Driver's Permits and Crazy Mothers

I'll start off with a fitness update...

I haven't started walking again. Tomorrow is the big day. I also haven't started South Beach. I haven't had time to shop. As luck would have it, my boss assigned me a project of giantic proportions that is due tomorrow morning, along with one of lesser girth that is due tomorrow afternoon.

Now, on the the big news...

My daughter got her Learner's Permit today! (The crowd goes wild.)

Okay, here's where I open my soul online and stuff spills out everywhere. Are you ready? I did not want her to get this Permit.

There, it has been said. I said it. Does that make me a horrible mother? Am I not supposed to revel in my child's joy? Rejoice in her growth towards womanhood? I just can't do it.

I am a grown woman and driving on the roads in this country (and probably others, but I haven't driven outside this country in 16 years, so I can't comment) gets more harrowing every day. It has gotten so bad that now road rage is considered a mental disorder. Most drivers show absolutely no courtesy anymore and seem only bent on getting to their destinations as fast as they possibly can, regardless of the consequences.

And, let's face it, there are just more cars on the road than there were when I started driving. (You know, back in the Jurassic age when we rode around on dinosaurs and wore beaver skins to stay warm.)

I am so afraid for my baby to be out there surrounded by all those idiotic nuts who can't wait five seconds for you to pass the guy in front of you, so they MUST whiz over onto the shoulder of the road and pass illegally. Then, they blow their horns and flip YOU off! *sigh*

Now, let's assess the TEENAGE driver situation. According to the CDC, "The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16- to 19-year-olds than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers ages 16 to 19 are four times more likely than older drivers to crash (IIHS 2005)."

A recent study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) suggests that, even though teens typically have quick reflexes and keen senses, their brains just haven't matured enough to handle the skills required to drive safely. The area of the human brain that "inhibits risky behavior" apparently doesn't fully mature until around age 25. Well, there ya go!

And yes, part of the reason I am afraid is I REMEMBER being a teenage driver. My dad must have remembered, too, because he managed to avoid going with me to get my driver's license until I was 17. :-) I always TRIED to be a responsible driver, but I remember how nervous I was. I remember almost hitting other cars. I remember other kids I went to high school with who never made it to graduation, mostly due to the combination of alcohol, an automobile, and the blissful teenage idea of immortality. They were mortal. Unfortunately, there's not much of a learning curve on that one.

One particular incident sticks in my mind. And, it may be the moment in time that my own mortality hit me hard. There was a young cheerleader who was a couple of grades below me in high school. She was a sweet girl, and everyone liked her, even those, like me, who didn't run in that crowd. She was just one of those girls who smiles all the time and is just NICE.

There were some guys at our school who formed a group called the Rebel's Club and most of the jock guys belonged to it. They were notorious for their kick-ass parties. This particular weekend, I was invited to go. It wasn't really my scene, so I decided to go out with some friends instead.

The next morning, a friend called to tell me that there had been an accident. The little cheerleader and her friend were driving back from the party after having too much to drink. The driver (another cheerleader) said that "Sue" began sitting on the back of the seat of her convertible VW bug. She took her eyes off the road to attempt to get her friend to sit down, came up over a hill and into the path of another car. She swerved. "Sue" fell out and the VW flipped and landed on her.

I took in this information and walked like a zombie to the bathroom, where I stripped, stepped under the shower and then curled into a ball, sobbing. I had just seen her at school the day before. Now she would never go to school again. She'd never smile again. Or cheer. Or hug her parents and her sister. I couldn't wrap my brain around it.

As a parent, the thought of someone knocking on the door in the middle of the night (or any time of day, really) to deliver the news that I'd never see my child again tears my heart out.

So, my Devin has her Permit. She is 15. She is a responsible girl. She is nervous. I trust her. It's all those OTHER people out there I don't trust. And, I know that no matter how responsible she is, she's not infallible. I just have to pray that all goes well.

And, not let her have the car keys until she's 25! Bwaaahahahahhaha

If any moms of teens have advice, I'd sure like to hear it.

Goodnight.

Leona


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