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Show TtA JnMH I THE PARENT'S STAKE -Em&3Sfb h IN TEEN-AGE 7SN r DRIVING SAFETY I l Marguerite Mickelsen Hot-rod cars in the hands of teen-age drivers, however fearsome they may seem in the news, are a small part of the safety problem, experts say. More disturbing to these men, concerned with driving safety, are ordinary, likable teen-agers, youngsters like your own, who, usually through no fault of theirs, turn up in the greater part of the accident statistics. That's why driver-training programs to reduce these hazards are under way throughout the nation, particularly in our high schools. You can actually see results from the work schools are doing in teaching teach-ing safety, by watching the accident statistics go down as these school programs increase. Traffic safety rules are taught in elementary schools. More and more high schools are adding driver-training courses. Students in them get actual "behind-the-wheel" experience in cars contributed by new car dealers, as well as classroom training in safety rules. "But the parent has an extra responsibility when he lets his son or daughter take the family car," one official of the National Automobile Dealers Association says, "It involves being sure that the car is in top mechanical condition." Accidents can often be traced to neglect . . . faulty brakes, a burnt-out burnt-out light, motor failure, cracked windshields that hamper vision, poor wheel alignment, and the like. "These are not faults of the automobile itself," says another top safety expert. "Cars are not built with such flaws in them. They must be watched for and corrected as a car grows older." More than half the nation's automobiles, you may be surprised to know, are 10 years old, on the average. That means, according to safety men deeply concerned with the problem, that the chances of accidents caused by mechanical neglect grow greater every year. Be sure, when you let your youngster drive the family car, that school safety training will have its chance to work. Your new car dealer's service men, who know your make of car best, can keep it in safe-driving condition. You owe it to your children and your community and your own peace of mind to be sure that your car is kept in safe-driving condition. |