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Patience
Needed With Teen Drivers
Methuen Councilor Debbie Quinn
(03/06/07)
 According to figures
from the Registry of Motor Vehicles, 32 percent of all
16-year-old drivers will be in a serious car accident.
The numbers decline slightly as youngsters get older: 17
percent of 17 year-olds and 13 percent of 18 year-olds.
Statistically, teenage drivers are involved in a very
high percentage of car accidents each year.
Because of these statistics, first-time teen drivers
should get all the practice they can before getting
behind the wheel of a car. Driver education and training
will help to make kids safer drivers but anything we can
do beyond that will only be a plus.
Anyone who’s taught a 16 year old how to drive knows
full well how stressful it can be for both the teen
driver and the adult.
Add to that fact that people these days are so rushed and
sometimes doing several other tasks while sitting behind
the wheel and it can be a dangerous situation. I must
admit not all kids are nervous drivers and not all
parents are nervous teachers, but indulge me for a
moment.
Parking, busy streets, highways, on and off ramps, are
just a few of the dangerous obstacles teen drivers face.
Not to mention the added element of irate drivers
with their hands on the horn or worse, cutting off the
young unexperienced drivers in a fit of road rage.
This experience may be very traumatic, for both parent
and student driver.
Now, I know what your thinking, these people are just
plain rude and probably will not adhere to any street
signs or road rules, there’s noting you can do about
them.
That may be the case, but these people who are in such a
hurry, simply not thinking of who’s in the car ahead
of them, are still a danger to young drivers and they
have to know how to handle situations where the other
driver is causing a problem on the road.
Then there are those who want to drive around with tinted
windows. For these people who say ‘we don’t
want undesirables to see whose in the car,’ I say,
there is a law against tinted windows. The law is there
so that anyone can look in the window to see who’s
driving, and if it is underage teen it is important to
see that they are with an adult and not driving alone.
There is a voluntary program for parents and student
drivers in the city of Methuen A pilot program
co-ordinated with the Police Department, Mayor Manzi,
Methuen Auto School, and myself. My hope is to find funds
via donations so that we may distribute magnets that
alert drivers on the road of who is an underage driver.
The magnets are free of cost. Give them a try. Any safety
precautions we can take for our younger drivers are well
worth it.
For the past two years the Police Depart-ment and the
auto school have worked together to educate new drivers
and to try and educate experienced drivers on the need to
give new drivers some slack and the need to exercise
patience on the road.
We have found that most of the time the drivers are not
intentionally tailgating they tend to just be in a rush
and are inattentive to their surroundings.
The student driver magnet program is a way to advise
other drivers that a new driver is operating the car and
to remind them to give this person a chance.
The magnet design is similar to the “schools open”
and school bus bumper stickers. These stickers have
worked well when it comes to reminding drivers to use
caution and we expect the same success from these
magnets.
Debbie Quinn is a West End District city
councilor in Methuen. She is in her first term and can be
reached at drq270@yahoo.com
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The March 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
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