Dear Dr. Gridlock:
Some high schools in Prince William County are on small, winding roads with no sidewalks or are near major highways with no sidewalks. I would rather have my teenager driving there in a car than trying to walk to or from school.
When schools let out at 2 p.m., and the kids have to be back at 4 p.m. for activities, it's unrealistic to expect working parents to drive them to extracurricular activities. And the schools don't want the kids to hang out there for two hours, because there is no way to feed or watch them.
Some athletic activities require a student to go to other county facilities to practice. Until the county government can provide safe ways for students to get to school, and have schools in neighborhoods where they can walk safely, the need to drive will continue. Some teenagers go to specialized high schools across the county, and they need to go back and forth for activities, and they need to drive.
Teenagers did not cause this problem -- the county and state officials did -- and yet teenagers are the ones suffering for it, and the ones being blamed for it.
Theresa Fleming
Woodbridge
Well, I'm all for better sidewalks, but not in favor of 16-year-old solo drivers.
How about one parent staying home and teaching driver's ed while the child is driving to all the places you list above? Can one parent get a part-time job, working at home, so someone is home when the child gets out of school?
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
My parents wouldn't let me get my license until I was 18. My mom taught me how to drive by taking me on driving lessons in the neighborhood during weekend afternoons for at least six months.
Although the high school I attended had driver's ed, I didn't take it because it was too expensive. I have been driving for six years now and have been involved in only one accident, in which my car was totaled. It wasn't my fault, and I was able to walk away from it.
Davin Peterson
Woodbridge
