Risky behavior has consequences

The Commercial Appeal reporter Beth Warren’s gripping story about what happened to three high school students after they went on an unauthorized late-night drive carries a lot of lessons for parents and the young drivers in their households.

It serves as a cautionary tale of the tragic consequences that can stem from engaging in risky behavior.

Warren’s June 23 front-page story told how two high school sophomores were injured about 2:30 a.m. April 28, when the minivan the girls were riding in collided with a Dodge Ram at North McLean and Vollintine. The teen driver of the minivan said she was driving through a green light when the accident occurred. Police arrested both drivers on charges of driving under the influence. The minivan driver admitted to police she had sipped rum and smoked marijuana prior to driving, according to police reports. Neither driver probably should have been behind a steering wheel.

The drivers were not seriously injured, but one of the passengers in the minivan is in a coma and the other van passenger suffered severe injuries. It is a tragic situation and we feel for their families. Yet, we hope parents with novice drivers in their households used the story as a teachable moment to reinforce to their children the dangers of engaging in risky behavior. Even if the wreck had not occurred, the girls ran the risk of being stopped and arrested by police.

What happened that morning is what the Tennessee Graduated Driver License Program was created to prevent. The 12-year-old law places a strict curfew on novice drivers and limits the driver to only one passenger under 21, unless family members or adults are the passengers.

Studies show that novice teen drivers carrying other teens are at an increased risk of having a crash or are more likely to engage in other risky driving behavior.

Teenagers think they are invincible. When incidents occur like what happened in the wee hours of April 28, it should be a real-life reminder that they are not.