Juvenile Female Drives Into Kentucky River and Drowns-Are we allowing Our Children to Drive by Themselves Too Early?
On November 10, 2022, a 17-year-old female from Lexington, Kentucky drove off Old Richmond Road down an embankment and into the Kentucky River. She was unable to get out of the water safely and eventually perished in the river. She had two male passengers and they were able to get out of the vehicle and swim to safety. The Lexington Fire Department dive team was able to locate the submerged vehicle on the night of the accident, but did not locate the female victim’s body until the next day. The accident happened on a curvy road and it is assumed the driver was driving too fast and lost control.
Are we letting our Youth Drive Alone Too Early and with Too little Training?
This accident may beg the following question-are we allowing people to drive on their own too early without the supervision of an adult. Many teenagers are not mentally and psychologically prepared to operate vehicles safely as juveniles. At a time when many teenagers think their parents are idiots, when in fact they are the inexperienced and uninformed, it may be unwise for society to put a car in their hands that can easily cause them and others serious injury or death. I think the people making the laws do not think enough about safety when it comes to driving a vehicle or riding a motorcycle.
Driving a car or truck has become an emotional rite of passage for our youth instead of a safety concern for society. Driving a car is part of the child's search for freedom from their parents and achieving adulthood. I can remember learning to drive and the feeling of freedom that comes with not depending on my parents to take me where I needed to go. As a teenager, I did a lot of stupid things in the car I drove and I was ill prepared to drive and not be a safety risk to myself and others on the roadway. Would my growth as a person been altered if I was required to have an adult with me as I drove until I turned 18?Probably not. I would have hated it, but there probably been less teenagers dying on our roadways or causing others injury and death.
Parents desire for their children to drive themselves as soon as possible because parents are tired of being the taxi driver, but I wonder if we are unwittingly putting are children in a life-threatening situation. In the same way that the teenager sees driving as "freedom" from their parents control, the parents see them driving by themselves as "freedom" from the burden of parenthood. But, at what cost. As a parent we all fear the late night phone call from the police advising us our children have perished in an auto accident like the parent received in the Lexington accident described above. I am sure the victim's parents would willingly put up with the inconvenience of driving with their child to have them still be living.
Contact Lexington Auto Accident Attorney!
These circumstances will require the services of an experienced Lexington auto accident attorney to investigate the cause of the accident and maximize all benefits available to the victims in this auto accident. Matthew Troutman, a Lexington auto accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling auto accident claims, almost exclusively, since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victims in the above car accident. It is very likely that the at-fault driver will not have enough insurance to fully compensate the victims in this car accident, and, therefore, it will be important for there to be underinsured motorist benefits available.
If you need legal assistance due to a motor vehicle accident, contact Lexington auto accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 859-696-0001 or 502-648-9507 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your car accident claim. To learn more about Lexington car accident attorney Matthew Troutman and the Troutman Law Office, click here.