Another Jonston county teen

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/8945600/

We as parents must teach our kids to drive. As a kid I worked on a farm driving a tractor 3 summers before getting my permit. Kids now don't have a chance to get experience. Drivers education is not enough. I'ts not that system is broken, personally I don't think it is. Parents need to hold themselves accountable to teach our kids to drive.

We must teach them courtesy, rules of the road and the laws and why we should follow these.
It is not okay to speed, make rolling stiops, not yield to traffic, pass on a double yellow line, all of which i see adults do daily in this county.

Driving is privilege not a right. Don't turn them loose if they are not ready.

 

I don't want to tell you how close this was to my house.:cry: I didn't know the young man, but it has bothered me a lot. He is FAR from the only one who speeds through there, teen or adult. They think it can't happen to them. :banghead:

 

I completely agree with you. My son turned 16 in November and he did not get his license yet. He also grew up driving (play jeep/tractor/farm truck/go carts). Still, he knows he is not ready to head out alone...he never even mentioned it. He rarely asks to drive with his permit and many of his friends are the same. I think some of it is seeing all of the kids who are driving recklessly and dying way too young. I know he will eventually get his license, but it would be irresponsible for me as his parent to put him out there before he is ready. Until then, we will keep practicing and talking openly about tragedies like the one Friday night. Prayers to the family and friends of this young man.

 

This happened near my lair. In fact I was over that way around that time so I must have just missed it.

Teens think they are invincible.

 

My first car was already quite old when I first got it but it was still dependable even if it didn't go past 60 mph.
What I don't understand is why so many teenagers are driving those brand new,fast cars instead of starting out with something older,already dented and not so fast.

 

While I agree with you to some extent, Annette, a lot of it still goes back to the parents setting their own "laws"...notice I didn't say "rules". I'm one of the kids who drove a brand new car when I turned 16. It was family tradition that my grandparents bought the grandkids all cars so our parents didn't have to worry about it. As I left the house every morning at 6:30am for school activities and never was home before 9pm at night from extra-curricular activities, my parents wanted me in something comfortable, safe, and dependable.
With that being said, IT WAS LAW set by my parents that I MUST make honor roll, be involved with my sports, marching band, clubs, etc., ALWAYS meet curfew which was 10pm except friday night games, and if I EVER got a speeding ticket or was involved in a wreck, the car would be parked..no ifs, ands or buts. PERIOD. I lived by those rules as if they were LAW and to this day(15 years later) have never been involved in an accident or had a speeding ticket. I don't know what the answer is. Maybe it was the fact that my dad was a firefighter for 30 years and came home every day telling me about accidents like this one that scared the crap out of me. I lift this family in my prayers though as I can't imagine what they are going thru:cry:

 

I have a theory about this. When we grew up, you did not have a place to really "speed". The beltline and hwy 70 was your only source of 4 lanes in the area. Our kids grow up taking drivers ed and using I40 as one of their practice areas. Then they get their permit and most parents feel more comfortable with them on the open road like I40 than the country back roads. I40 has all the shoulder lanes, rumble strips, etc. They get their pratice on the big open expanse of 40. Then the kids get their license and use the same "70 MPH" mentality on the backroads. The country roads allow no room for error.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I don't know where parents let kids practice driving, but the drivers Ed course only practices a few hours total on the highway. Most of the time spent practicing in DE is on the back roads. My theory is that a lot of parents don't let kids practice much.

I also think that parents believe because kids CAN get their license at 16, they SHOULD. Some kids are mature enough for that resposibility, but many aren't. They also think that because they have their license they should be able to go anywhere, anytime. If a child's not quite ready, parents should set limits as to where and when he/she can drive. And if they don't wear their seatbelt, they don't drive. Period. Better to have strict rules about driving than to see your child die. Maybe the parents need a "how to deal with teenaged drivers" course. Maybe they've never thought about these things.

It is understandable that the accident rate would be higher with less experience, but the fatal accident statistics for teenagers is not normal. It is such a tragedy to see young people dying in completely preventable accidents.

 

I don't know what the answer is, but I highly doubt my son will be getting his permit at 16.

Does anyone know what our teenage fatality statistics are vs other areas?

Annette, this kid was driving a 76 Ford pickup........so it's not limited to those kids with "new" vehicles.

He was yards from his house, I have a feeling in this was a case of him feeling over confident since he was very familiar with the road.

 

"From 2005 to 2009, Johnston County suffered 33 teen-driving deaths, the second-most of any North Carolina county; much larger counties like Wake, Guilford and Mecklenburg had nearly the same."

This is up to 2009, but based on current numbers, we are still second in the state even though we are not at all the largest county.

 

:cry:

 

I agree. My son is 16 and still awaiting his license. He will be driving a 99 Ford Escort. I don't know why people keep saying "a truck like that" or "a new fast automobile". This could happen just as easily in a 2011 Chevy Avalanche as it could in a 1989 Geo Metro.

 

That is awful!

 

I have already been talking to DS about this, and will be showing him where it happened, which is easy from my yard. :?:? I am hoping maybe a "scared straight" approach may work. I doubt it, but I will try anything.

I feel so bad for his parents, friends and family. :cry:

 

My sympathy, thoughts and prayers go out to this family.
But, unfortunately, from what I've read - not only was he speeding and playing around by passing his friend - but he was not wearing a seatbelt and he was thrown from the car, and died from his injuries. :cry:
I don't understand why wearing a seatbelt is so difficult for some folks. :banghead:

And I agree, people just seem to drive much more recklessly/carelessly in general these days.

Parents: For teens w/ permits - make them drive as much as possible (w/ you). I know sometimes its an inconvenience - but they need that yrs worth of practicing before getting their license!

 

Man, that poor kid that had to tell his father. <shudders>

 

Having grown up in Joco I can honestly say this about when I was growing up versus now. in the time when I was growning up from about age 12 on I was driving, be it farm tractors, or trucks in fields, or riding mowers, or simply dirt bikes and go carts. Prior to that around age 8-9 my dad had an MG midget that he'd let me sit in his lap and steer while he worked the pedals and shifted. When I took drivers ed. it consisted of 4 weeks of daily class, then when it came my turn to drive it was 4 weeks of rotational daily driving with 2 other students in the car.


Now days from what I've seen the closest most kids get to driving prior to drivers ed is Need for Speed type video games, and point blank just don't have the mental respect/capacity to be turned loose with the lack of experience they have.

 

I see teens and adults alike not wearing seat belts. If a parent sees his/her child not wearing a seat belt, there shouldn't be a "next time you better wear it" approach. There may not be a next time. Imposing your own rules and consequences for driving shows them that you are serious about protecting their life and that driving is a serious activity. Also the more practice they get driving with a parent, the more practice they get putting their seatbelt on. Eventually it becomes habit. Teens who aren't given the proper supervised practice don't always make it a habit to wear their seat belts. The pity of it is that kids will be kids and make errors in judgement from time to time. Unfortunatly, some of these errors are fatal. as parents we just have to do the best we can to equip our children to make good decisions when they aren't with us. So scary!

 

the total is up to 40 now.....

:cry:

 

Thank all of you for the discussion. With all being said, I would like to challenge all parents in johnston county, not just 4042er's to not let your child be next.