Friday, June 29, 2007
TOO OFTEN, THE SCHOOL YEAR ENDS IN TRAGEDY
TOO OFTEN, THE SCHOOL YEAR ENDS IN TRAGEDY
The end of the school year is normally a time for celebration, but traffic-related deaths involving students around graduation time have parents, school officials and police mourning and concerned that careless behavior may prompt numerous tragedies. Authorities warn that some high school students are novice drivers, reports Jonathan Abrams and Sara Lin in the Los Angeles Times. Students and families don't realize that reckless celebrations at the end of the school year that include alcohol can have deadly consequences. "It is a large responsibility to go out there with a vehicle, especially as congested as Southern California is," said Arden Wiltshire, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (Calif.). "You have to pay attention and be on your toes, and kids can get distracted by a lot of things."They just don't have as much experience." Dr. Michele Roland, director of the teenage health center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said parents should make a pact with their teenagers so they can call and get a ride home if they are a passenger in a car with a reckless driver. "They need to talk to young people about the risks involved," Roland said. "Teens are more concerned about getting in trouble than riding with someone. They need to know it's OK if they need a ride home and that they can call someone."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teens15jun15,1,5799344.story?coll=la-headlines-california <https://fgcu-piranha.fgcu.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teens15jun15,1,5799344.story?coll=la-headlines-california>
The end of the school year is normally a time for celebration, but traffic-related deaths involving students around graduation time have parents, school officials and police mourning and concerned that careless behavior may prompt numerous tragedies. Authorities warn that some high school students are novice drivers, reports Jonathan Abrams and Sara Lin in the Los Angeles Times. Students and families don't realize that reckless celebrations at the end of the school year that include alcohol can have deadly consequences. "It is a large responsibility to go out there with a vehicle, especially as congested as Southern California is," said Arden Wiltshire, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (Calif.). "You have to pay attention and be on your toes, and kids can get distracted by a lot of things."They just don't have as much experience." Dr. Michele Roland, director of the teenage health center at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said parents should make a pact with their teenagers so they can call and get a ride home if they are a passenger in a car with a reckless driver. "They need to talk to young people about the risks involved," Roland said. "Teens are more concerned about getting in trouble than riding with someone. They need to know it's OK if they need a ride home and that they can call someone."
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teens15jun15,1,5799344.story?coll=la-headlines-california <https://fgcu-piranha.fgcu.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-teens15jun15,1,5799344.story?coll=la-headlines-california>
