Parents: Tell young drivers to slow down
05-20-2008, 06:42 PM
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Parents: Tell young drivers to slow down
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/427820
Police spokesman, trauma specialist agree that parents should be held accountable if they hand over keys to powerful cars
May 20, 2008 01:15 PM
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
Ontario Provincial Police say road incidents over the holiday weekend are stark reminders of the hazards associated with young drivers.
"Parents should be looking at themselves when they hand over the keys to powerful vehicles," said Sgt Cam Woolley. "They are part of the equation."
Woolley made the comments after a holiday weekend that saw:
* A teenage driver killed and three passengers injured when a minivan lost control in Markham;
* A teenage driver from Barrie charged after police clocked a vehicle at 239 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
* Dozens of drivers charged by the OPP under the province's new street racing law for driving more than 50 km/h over the posted speed limit.
While none of this weekend's cases was specifically linked to drivers misusing their parents' vehicles, Woolley said the OPP routinely see parents who are "killing their kids with kindness" by providing them with powerful cars.
Woolley said truck companies are responsible for the driving behaviour of their drivers, so parents should be accountable as well.
Too many young teens want to be cool by driving too fast, he noted.
"Young men, as long as there have been drivers, take chances. They have a false sense of invincibility," h said.
Woolley is not saying parents should be charged criminally with negligence, but they should know they are responsible civilly.
"Parents should know that as registered owners they are responsible civilly," he said, adding they are open to lawsuits.
In extreme cases, they could be charged with criminal negligence.
"Police can't solve the problem by ourselves," Woolley said. "We're pretty well at our maximum enforcement levels."
Woolley said that police across the province laid 180 charges under the new street racing law, which allows police to seize vehicles caught travelling 50 kilometres or more over the speed limit.
Since the new law came into effect last September, police have laid more than 5,000 charges.
Of those charged, 84 per cent were male and 50 per cent were 27 and under and age 21 is the most common.
Woolley said there are steps that parents can take to protect their kids, citing devices that record the speed a car was recently driven at.
"Then the parent can ask questions when their son said he was going to library and they later found the car was going at 140 kilometres an hour," Woolley said.
Joanne Banfield, who runs the trauma injury prevention program at Sunnybrook hospital, agrees that parents need to step up.
"We've got to give our heads a shake," Banfield said. "What's it going to take? Parents need to step up and have conversations with their kids."
Banfield said she is disturbed to see parents of crash victims come to the trauma unit in the aftermath of a tragedy.
"If you saw the looks on their faces when they arrived, it's truly heart-wrenching," she said.
Parents have to take charge because youth often make bad choices.
"Their brain is not fully developed until their mid-20s, so it's up to the parents to play the heavy for them," she said. "So many parents we see say 'what if?' and 'if only' but there are no re-dos in life," Banfield said.
As part of her program, she invites high school students into the trauma unit to see for themselves the effects of car accidents.
"However, we can't bring in every student in the province," she said.
Police spokesman, trauma specialist agree that parents should be held accountable if they hand over keys to powerful cars
May 20, 2008 01:15 PM
Curtis Rush
Staff Reporter
Ontario Provincial Police say road incidents over the holiday weekend are stark reminders of the hazards associated with young drivers.
"Parents should be looking at themselves when they hand over the keys to powerful vehicles," said Sgt Cam Woolley. "They are part of the equation."
Woolley made the comments after a holiday weekend that saw:
* A teenage driver killed and three passengers injured when a minivan lost control in Markham;
* A teenage driver from Barrie charged after police clocked a vehicle at 239 km/h in an 80 km/h zone.
* Dozens of drivers charged by the OPP under the province's new street racing law for driving more than 50 km/h over the posted speed limit.
While none of this weekend's cases was specifically linked to drivers misusing their parents' vehicles, Woolley said the OPP routinely see parents who are "killing their kids with kindness" by providing them with powerful cars.
Woolley said truck companies are responsible for the driving behaviour of their drivers, so parents should be accountable as well.
Too many young teens want to be cool by driving too fast, he noted.
"Young men, as long as there have been drivers, take chances. They have a false sense of invincibility," h said.
Woolley is not saying parents should be charged criminally with negligence, but they should know they are responsible civilly.
"Parents should know that as registered owners they are responsible civilly," he said, adding they are open to lawsuits.
In extreme cases, they could be charged with criminal negligence.
"Police can't solve the problem by ourselves," Woolley said. "We're pretty well at our maximum enforcement levels."
Woolley said that police across the province laid 180 charges under the new street racing law, which allows police to seize vehicles caught travelling 50 kilometres or more over the speed limit.
Since the new law came into effect last September, police have laid more than 5,000 charges.
Of those charged, 84 per cent were male and 50 per cent were 27 and under and age 21 is the most common.
Woolley said there are steps that parents can take to protect their kids, citing devices that record the speed a car was recently driven at.
"Then the parent can ask questions when their son said he was going to library and they later found the car was going at 140 kilometres an hour," Woolley said.
Joanne Banfield, who runs the trauma injury prevention program at Sunnybrook hospital, agrees that parents need to step up.
"We've got to give our heads a shake," Banfield said. "What's it going to take? Parents need to step up and have conversations with their kids."
Banfield said she is disturbed to see parents of crash victims come to the trauma unit in the aftermath of a tragedy.
"If you saw the looks on their faces when they arrived, it's truly heart-wrenching," she said.
Parents have to take charge because youth often make bad choices.
"Their brain is not fully developed until their mid-20s, so it's up to the parents to play the heavy for them," she said. "So many parents we see say 'what if?' and 'if only' but there are no re-dos in life," Banfield said.
As part of her program, she invites high school students into the trauma unit to see for themselves the effects of car accidents.
"However, we can't bring in every student in the province," she said.
05-20-2008, 07:19 PM
#2
Drifting
http://www.thestar.com/News/Ontario/article/427820... A teenage driver killed and three passengers injured when a minivan lost control in Markham
05-20-2008, 08:35 PM
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Are you kidding me?
"While none of this weekend's cases was specifically linked to drivers misusing their parents' vehicles, Woolley said the OPP routinely see parents who are "killing their kids with kindness" by providing them with powerful cars."
So what is the justification for this statement? Along with the 49 shocking deaths from speed over the last few years that they use to justify the "racing" laws.... they need to get their heads out of their collective rears and deal with the real issues on the road, not the ones that are easy to sell in the papers.
"While none of this weekend's cases was specifically linked to drivers misusing their parents' vehicles, Woolley said the OPP routinely see parents who are "killing their kids with kindness" by providing them with powerful cars."
So what is the justification for this statement? Along with the 49 shocking deaths from speed over the last few years that they use to justify the "racing" laws.... they need to get their heads out of their collective rears and deal with the real issues on the road, not the ones that are easy to sell in the papers.
05-20-2008, 08:48 PM
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am i the only one wondering, how is it that this kid hit 240 k/mh in his daddy's Lincoln LS when the limiter on the car kicks in at 210?
but then agian if we all slowed down to speed limit, cops wont be able to give out tickets... It's a major source of income for the police force and government... want free Health Care? Get a Speeding Ticket...
but then agian if we all slowed down to speed limit, cops wont be able to give out tickets... It's a major source of income for the police force and government... want free Health Care? Get a Speeding Ticket...
05-20-2008, 09:05 PM
#6
Burning Brakes
I was watching the news tonight and they said that the 17 yr. old caught doing 239 in an 80 is the son of a retired OPP officer.
That stretch of road he was caught on is between Barrie and Stayner. It's pretty tempting to open up in that area. I travel that road every weekend in the winter and the police are there half of the time.
That stretch of road he was caught on is between Barrie and Stayner. It's pretty tempting to open up in that area. I travel that road every weekend in the winter and the police are there half of the time.
