Atlanta Mom Fights to Keep Teen Drivers Safer
Susie Kessler is an Atlanta mom on a mission. The AJC ran an interesting Q&A session with this Kennesaw mom who's urging legislators to mandate that teen drivers (or really, anyone new to driving) sport stickers or decals announcing to the world they are "newly licensed." Kessler believes this warning will help other drivers on the road be more understanding and also allow them a little more space on the road.
Through her non-profit, Caution and Courtesy Driver Alliance, Kessler has sold about 15,000 new driver magnets to households across the country - and her own 16-year-old son, of course, has a decal on his own car. She's now working with a Georgia senator to bring forward a bill that would mandate the stickers for new drivers. This, she says, would keep kids from being embarrassed, since everyone would be required to have one.
Car accidents are the #1 killer of teens in the United States. Do you think new driver decals will help keep kids safe on the roads?
Find out more about Kessler's mission in the AJC.
Comments
My father is a Driver’s Ed teacher, I think this is a horrible idea. Let me explain why…
From firsthand experience, I can tell you that people have a tendency to zero-in on “Student Driver” notices. They often do this to the point of losing focus of what is happening around them, and when we are involved in a crash, it is most often being rear-ended by other drivers who were inattentive to what was happening in front of the student car. In fact, in the last several years, they’ve only had one crash attributable to student driver error.
Add to this (again having seen this firsthand) that many drivers, like someone mentioned see this as a sign of weakness, and people take advantage of new drivers. If everybody else were great drivers, and people were courteous and responsible behind the wheel, this would be a fantastic idea. Alas, people in the real world are NOT courteous, they are NOT responsible. In the real world, when most people see a student driver notification, rather than behave predictably, responsibly, and safely around what they consider to be a “loose cannon” most people turn into lunatics whose only thought seems to be I must pass this car at all costs.” Even if my fathers drivers are driving very well, which most of them do because they’re nervous as hell, people feel they should cut them off, speed around them, pass in restricted areas, and so forth ad infinitum
Also, even further in addition to those items mentioned above, you have other (usually young) drivers intentionally messing with those drivers who THEY KNOW are inexperienced. I’ve read statements from people on various message boards admitting as much – that they screw around with student drivers on purpose. I’ve admonished these posts with a rather lengthy diatribe before, the gist of which was this: A driver’s ed car is someone’s office. The teachers go to work on the roads that the majority of people think are their playgrounds, and they want to go home to my family at night just like everybody else.
If someone were to go into an office and fire off 25 shots from a Fifty-Caliber “Ma Deuce” at random, it would of course be incredibly irresponsible – just as irresponsible as trying to mess with a random person driving a 4000 lb car at 40 mph, because that’s how much kinetic energy is in play. I assume people don’t screw around with heavy machine-guns in your office, please don’t screw around with your car in someone else’s office.
Anyhow, like sharks to blood in water, these stickers or magnets will only exacerbate the worst behaviors in people who already behave badly. I don’t believe it is a wise idea to call attention to new drivers.
I live in Australia in my state of Australia (Victoria) we have L plates for learner drivers (regardless of age) displaying that the person is learning to drive.
We also have P plates for new licenced drivers and we are required to display these for three or four years depending on age. I got my licence at 28 years of age and have had P plates for a year and will have to display them for another two. I think they are a good idea because it lets other drivers know you are a new driver and less experienced.
How about:
CAUTION, CELL PHONE USER
CAUTION, UNINSURED
CAUTION, APPLYING MAKEUP
CAUTION, AGGRESSIVE DRIVER
CAUTION, READING THE PAPER
CAUTION, UNLICENSED
CAUTION, EATING FAST FOOD
CAUTION, GENERALLY NOT PAYING ATTENTION
CAUTION, I OWN THE ROAD.
It’s not just the teenagers.
Young learner drivers under 21 are also required to get 120 hours supervised experience before going for their P plates this is done by filling out a strict logbook that is checked by the road traffic authority.