Driving Miss Chloe
2008-03-16 01:04PM PDT/Home
I couldn't help but chuckle at this NY Times opinion piece Driving Miss Chloe:
YOU know her — that nice teenager across the street? Chloe. There she is, sitting in one of the two captain’s seats in the midsection of her mom’s Toyota Sienna, bopping along to the music on her iPod. Now and then she pulls out one of the ear buds so that she can tell her mom some forgotten bit of news or gossip; Chloe’s mom is up to speed on the dramas that are always unfolding in her daughter’s circle of friends, just as she can tell you the date of her next French test, the topic of her coming history paper and the location and scope of her next community service project. They have a great night planned out: they’re going to pick up Chloe’s best friend and then drive back home for a night of DVDs and popcorn in the family room. Her mom will putter around close by, and her dad will probably sit down and watch one of the movies with the girls.
When I was in high school in the 1970s, we had a name for teenagers like Chloe: losers.
Ouch! Man that hits home, right down to the Sienna (and the fact that I have a daughter named Chloe)! But alas we have the low end Sienna which has the bench seats in the back ... wait, I'm getting off track.
Her premise that today's teens aren't driving as much because they're over-coddled is ridiculous. This same theme seems to be constantly emerging, kids today are over-coddled by gum! Every generation says the same crap. I forget what was wrong with my generation ... and I'm afraid I'm getting off track again.
Here it is, I would have pegged the drop of teenage drivers on rising costs of insurance (which she mentions in passing) as well as gas (which she doesn't). But also to recent changes to the laws for teen drivers in California:
- Teens who have had their driver's license less than one year may not drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless the driver is accompanied by licensed driver age 25 or older. There may be exceptions for a job, school, a family need, or a medical emergency.
- Teens who have held their driver's license less than one year may not transport any passengers younger than 20 (except family members) without having someone 25 or older in the front passenger seat of the vehicle.
In addition, effective July 1, 2008, a new law will ban the use of cell-phones (with or without hands-free devices), laptops, pagers, and other electronic devices by anyone under 18 who is driving.
And man, that last one is really going to hurt. A teenager without a mobile phone or ipod? I bet that's good for another 20% decline in teen drivers alone!