Saturday, June 01, 2002

Torance, Ca

Making young drivers safer drivers

By Josh Grossberg

DAILY BREEZE

It's one of life's most thrilling rites of passage. It's the first whiff of freedom, the first taste of adulthood.

For the average teen-ager, driving means more than a way of getting from A to B. It's the rush of wind in the hair with the radio blaring. It's liberty.

“It's like freedom,” said 16-year-old Drew Abbott of Redondo Beach.

“I get to go where I want to when I want to,” said 16-year-old Aimee Sprague.

“It opens up a lot of options,” said 18-year-old Brett Jordan of Redondo Beach. “Parents don't have to drive you around.”

With summer arriving, many teens will take to the road for the first time. But for all the frivolity, there's also lurking danger. Auto accidents are the single greatest cause of death among teen-agers.

In 1998, 2,242 people died or were injured in accidents in California when a 16-year-old was behind the wheel, according to figures compiled by the Automobile Club of Southern California.

But things have changed since then. After a law restricting driving for young drivers took effect July 1, 1998, teen-age driving deaths and injuries involving 16-year-old drivers have declined 40 percent, according to the Auto Club.

The Brady-Jared Teen Driver Safety act was named for Brady Grasinger, a 15-year-old Rancho Palos Verdes girl who died in a 1990 car wreck, and Jared Cunningham of San Luis Obispo, who died at age 14.

Brady's mother, Sandy Grasinger, lobbied to get the law passed.

“The worst possible scenario for any parent was turned into saving lives,” said Grasinger, a teacher at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. “I'm very excited with the statistics. It's what we thought would happen.”

And while teens may moan about the restrictions, Grasinger said they're starting to get used to it.

“They don't know any better now,” she said. “It's become part of their everyday life. And it helped when the stats starting coming out and the parents realized how good it was.”

Brady died when a car she was riding in was hit by a drunken driver. Although she and her friends were innocent victims, more experience behind the wheel might have saved them, said Auto Club spokeswoman Carol Thorp.

“The more experience, the better the driver,” she said. “I can make the difference in that one second when someone does something crazy.”

The law requires teens under 18 to have a learner's permit for at least six months before getting a provisional license. During that time, they must spend at least 50 hours behind the wheel practicing with a parent or guardian. Once they obtain their provisional license, they are prohibited from carrying passengers under 20 for six months unless a driver at least 25 is also in the car.

For the first year, they may not drive without supervision from midnight to 5 a.m.

“Teen-agers, of course, didn't like it,” Thorp said. “They saw some of their freedoms being infringed upon. But now it's just something you have to do.”

To help teens stay even safer, Gary Direnfeld started the I Promise Program earlier this year. When parents and teens sign up for the program, they both promise to drive safely. And if not, other motorists can call a toll-free number stuck to the back of the car to complain. If that happens, a letter arrives in the offending party's mailbox.

Direnfeld got the idea during the many years he spent as a social worker helping with people who suffered brain injuries in car crashes.

“We start with the parent,” Direnfeld said. “You have to be a role model. Teens don't listen to what you say, they watch what you do. With parents as role models, they enter into a mutual safe driving contract.”

The six-page contract outlines obligations such as wearing a seat belt and keeping the car in good working condition.

Direnfeld has made contacts across the United States.

“Every parent wants their son or daughter to return home safely,” he said. “This is universal. And every parent is white knuckle when their teens drive for the first time.”

Beyond the numbers, there are young people alive now who might not have been if not for the efforts of people like Direnfeld and Grasinger.

“I look up at Brady all the time,” she said. “I know she's smiling at me. Look at what we've done together. It's painfully rewarding. It's really helped with my painful journey. I teach kids at this age and look at their sweet smiling faces and know we're saving lives.”

For more information about the I Promise Program, visit www.ipromiseprogram.com.

Publish Date:Saturday June