Some people might say that this is "outrageous! More laws need to be made!" I strongly oppose that viewpoint. Why, might you ask? Here are excerpts from the local news article. (You may read the entire article here. The article and all excerpts are property of WFSB and the Associated Press. No infringement intended.)
According to records from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the 16-year-old driver involved in a crash that killed four and critically injured another on Tuesday evening was driving with only a learner's permit.
In Connecticut, a learner's permit has several restrictions. The only person allowed in the car, besides the driver, is a parent, legal guardian or qualified trainer, such as a driving instructor.
There is no curfew for teen drivers. Drivers and passengers must also all be wearing seat belts.
First off, I just want to make a small comment/correction that Connecticut Teen drivers DO have a curfew (11pm to 5am), but only when they legally have their license. When they have their permit, they are required to have an adult instructor, but do not have a curfew at that time.
Now, while many people are mourning for the victims and lawmakers are scrambling to make new teen driver "blanket" laws in order to make themselves look good, we need to look at the TRUE reason this accident happened.
Part of the reason this crash occurred is that this driver was inexperienced, with only a learner's permit. I can tell you from experience, as a new 16 year old driver - even though I was used to driving farm vehicles from a young age - driving on the road is a very scary and nerve racking experience, especially your first few times. When you are a new driver you should have as few distractions as possible. Theres a reason only ONE ADULT INSTRUCTOR is allowed in the car with you while you are driving. When I was a brand-new driver, my parents wouldn't even let me play the radio for the first few months. They said it was distracting.
This brings me to my second point. The parents are also at fault for this. Now, you might say that I am a "terrible person" for accusing the parents of being at fault for the death of four kids, and potentially the fifth. But guess what? It's the truth. Hear me out....
Laws can only go so far. You can only make so many teen driving laws, and then it is up to the kids to follow them and for the parents to enforce them. Sure, the curfew for newly licensed drivers is 11pm to 5am, and you can't have any passengers for the first six months....but do you honestly think police are driving all over pulling over random teenagers on suspicion of violating curfew? No. They can't do that legally. It's called profiling. They must have committed a traffic offense for police to pull them over. It is up to the parents to enforce these laws with their teenagers. Remember, in most cases the parents are paying for the car and insurance, maybe even the gas. YOU as parents hold the keys. Your kids are YOUR responsibility until they turn 18.
Legally, the parents of the driver could be charged with four counts of Accessory to Manslaughter, as the teen driver was illegally driving his friends, and the parents most likely knew about the teen driver breaking the learner's permit laws. However, no prosecutor would do this (except maybe Jack McCoy on Law and Order...) for fear of public outrage.
But when are we going to actually hold the parents responsible? Police and lawmakers have already done their job - they've created and enforce laws to the best of their ability. But that is barely enough. It is up to the parents to do the rest. A personal example, my parents let me know, in no uncertain terms - if I broke the teen driving laws at any time I would lose the keys until I turned 18. If they even thought I was illegally driving on a learner's permit, I wouldn't have a car.
No doubt lawmakers are going to scramble for even more restrictive teen driving laws, and I say that this is extremely unnecessary and unfair. Why should you punish the majority of teen drivers, who are probably responsible, just because one moron decided to break the laws and ended up killing himself and all his friends as a result? Making new laws will only punish the teen drivers who already follow the rules, and those who do not will continue to disobey the rules. Had this teen driver survived, I would have strongly pushed for prosecution of him based on manslaughter of his three friends. Cold and heartless? Maybe. Necessary? Yes.
