Twisted Guardrails on the Highway

Friday

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

OKLAHOMA: A 16-year-old driver died after he ran a stop sign and was broadsided by a truck. Christopher Aaron Yeager, 16, was driving a Mitsubishi pickup in Kingston when he ran the stop sign. He died at the scene. His passenger was taken to the hospital after the Tuesday morning crash.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Veronica Herold, 17, died after she lost control of her car in Laurens and crashed into a tree. Police say she wasn't wearing her seatbelt, and was partially ejected from the car. Two passengers in the car were apparently wearing seatbelts, and were not seriously injured.

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Why we're doing this

This site may seem a little shocking and gory, and for any family members who found this site by accident, I am sorry for your loss and hope this site does not add any pain to your grieving.

With this site, I am attempting to chronicle teen driving fatalities for one school year to demonstrate to parents and teens the risks associated with driving. I believe teen driving fatalities can be prevented, and that we can change the way people look at this issue much like we changed the way society looked at smoking: It's gone from an acceptable behavior to one that is largely shunned.

I don't mean we should stop teens from driving -- no one can get better at something if they can't practice. But if teens are aware of the behaviors that lead to fatalities, they may begin policing themselves. Telling their friends who are texting or speeding to stop it or slow down. Or calling home and asking mom or dad to come pick them up instead of taking that planned ride home, because they're feeling unsafe.

Driving is the number one cause of death for people aged 16 to 20. In 2008, 4,497 16- to 20-year-olds died in car accidents, accounting for 12% of all auto fatalities.

I hope this site gets people to think, and to talk. Please feel free to post comments, or send along pictures or links to online memorials. I will try to keep the site as PG rated as I can, given the nature of the topic.