Teen Drunk Driving
National Public Radio did a timely story recently on efforts to educate teens on drinking and driving. It comes on the heels of a report showing that young women -- who were once statistically safer drivers than their male counterparts -- are increasingly engaging in risky driving behavior like drinking and driving. And another story in the same newspaper earlier gave us a detailed view of the lives of several teenagers ten years after they were involved in a rollover accident that killed two and left two others with permanent brain damage.
While there's clearly no time of year when drinking and driving is a good idea, it's especially relevant right now, as summer approaches. More pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists will be out on the streets, teens will be out of school, and many of us will be heading for parties and barbecues in the approaching warm evenings. The blood on that teen is false, but they're putting it on him because the risk he runs is, unfortunately, quite real. Car accidents, as the report reminded us, are the number-one killer of American teenagers. We've handled thousands of motor vehicle accident cases, here at Wingate, Russotti & Shapiro, so we know very well how serious the consequences can be -- medical, personal and financial. Especially for a teenager or young adult with an entire life ahead of him or her, it's just not worth it.
