Townhall.com, Where Your Opinion Counts
Talk Radio:   Bill Bennett   Mike Gallagher   Dennis Prager   Michael Medved   Hugh Hewitt   
BREAKING NEWS  LeftArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican   RightArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican  
Columns, funnies & more in your inbox!
  • Check the boxes and send us your email address to receveive your free newsletter
  • Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
  • Townhall.com’s weekly inside scoop on what’s happening behind the scenes in the world of politics. When news breaks, we report.
  • Signup to receive the latest daily Townhall cartoons
Friday, January 18, 2008
Mike Adams :: Townhall.com Columnist
Street Safe
by Mike Adams
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
[+] Text [-]
 
Poll
What was the biggest suprise of Election Day?



Dear Mr. Boortz (www.Boortz.com):

I’m getting sick and tired of young drivers with cell phones. Just a couple of nights ago some kid who was parked next to me took several minutes to pull out of a parking space while he was trying to send a text message. The kid just pulled out of the space and stopped right behind me oblivious to the fact that I was waiting on him as he just text messaged away in a little dream world of his own.

Some might say that isn’t a big deal. But have you ever been sideswiped – or nearly sideswiped – by some idiot teenager trying to merge onto an interstate while sending a text message? I almost got hit by one of those little sociopaths a few weeks ago on I-20 West not far from Atlanta. At the time, I thought a .357 Magnum was the only cure for such self-absorption. But, recently, I have discovered a more reasonable alternative. I want to share it with you and your millions of listeners (and maybe even your best friend Bill O’Reilly).

“Street Safe” is a new program that was designed to provide teen drivers with the proper tools, which will teach them to react calmly in certain dangerous automobile situations. For example, it teaches them the proper correction when running off the road and about driving while distracted. It also deals with issues of drinking and driving.

This non-profit program was started by a retired police officer for the right reason: He simply got tired of wiping pieces of dead kids off of windshields. He knows, all too well, that about 40% of the deaths of people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the result of automobile accidents.

In my view, the only way to deal with irresponsible teen drivers is to: 1) Take the keys away from them as soon as they do something stupid behind the wheel of an automobile, and 2) Give the keys back to them only after they have been given the proper tools and training to help them be better, more responsible drivers.

Street Safe is the perfect course to accomplish the objective of making teens better, more responsible drivers. It is a four-hour course with hands-on and classroom training. Our local District Attorney for New Hanover County, North Carolina (Democrat Ben David) was so impressed with this program that he has now made it the de facto driving school for offenders aged 21 and younger. This Republican agrees wholeheartedly with that decision.

Because the founder of Street Safe needs corporate sponsorship to continue to offer the program - as well as to expand into other markets like Miami and New York City – he wanted me to bring it to the attention of my good friend Neal Boortz. But I have an even better idea.

Neal, I want you to make a plea to all parents, regardless of whether their kids have done something stupid behind the wheel of a car. Ask them to visit the Street Safe website (www.streetsafeus.com) and watch the video overview (http://streetsafeus.com/faq.asp) of the program. I’m convinced that if they do that, many will decide it is worth the $25 it costs to enroll their teens in the course before they do something to cause mandatory enrollment. Continued...

1 2
| Full Article & Comments | Next >
Share:
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
 
About The Author
Mike Adams is a criminology professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and author of Feminists Say the Darndest Things: A Politically Incorrect Professor Confronts "Womyn" On Campus.
 
TOWNHALL DAILY: Be the first to receive Mike Adams' column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com daily lineup delivered each morning to your inbox.
DUI & cellphones

In the link below you can read some facts. After reading the facts, I concluded that the action to take would be to abolish DUI laws. Most of "conservatives" that posted here will conclude that we should outlaw cell phones in the cars not ASAP, but yesterday. Sad.

In any case, I do know that Bob is worse driver after 6 beers than Bob after a quart of water. HOWEVER, who is to say that Bob is more dangerous than John that could be distracted by Big Mac, by babbling spouse, barking Snoopy on the back seat ... and so on? So what to do? I guess ban everything from the car, children included. Right, "conservatives"?

Here are the facts:
http://unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1

PS: I don't drink period, not even at home. I don't use cell phone in the car - no ifs and no buts. I'm a smoker and I don't smoke while driving - believe it or not I stop on long drives for a restroom and smoke.

Street Safe
It is very easy for us to single out teen drivers and call them irresponsible and idiots and yes it is the number one killer of young people in this country. While we point fingers and call them names we are the same people who have let the driver's education system deteriorate to the point where you can actually learn to drive via an online class without any real behind the wheel experience in some states. Let's stop blaming teenagers for their inexperience and immature behavior and start teaching them how to drive properly and show them what consequences distractions can have while driving. States only require a certain number of hours behind the wheel and then they take a test on particular driving skills they supposedly learn during their training. Think back to your own Driver's Education and it was probably taught by your high school gym teacher. What did you do when you drove. You learned how to parallel park, use hand signals for turning and stopping etc. Did you ever really learn how operate a vehicle on the road with all the other driver's out there for an extended period of time. How many of us took our instructor on errands such as to the dry cleaners or through the fast food line? Parents need to take a more active role in their teens driving and driver's education needs to be overhauled to include training that StreetSafe, http://www.streetsafeus.com and programs like Driver's Edge, http://www.driversedge.org offer. Stop complaining and start helping these programs find the resources they need to educate our youth! How can we expect them to drive and behave responsibly when we have not given them the proper tools and training to allow them to make that responsible decision. You get what you put into it!
Sign Up to Post Your CommentsSign Up to Post Your Comments
If you are already registered, click here to login. Otherwise, please take a few seconds to register with Townhall.com. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to post your comments immediately, use the action center, get podcasts, and more!
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
Salutation:
First Name:
*
Last Name:
*
Email:
*
Nickname:
*
Note: Nick name will be shown when you post comments.
Address 1:
*
Address 2:
City:
*
State:
*
Zip:
*
Phone:
      
Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
(Bi-Weekly) We highlight the best opportunities from our partners for surveys, action items and more.