Life or Death?

01 February, 2009 04:20:00 Katrina Quigg

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lack of knowledge has created a dangerous environment

Lately teen driving has taken a turn for the worse.

Safe driving is fairly difficult to find nowadays. That does not mean, however, that driving safely has become any less important or necessary. Today’s society is the epitome of carelessness, and unfortunately, this trend is most apparent in America’s youth. Hectic schedules have seemingly taught teenagers that rushing while driving is acceptable. In 2005, teenager-induced accidents accounted for 12% of motor vehicle deaths.

Obviously, the responsibility that comes along with a driver’s license is not being taken as seriously as it should be. A general lack of knowledge or caring about basic driving rules has created a dangerous transportation environment. Students constantly speed out of the high school parking lot, which not only endangers them, but endangers their passengers and people in other vehicles. Students are too busy texting, talking to passengers, or just refuse to pay attention to the situation at hand; most accidents could easily be prevented, and yet students take a nonchalant attitude toward this life threatening situations.

In the hallways and classrooms, one is constantly bombarded with students boasting about their latest potentially near death experience. Driving backwards through the streets, excessive speeding, and cutting through traffic at stop lights are examples of the recklessness of teenage drivers today. About half of the time, alcohol is involved in these accidents. Consequently, it is not surprising that reports of fatal car accidents involving teenagers can often be heard on local news stations. East Hampton residents are familiar with the March 2005 accident that killed EHHS student Carlo Simoni when he was just 16. Fatal motor vehicle accidents involving adolescents has become even more common in Connecticut. More recently, an August 2007 accident in Bristol, Connecticut killed four teenagers, and speeding played a major factor in their deaths. The driver, 19 year old Sean Landry, lost control of his vehicle, hitting a utility pole and then oncoming traffic. Besides the passengers, three others in the victim’s vehicle were injured, and two of Landry‘s passengers were not wearing seatbelts.

Police reports revealed that Landry was driving at least 100 miles per hour while drifting. Such carelessness and obvious defiance of the law is what cost four teenagers their lives, when such a situation could easily have been avoided. Similar situations have occurred in Wallingford (January 2008, two dead) and Wolcott (October 2007). Speeding was a factor in both of these other incidents as well. It is imperative that teenage drivers realize they are not immortal. Driving is not a right, it is a privilege- which may sound cliché, but is the truth. Reckless driving only creates more problems for teenagers in the long run, resulting in tickets, high repair costs, injuries, and in many cases, death. Driving rules may sometimes seem useless, but are put in place to protect young lives. Seat belts and speeding are at the top of this list, yet teenagers still disobey such simple laws.

Kids need to put such things into perspective. What’s more important: getting to a party on time, street racing, or getting to live your life injury and guilt free?

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