Realities of teen driving
Linda McAvoy
Special to the Star
The boy – and make no mistake, at 17 he is still a boy – was caught by police this past Victoria Day weekend driving 239 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
Driving "erratically" is how Huronia West OPP described it when they stopped him at 1:50 a.m.
Being a complete idiot is how most parents would phrase it.
Not enough that he was putting his own life at risk, and that of all those on the road with him, the kid had four passengers, all under 18.
This is the stuff that parental nightmares are made of, but at least there was a happy ending: everyone is alive and well; the kid was charged with street racing, careless driving, failure to surrender his licence and he must appear in court next month.
His licence was suspended; the car seized and held for seven days.
Perhaps while he's hoofing it he'll be contemplating the stupidity of his actions, but I doubt it. It's more likely he and his buddies are still bragging about the wild ride they took. I hope I'm wrong.
Consider the following:
Many teen drivers underestimate their level of driving experience and fail to recognize hazards such as distractions, says a recent study in Pediatrics.
Death rates for 16-year-old drivers almost triple when there were three or more riders, according to a Johns Hopkins University report.
A study at the National Institutes of Health suggests that the region of the brain that inhibits risky behaviour is not fully formed until age 25.
Again, the nightmares.
There's your kid, with his newly minted G licence in hand, begging to borrow the family car.
Yeah he's a good kid, you trust him, for the most part, but ... and there are a lot of buts: the lack of driving experience, the immaturity, the risk-taking behaviour, the distractions, the friends.
And we haven't even talked about impaired driving yet. But actually you have, right? You've talked to him? You've sat him down and had "the talk?"
You've ignored the rolling eyes and the deep sighs. You've told him you love him, and you trust him, and then you laid down the rules?
You've given him the "don't speed, buckle up, no phones, no texting, here are your boundaries, be home by midnight, and no alcohol – but I'll pick you up anywhere any time, day or night, no questions asked, just call" lecture, right?
Good for you.
You know, though, it never hurts to remind them again.