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should give
parents reason
to talk safety
A wreck Saturday night in Raleigh that killed four popular Wakefield High School students returning from a basketball play-off game is very sad, but it also offers a teaching opportunity for local parents.
The driver of the Mazda sports car was believed to be traveling 105 miles per hour when the car went off an on-ramp, hurdled a concrete median and crashed into nearby trees. The car caught fire and all four boys perished in the flames. It will be several weeks before alcohol and toxicology tests come back.
This crash could have happened to anyone in any given town. Precious lives are lost in the blink of an eye because of the poor decisions young people sometimes make when they get behind the wheel.
Said the mother of one of the victims, “Teenagers think they can attend their own funerals.”
The (Raleigh) News & Observer has reported extensively on the wreck because of its devastating effect on the school. The newspaper reported -- and this is something Columbus County parents should pay heed to -- that the risk of crashes increases dramatically when teens have passengers riding with them. With one passenger, the risk of crashing increased 33 percent. With two passengers, the risk increased an incredible 137 percent. With three or more passengers, the risk of a crash increased 127 percent.
Why? Often, young drivers tend to show off in front of others. Or, there is peer pressure to speed, or worse yet, drink and speed.
The Raleigh wreck should give all parents pause to have a heart-to-heart with their young drivers to reinforce the dangers of the highway. Most parents know the basics to recite: wear a seat belt, don’t drink and drive, obey the speed limit, and, judging by the statistics pertaining to passengers, don’t succumb to peer pressure in a car.
Unfortunately, the four sets of parents of those killed in the Raleigh wreck will never have the opportunity to have that talk with their sons.