by Casey Case

Created on: July 04, 2009   Last Updated: July 06, 2009

Driving has never been a "right," it has always been a privilege. The moment you seat yourself behind the wheel, you assume full responsibility for anything and everything that happens as a result of operating that vehicle. Peoples lives depend on your ability to safely operate a vehicle. I have over thirty-five years experience driving, with thirty years as a professional, commercial driver and over two million accident-free, ticket-free miles behind me. That puts me in the top one percent of all drivers worldwide. I am the authority on this subject.

Teens certainly have the need to drive. The physical design of our cities and our country demand it. We are decades away from designing and implementing an effective, efficient mass transportation system. But the need to drive can only be met after teens demonstrate their ability to accept the responsibility driving demands. I have helped scrape more than one dead baby off a highway as a result of someone's careless actions. Numbers don't lie: Teenagers have the highest ratio of accidents including those involving fatalities. The introduction of the cell phone into the driver's seat is driving this ratio even higher into previously unseen numbers. Driving while using a cell phone demonstrates a person's complete disregard for the safety and well being of their own passengers and everyone else on or near the road. This is true for adults as much as it is for teens.

Over the years, the liability involved with an auto accident has skyrocketed. We live in a society eager to sue. Lawyers on TV encourage it by saying things like, "Have a wreck? Get a check." Our cars cost ten of thousands of dollars. Medical costs are beyond the stratosphere now. One minor accident has the ability to financially devastate a family. I once met a mechanical engineer now living homeless on the streets of Denver as a result of her teenage daughter running one red light. All it takes is one accident to permanently change an individual's or a family's lifestyle forever. There is just simply too much at stake to adopt yet another stupid politically-correct attitude of, "it's my right."

Most teenagers are more than capable of handling themselves behind the wheel. It is also true that every one of us has made mistakes behind the wheel. I certainly have. But there also exists those who have turned automobiles into weapons, using them as a platform for drive-by shootings or as a tool to smash into homes and businesses for the purpose of robbery. Most often, they are teenagers. No, we can't label all teenagers as bad because of the actions of a few. At the same time, however, by requiring teens to attend driving schools and demonstrate actual skills and financial responsibility, we can re-enforce the message that has always been true:

Driving is a privilege, not a right.

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