Road rage, underage drinking and chatting on the cell phone while driving were among the topics discussed at Sunday's "You're Driving Me Nuts" workshop at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. And though some teens were reluctant to attend this ethics course for new drivers with their parents, many had changed their minds by the end.
"I had to get dragged here," said Sarah Rockowitz, 15. "But now that I came it was good. It wasn't just a boring speech."
The workshop, co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona's Coalition for Jewish Education and the Tucson Jewish Community Center, was designed to teach new teen drivers and their parents what other drivers' education classes might leave out.
A Tucson police officer, a judge, an insurance agent, a mechanic and a rabbi shared their advice with a crowd of about 100 people on everything from proper car maintenance to common traffic violations to controlling tempers behind the wheel.
People are also reading…
"You guys are getting ready to do something very dangerous," Terry McCarthy, an officer with the Tucson Police Department's DUI squad, told the eager young drivers. "Driving is fun, but you have to do it responsibly."
McCarthy said the first six months, or first 2,000 to 3,000 miles, a licensed teen drives without a parent are the most dangerous.
He used teen-friendly pop culture references to the video game "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas" and the movies "The Fast and the Furious" and "Gone in 60 Seconds."as examples of how not to drive.
Automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers of driving age. In 2005, more than 7,000 drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in fatal accidents, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics.
Those kinds of numbers are, in part, why Sunday's driving ethics course was included as the final installment in a series of ParenTEEN workshops meant to start important discussions between teenagers and their parents, said Sharon Glassberg, director of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona's Coalition for Jewish Education.
"There's a responsibility that goes along with having a driver's license and being on the road," Glassberg said. "Parents are a little bit tentative when their children get their driver's license for the first time, and people are looking for a place where they can learn."
Even some experienced drivers took new knowledge away from the event, and many asked presenters for refreshers on sticky everyday traffic situations such as turning right on red or determining right of way when making a U-turn.
Jerry Hungerford took diligent notes throughout the workshop, which he attended with his 15-year-old grandson.
Having moved to Tucson from California, Hungerford said the course taught him about Arizona traffic laws while giving his grandson valuable information to go along with his learner's permit.
"I just want him to be safe," Hungerford said. "The last thing you want to do is hurt someone else on the road."
Hungerford's grandson, Trevor Cohen, said he, too, learned a lot from the workshop. Like many teens and parents, he was surprised to learn that offenses other than traffic violations – such as defacing public property or underage drinking – can result in the suspension of a teenager's driver's license, even before it's been officially issued.
Peter and Wendy Gallen attended the workshop with their 14-year-old daughter, Abi, a freshman at Catalina Foothills High School.
The Gallens said they worry about their daughter battling driving distractions and resisting the urge to talk on her cell phone when she starts driving next year. But mom and dad said they can only repeat the message so many times.
"I think there are some things the kids need to hear from someone other than their parents," Peter Gallen said.
Families who attended the workshop received a written "Parent and Teen Safe Driving Agreement," a form for both parties to sign, agreeing to drive safely, wear a seat belt, follow traffic laws and work together to make the relationship between new driver and nervous parent a successful one.
foothills
