We all know how the liberal media glamorizes driving; you see it everywhere, in the movies, on TV, on the internet, in books and magazines and newspapers. Fast cars are a Hollywood staple. Everywhere a child looks, they are deluged with images of shiny cars and carefree driving.
The truth is far different: Without a doubt, cars are the greatest threat to our children. And yet, misguided educators teach driver's ed to children. Every day, innocent kids are told that they can and should drive, when they're in no way mature enough to make the kinds of decisions that driving entails. Sure, they're given instruction in safety, but to what end? We're still sending them out on the road, risking their lives. The only way to make 100% sure that our children do not die driving a car is Abstinence-Only Driver's Ed.
Take a look at the statistics:
- 14% of all deaths due to motor vehicle accidents are teen drivers.
- Teen drivers killed in motor vehicle accidents had a youth passenger in automobile 45% of the time.
- Teen lifestyle of staying up late make teen drivers a high risk to have an automobile accident due to drowsiness.
- More than any age group, teens are likely to be involved in a single vehicle crash.
- This age group makes up 7% of licensed drivers, but suffers 14% of fatalities and 20% of all reported accidents.
Clearly, we need to keep our teens from driving until they are mature enough to drive in a safe and sedate manner-- well into their twenties, at the very least. This is not a question of parents wanting to delay their child's entry into adulthood, or to stifle independence; this is a question of keeping them alive.
I know your concerns. You think that because many of their friends are already driving, that your children will be drawn into driving anyway, and that we may as well make sure that they know how to drive safely. People, people, this is madness! Telling kids that we don't want them to drive, on the one hand, and then giving them regular driver's ed on the other hand, will only confuse them and give them the impression that the choice is up to them! If we don't give them a clear message that they need to wait until adulthood to drive, then we are giving them a death sentence. It's that simple.
In order to qualify as an Abstinence-Only Driver's Ed program, a program must:
(A) have as its exclusive purpose, teaching the social, psychological, and health gains to be realized by abstaining from driving;
(B) teach abstinence from driving before age-determiend adulthood as the expected standard for all school-age children;
(C) teach that abstinence from driving is the only certain way to avoid
drunk driving, road rage, and other associated health problems;
(D) teach that mature single-car driving in context of age-determined adulthood is the expected standard of automotive activity;
(E) teach that driving outside of the context of age-determined adulthood is likely to have harmful psychological and physical effects;
(F) teach that driving before age-determined adulthood is likely to have harmful consequences for the child, the child’s parents, and society;
(G) teach young people how to reject driving advances from their peers, and how alcohol and drug use increase vulnerability to driving advances; and
(H) teaches the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in driving.
A good Abstinence-Only Driver's Ed program will additionally blow open the cultural myths of "safe driving", including the high failure rate of seat belts and air bags-- shocking statistics that have been completely ignored by the liberal media.
Let's face it: our kids are not mature enough to drive. We know it's technically legal for them to drive, and that most kids have access to cars and, in the grand scheme of things, it's impossible to keep them from driving. Merely forbidding them from driving isn't working: we need to change this so-called "driver's education" to block their knowledge of the mechanics of driving and the laws involved, and stress the dangers, so that the combination of murky unknowns and frightening known qualities will keep our kids safely away from the wheel of their cars.
Thank you, and I hope you'll vote for me in the upcoming school board election.