By Erica Solvig
The Cincinnati Enquirer

READING - An impatient driver at a three-way intersection got Ruth Keefe thinking. And worrying.

She thought about her teenage son, Ryan, being a new driver on the road amid such aggressive drivers in a hurry.

So she decided to do something about it.

The marketing executive and mother of two was concerned her children could be among the 25 percent of teens who have an accident in their first year of driving. She created SafTSign, a line of magnetic bumper stickers that alert others there is a new driver on the road.

"These accidents are not always these kids' fault - sometimes it's a situation caused by an aggressive driver, and they're too inexperienced to react," said Keefe, president of Spectrum Marketing Support. "It's just a bad combination."

Each sign is about 5-by-15 inches and includes phrases like "Got Temps? (I do) Please Be Patient" and "My Last Car Was A Bike."

The signs were invented about a year ago, and until they started marketing them recently, only about 40 had been sold, Keefe said.

In the last few weeks, they've sold more than 100 signs nationwide via the Internet, www.saftsign.com.

Betsy Scherpenberg of Kenwood purchased a magnetic sign at Biggs for her 15-year-old son, Michael, before he got his temporary license.

"You notice people noticing them," the mother of four said. "At least if they see it, they'll cut you some slack. They don't go as fast and don't follow you so close."

Her son says he doesn't mind having the yellow-and-black decal on his car.

"I haven't really driven without it," said Michael, a sophomore football player for Indian Hill High School. "It's not like a huge difference, but it does make a difference."

The state Bureau of Motor Vehicles and parent-teacher organizations have shown interest in selling the SafTSigns, Keefe said. She is hoping insurance companies will make them available when parents sign up their children.

"It will be the best $10 anyone will spend," Keefe said.

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E-mail esolvig@enquirer.com