BY The Cincinnati Enquirer
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS -- Advice to anyone seeking reassurance about teen-age driving: Don't consult the students in a certain English composition class at Northern Kentucky University.
That's what I did recently. When teacher Mary Quill invited me to visit her class, car wrecks happened to be on my mind, so I asked the students to write about their road experiences. What is it really like to be in a car with a teen-age driver? And why do young people get in so many wrecks?
I knew I was in for a wild ride when I read the first letter, from Adam Dunhoft, 19, of Florence.
"I love to drive fast, but I do it safely," Adam writes. "I do many things while I drive, like eat, drink and talk to friends. I drive fast but have not gotten a ticket or caused an accident yet, knock on wood."
Young people are getting in fewer wrecks than they once did. Over the past eight years, fatal crashes involving teens have dropped 24 percent nationwide. But car wrecks are still the No. 1 killer of people between 15 and 20, and the image of grieving parents seems ever-present in the news.
There was the mother in Cincinnati this month, kissing
her son Christopher goodbye just before doctors dismantled the apparatus keeping him alive. Christopher and his brother, James -- the only children of Christine Frank and her husband -- were killed in a car accident on Interstate 275 in Clermont County. James Frank, 17, lost control of his car, swerved into another lane and was broadsided by a van.
In October, three teen-age sisters in Wayne Township, Ohio, ended up in critical condition after their station wagon slammed into a van. Witnesses said the 16-year-old driver appeared distracted, "looking down or away from the roadway" when the accident happened. In Kentucky, we have our own problems. Our rate of teen traffic fatalities ranked us ninth in the nation in 1996. The carnage prompted a change in our driver licensing system that year; all new drivers must now get permits and drive with an adult for six months before applying for a license.
One NKU student wondered how much good that does if the adult's driving isn't so hot.
Melissa Barnes, 47, recreated the dialogue from a recent family trip:
" 'Dad, the speed limit is 25,' my teen-age son said to his father, who was driving 45 miles per hour.
"He replied, 'It's Saturday night -- the police have more important things to do than sit on this road waiting for speeding cars.'
"I cringed, thinking, 'He is teaching his son it's to break the law.' "
Well. Time for a family meeting, I guess.
Here's what other NKU students had to say:
"Driving is very competitive. It is also a race and a contest to show who has the best driving skills," wrote Ricco L. Morrow, 20, of Russellville.
He suggests much of the chaos in a teen-ager's car is caused by passengers. They bring tapes for the driver to play; and when they want a ride, they barge into the driver's car, slamming the doors and "causing the entire vehicle to vibrate."
Passengers also act childish by flashing hand gestures at passing vehicles, Mr. Morrow says.
Other comments:
"As a driver, I have had only one ticket. My ticket was for a rolling stop, which I totally disagree with, because I remember coming to a complete stop. I do speed approximately 15 miles over the limit, mainly to arrive at my destination faster, but not to the point that I'm flying past every other car on the road," -- Kyle Kroswait, 19, of Florence.
"I have had two speeding tickets and one wreck since I've been driving. I do speed, but not that much over the limit. I have avoided even more wrecks because of other people that can't drive. They pull out in front of me and they also merge into my lane without regard for other traffic." -- Jason Reed, 18, Florence.
"My driving could be a little more cautious. I drive only 5 mph over the speed limit on regular roads, but the expressway is a different story. I always drive at least 80 mph on the expressway." -- Jeremy Chapman, 18, Independence.
"I have been an active driver for three years and only been in one accident, in 10 inches of snow. A lot of my friends as well as my family want me to drive on road trips, so I'm a pretty responsible driver.
"Some teen-agers drive very irresponsibly. . . . I've seen two kids swerving all over the road or racing down the street like idiots. There are good teen-age drivers out there, but due to the bad ones, we are overshadowed." -- Daryl Demoss, 19, Covington. "I don't feel that all teens drive reckless, just girls and guys who think they're cool. You always see girls driving 90 down the highway, weaving in and out of lanes. Guys think it's 'cool' to drive fast and feel they look cool doing it." -- David Evans, 18, Milford, Ohio.
And finally, a sobering message from Leah Lage, 18, of Louisville: "I got my license on a Friday morning and could not wait to drive. However, my idea changed when my dad told that my friend died on Thursday night, due to a car accident. My friend, a new driver also, ran off the road. As she turned to correct it, she accidentally overcorrected the turn and hit another car head-on. I thought that if I was in the same spot, I probably would have done the same, since they do not teach you that in driving school."
Thanks for the reminder, Ms. Lage. Please, everyone: Drive safely. It's a lot better to be late than dead.
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