Bill O’Boyle

Beyond the Byline: Help assure safe driving habits are followed

The message sent from the Wolf Administration really said it all.

“Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for teens,” said PennDOT Deputy Secretary for Driver and Vehicle Services Kurt Myers. “Parents and teachers have an important role to play in helping new drivers establish safe driving habits.”

A forum was held recently to call attention to teen driver safety and share important information directly with teen drivers during the nationwide observance of Teen Driver Safety Week Oct. 16-22, and gave students an opportunity to directly ask questions of the panel.

Read and absorb these sobering statistics:

• From 2017 to 2021, there were 81,364 crashes involving at least one 16- to 19-year- old driver in Pennsylvania, resulting in 480 fatalities.

• 66% of those crashes involved a teen driver driving too fast for conditions 25,721 crashes; driver inexperience 8,707 crashes; driver distraction 12,411 crashes; improper/careless turning 13,092 crashes.

• There was a total of 53,673 crashes with one or more of these factors.

When will these startling statistics sink in with teen drivers, or for all drivers for that matter.

Experts say the risk of a crash involving any of these factors can be reduced through practice, limiting the number of passengers riding with a new driver, obeying all rules of the road, and using common sense.

That last one — using common sense — well, that really needs to be emphasized.

“Setting a good example in the driver’s seat is one of the most important things you can do as a parent or caregiver of a teen driver,” said Colonel Robert Evanchick, commissioner of the Pennsylvania State Police. “Positive examples include eliminating distractions in the vehicle, obeying the speed limit, never driving while impaired, and remembering to buckle up every time.”

PennDOT suggests that parents consider the following recommendations to help their children become safe and responsible drivers:

• Set a good example with your own driving habits.

• Have regular conversations with your teen about safe driving skills before they get their learner’s permit.

• Establish a parent/teen driving contract.

• Ride with your teen occasionally after they receive their license to monitor driving skills.

• Enforce observance of speed limits and other rules of the road.

• Strongly encourage your teen to avoid distractions behind the wheel, such as talking or texting on their cell phone.

Yes, distracted driving is a real problem. Yet it seems no matter how many people are killed or injured, distracted driving continues.

“Driving a car requires experience, skill, and undivided attention — all factors that improve with repetition and training,” said Acting Department of Education Secretary Eric Hagarty. “Through driver education training programs, teenage drivers receive valuable instruction that prepares them to get behind the wheel, keeping themselves, their passengers, and fellow drivers safe on the road.”

Something has to be done. The message has to get through.

These stories also take me to my dear friend Eileen Woelkers Miller, who has fought long and hard for the passage of HB37 — the Enhanced Driver Responsibility Legislation for Safety on our Roads Act.

Miller’s son, Paul, was killed by a distracted driver in July 2010. Eileen has dedicated her life to speaking to high school kids, legislators and anyone else who will listen about the evils of distracted driving.

I’ve seen her in action and I have heard her impassioned speech. She has managed to take her personal tragedy and use it to educate and convince students and adults about distracted driving and I know she has gotten though to many in her audiences.

Eileen says life is all about choices.

“What will your choice be?” she asks everyone. “Be safe and arrive alive.”

Really, what will it take? When will we all realize that we don’t ever want to go through what Eileen and her husband, Paul, have gone through. We never want to feel that pain. We never want to lose a loved one. We never want to be the one that a distracted driver claims next.

Read the statistics again and again.

Do all you can to see that the message gets through.