Will We Ever Heed the Warnings?

Open letter to the public:

In the past year of 1996, my nineteen-year-old daughter and I have witnessed the untimely passing of several young people as a result of automobile accidents, and most recent to date, was the sixteen-year-old daughter of a co-worker.

My first thought upon being told of this tragic situation was to ask the question of God: "Why did this need to happen?" After looking inward though, I am reminded that God gives us free choice, and then we choose our own destinies in these choices we produce. Now, while I can't make choices for the innocent youth as they venture into learning life's lessons, I can acknowledge the responsibility to help set better guidelines. Although nothing can ensure someone's total safety, if being a factor in improving our existing consciousness helps reduce the fatality figures, then whatever is accomplished will transcend the effort.

As parents, we occasionally pass harsh judgments on ourselves in accepting blame for situations that we may not have total control over. We ignore the element that we are also casualties in these situations, for we cannot foresee all the danger that will befall our children in life. Often, we live with a false feeling of security that we are immune to dangerous situations. As concerned individuals, we could re-focus our energies to take positive action in minimizing fatalities and maximizing universal awareness to prevent future needless loss of life.

While I may be helpless in easing my friend's pain and sorrow, I can be part of the cause for making a difference in our future environment, and therefore have decided to focus my energies toward:

- encouraging the modification of the legal age for driving back to a prudent "legal age of maturity" that would be consistent with other laws governing teens, such as drinking, smoking, voting, incarceration, and/or military draft. Would we knowingly incorporate an ethical law that would be in direct conflict of the well being of the people for whom the law is enacted to serve? We might also consider that it is past time to unify the "legal age of maturity" throughout our nation. Setting double standards regarding the "legal age of maturity" for our future leaders would seem to only serve to encourage that they, in turn, set double standards when addressing other laws that will govern them through their life, would it not?

- broadening the education of the consumer regarding current tools available for improving the safety factors involved with automobiles; air bags, seat belts, and car seats; while encouraging the perpetual development of these tools. Couldn't one possibility be to include new federal incentive programs to these companies for their efforts in persevering to find additional ways to improve the safety of the products we put in our children's hands? We do not hesitate to take a toy off the shelf if that toy is found to be potentially harmful. We even go so far as to list the suggested age for usage of the toy. Yet, we are neglecting to speak out loudly enough in an effort to promote the awareness of the automobile as a potential loaded weapon and not as a toy! This message is confirmed in the tragedies we bear witness to daily.

- encouraging a halt to those pressures associated with not having a driver's license before the age of eighteen. Must we blindly continue to push our teens to cut short their youth?

Would at least one step in the right direction be to offer them incentives such as discounted bus fares. We might also consider escalating the use of school buses for chauffeuring our youth to and from appropriate after school activities?

Insurance companies recognize the problem facing us when reviewing their own pricing statistics and act accordingly by setting high premiums for these young drivers. The insurance companies just might be trying to tell us something, but will we heed the warning? When will we stop and listen? At what cost will we receive this expensive education of ours? I am embarrassed to say that I too ignored the warning signs in the past and didn't take action sooner to initiate change for the better in our nation. With it hitting so close to home now, fortunately, I got the wake-up call. Our youth will continually have a strong need to look toward their elders for guidance and support, and it is our responsibility as their leaders to guide them in the right directions. While independently, it may seem an insurmountable undertaking, collectively, as concerned parents and leaders, anything is possible.