMPETENCY test every year before 25, and every year after 70....although that wouldn't cover my friend (age 60) who I refuse to ride with, and have for most of the last 10 years....LOL. Maybe competency tests every 10 years between 25 and 75?
I think 16 is as good of an age to drive as any. I'm sure the insurance companies want it raised. Too bad. They get enough government handouts. Any new driver is going to stink, regardless of age, unless you raise that age to 30.
At age 12 my transportation was a motor scooter, at 14 I bought a 55 Chevy for transportation.
Can't remember what I was driving at 16, but at least I had a drivers license by then.
If they do stupid stuff at 16 a parent can take the keys before something really bad happens.
18 and older parents have less power.
I was driving at 16 and it would have been a very major hardship for myself and my family had I not been able to. Somebody who can't figure out driving at 16 isn't going to make it in life one way or another.
Yeah, but I bet you they pay out tons. Any time I see a safety issue brought up, I tend to doubt that our pal the government is genuine in its motives. Especially when insurance companies would benefit. They lobby really hard, and if they didn't want this, they would be wringing their hands and shouting to the heavens trying to prevent it.
My first car was a '53 Buick Special. I was 13 years old. I drove it in the desert behind our house. It taught me a lot by the time I was able to hit the pavement a few years later. Driving cars is serious business for youngins. Like everything else, parents have to keep a tight hand on the kids. If they just buy them a car because they are of age, well.........
Good Gosh, I was driving in Louisiana at 15. 16 is a good age. For those that want it raised to 17 or18 how in the heck are these kids going to get to all these after school events, sports, jobs, or in fact go on dates and mess around. My mother loved when I could drive. She never had to go to the Grocery store for two years.
There is a cost and great inconvenience to families in raising the driving age,as well as a great loss in freedom, and the quality of life for the teenagers that must wait. As in so many public policy issues, it is a balancing test. Laws which seek living to be a riskless endeavor, strike me as not seriously engaging in such a balancing test. The case needs to be made, taking all factors into consideration.
That would make it worse. The worst drivers there ever were in the world were the generation who switched from horses to cars at age 30 - 40.
Here in Los Angeles, with all the people driving around without licenses it is just darn scary. Neighbors and friends I have known for years are leaving because they have gotten older, and are afraid of many things. One of the biggest is getting around town anymore. Just too many drivers, and too many cars.
Boy it's amazing just how much your attitudes change when you get older.
Raise it to 18, no driving from 9PM to 7AM, and zero tolerance for moving violations.
Harsh, you bet. But I have a fourteen year old daughter, and the thought of her driving in the next two years scares the heck out of me.
Would an extra two years make a difference? Yeah, I think so, esp. when we're talking 16 to 18.
Would I have said this at age 16? Hell no!
Teenagers want to drive. They want to speed. They want to tail-gate. It would be very hard to beat that out of them before they get in a car.
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