BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Thursday's Butler County crash was just the latest serious accident involving teens.
While teens make up only 8 percent of America's driving population, they account for nearly 25 percent of all traffic accidents. Car crashes are the leading cause of death among teen-agers in the country. I
In Greater Cincinnati, where public transportation is slim, driving is the only way for many teens to get where they need to go.
But turning 16 doesn't make you automatically qualified to drive, said John Stanley, owner of Stanley's Driver's Training in White Oak.
"It makes it easier for some parents just to hand the keys over and say, "You drive yourself to the football game,' " he said.
But he cautions parents to be more interested in their child's maturity than the convenience of letting them drive.
Lessons at his training center often start with videos of crashes. The wrecks are jolting at first, but the impression doesn't last long, he said.
"They're invincible," he said. "I don't know of anybody that thinks they're going to have a wreck today."
Inexperience and speed are a lethal combination for teen drivers, experts say.
"All new drivers are bad," said Stephanie Faul, communications director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "Inexperience is the same for everybody."
Teens pick up the poor habits of adult drivers, such as eating in the car and not paying attention, she said, but new drivers are at a disadvantage.
"They don't have the knowledge of when to put the sandwich down," she said. "And they don't have the knowledge that it's a distraction in the first place."
Josh Hardin, 16, of Pleasant Ridge, a junior at Walnut Hills High School, has had his license for almost two months.
He completed a driver's education course and has heard the horror stories of simple distractions that lead to wrecks. He says he's cautious.
"I try to stress to people who get in my car to wear seat belts," he said.
It's easy for teens his age to convince themselves they're fabulous drivers, Ms. Faul said, but parents should keep in mind the subtle difference between not hitting anything and not hitting anything yet.
"A lot of kids in the suburbs don't have any options" in terms of public transportation, she said. "So the temptation for parents is to let their kid drive himself or herself, and they might not have much practice."
States are pushing for tougher driving standards for teens.
Ohio began phasing in a law in July requiring 50 hours of driving practice an adult. It takes effect for all new drivers in January.
Kentucky adopted a new licensing system in 1996 that requires a six-month learning period. Indiana's new licensing, which includes night-driving restrictions and passenger limits, takes effect in January.
"Twenty-four states have enacted some legislation in the last two or three years," said Allan Williams, senior vice president for research for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "It phases them in to more privileged driving."
His agency's data indicates a 16-year-old is three times as likely to crash as an 18-year-old driver. Parents need to do more than recognize the teen years are dangerous, he said.
"Parents have to stay involved," he said. "That's the way to keep out of a high-risk situation."
