In the Oct 23, 2006 issue of Time Magazine, part of the article “Putting Limits on Teen Drivers“, describes how a woman’s 16 year old son had been heavily drinking at a party and was driving home when he crashed the car, taking the lives of three of his best friends. He had only been licensed to drive for 63 days prior to the accident.

After the accident, the mother became active in lobbying the state legislature to make the licensing requirements more restrictive for teenage drivers. The mother didn’t apparently accept any responsibility for her role, saying “I’m not making excuses for his choice to drink.” She even went so far as to say that tougher laws would have prevented her son and his friends from being out drinking and driving that night.

Excuse me? This woman is a nurse, so she must have some knowledge about the dangers of teenage drinking and driving. Whatever choice teenage drivers make should be based on the guidance and expectations of their parents. It is the parent that should be making that choice for them through proper parenting. Regardless of the law, why would any parent allow their inexperienced teenager to drive to and from a party, at night, with a car filled with other teenagers?

If the mother felt that tougher laws would have prevented the accident, then why didn’t she take the responsibility as a parent to make her own rules and enforce them? When did it become the norm to legislate what should be a parent’s responsibility?