Teen drivers and speed

On Wednesday, December 5, two 18-year-olds, Devindra Harilall and Christopher Karan, both of Ozone Park, were killed when the car they were riding in hit a guardrail and flipped over while speeding southbound on the Van Wyck Expressway. The accident left the driver of the car and two other passengers on life support.
Sanjay Misir, 17, was driving with a suspended license when he crashed his 2007 Dodge Charger at 12:45 a.m.
The teens were allegedly on their way home from watching a drag race on Long Island. Their families believed they were at the movies.
There are serious lessons to be learned from this tragic accident.
Speed kills. Period.
Seat belts save lives. Period.
The trouble with young drivers is that they all think they are invincible. They suffer from the “It can’t happen to me” syndrome. Research has shown that teens only drive safely to avoid getting a ticket and not for fear of crashing.
Statistical data has documented that speeding has been a factor in over 37 percent of crashes involving 16-year-olds. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 20.
Teens are more likely than older drivers to speed and they habitually “tailgate,” allowing shorter distances between cars. Additionally, teens have the lowest rate of seat beat use of any age group.
A survey conducted by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that only one in four teens lives with “hands-on” parents - parents who have established rules and expectations for their teen’s behavior and monitor what their teens do and with whom.
Too many parents enable their children with gifts of fast cars with powerful engines the moment they qualify for a driver’s license. Sure all parents worry about their children when they are driving, but many of them are also glad to give up their chauffeur’s caps.
Teens speed because of peer pressure, because they are running late for appointments or school, and just for the thrill of it. They get a thrill knowing that they have cheated death and not been caught breaking the law. Inexperienced with life and its consequences, they are swept away with the euphoria of being in charge of themselves and their cars.
We as parents must become “hands-on” role models. We must not drink and drive. We must not speed. Teens are very sensitive to hypocrisy and will fashion their behavior on what they observe their parents doing - not on what they are saying.
Do not allow your teens to drive late at night, insist that they always wear their seatbelts and make sure you do too.