Wednesday, May 7, 2003

This is in response to a letter to the editor from Skip Stephenson published in last Wednesday's Citizen.

Please let me begin by stating I understand your concerns and frustrations. I am also a parent, and have close friends that live on Golf View drive that happen to have four beautiful young boys.

I agree that the disregard of speed limits and stop signs is upsetting. This problem is not unique to Golf View Drive because it happens throughout our city, and is a concern to parents everywhere.

What I found upsetting in your letter was that even though you agreed that the problem was not exclusive to high school students, you chose to only propose a solution that would affect this age group.

To state that no one under the age of 18 should be allowed to drive is ludicrous. Today's kids have much stricter guidelines in obtaining their driver's license than when we were younger. To state that nobody under the age of 18 is responsible enough to have a driver's license is as ridiculous as stating anyone over the age of 70 should not be allowed to drive.

Your solution to make parents responsible for the driving actions of their children brought back a memory of receiving my first speeding ticket. I was 16 years old and hurrying home to beat the dreaded curfew my parents had imposed upon me. Did I try to blame my parents by telling them if I didn't have such an early curfew I wouldn't have gotten a ticket? Of course!

Did I really believe that my parents deserved to be punished because of my actions? Absolutely not! I would have loved to pass the blame onto someone else, but the truth is my parents were responsible by setting a curfew, making me take driver's education and setting rules. Unfortunately, I chose to push the limits. And I paid the price.

Believe me, the punishment of paying for the ticket and higher insurance rates along with the severe grounding I received when I got home helped me learn a valuable lesson. Part of becoming an adult is being responsible for your own actions, and not passing the blame onto someone else.

As a parent of a 16-year-old son and a volunteer on the Peachtree City Youth Council, I am proud to say that I believe Peachtree City has some of the most responsible teens in this country. Every teen should not be punished for the irresponsible actions of a few. I hope that you take the opportunity to get to know some of these great kids. They are the future of Peachtree City.

We are in agreement that driving is a privilege, not a right. But I would add that the privilege applies to all drivers whether they be 16 or 100.

Robin Tennant

robinltennant@aol.com