For Teen Drivers, Mom's Monitoring

Lame.

That's David Brooks's take on it, says his mother, who manages human resources at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida.

Still, David says he has to admit the sticker makes him drive differently: "You know if you do something stupid, your mom or dad could find out," he says. "But sometimes I forget" it's there.

"If that one phone call deters something, then it's all worth it," says his mom. So far, David, who'll be a high school senior in the fall, has a clean record.

But not Michael. Graf says she has gotten two calls about her son.

The first, last fall, went something like this: "I saw the convertible going down the road at 65 in a 45. And when he turned, I'm surprised he didn't flip the car." The second caller, months later, said he'd been "clocking" Michael at 65.

Graf, GGM's president, says she, her husband and GGM's two other staff members want kids to consider that their parents -- or a stand-in out there -- are always watching. Maybe, they say, it will prevent some tragedies.

But what about simply trusting your kid?

Graf, who grew up in McLean, says many new teen drivers are just beginning to feel more independent and perhaps don't listen to their parents as much. They also just don't have much driving experience. So why not get other parents and motorists to help out?

According to the most recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, automobile accidents were the leading cause of death for people age 16 to 20 in 2001, totaling nearly 6,000 deaths. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported the same year that just over 5,000 of those deaths were drivers and occupants of vehicles.

In Maryland, the State Highway Administration's most recent numbers report 22,426 accidents in 2002 involving people ages 16-20. Of those, 115 were fatal accidents, killing 135 who were either driving or riding in those cars. The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles reports that in 2002 there were 42,353 accidents involving drivers ages 16-20, with 165 fatalities. In the same year, the District's Department of Transportation reports, there were 1,691 accidents that involved young drivers, and two fatalities.

Assuming that GGM has a chance at reducing the number of teen accidents, John Grant, a retired Florida state senator and consultant on insurance for state and national government, is working to get insurance companies to discount the rates of GGM drivers, similar to students getting lower rates for good grades. (Statistics gathered by State Farm Insurance show that students with good grades are less likely to be in car accidents.)

But David Menning, an actuary at State Farm, says there would have to be a viable study before the industry would consider a GGM discount. It would be tricky to verify that the bumper sticker had remained on the car for a prolonged period and as a result helped prevent accidents, he says.

Says Graf, "Obviously, it's about the parent keeping [the sticker] on the car. It's an understanding that 'Honey, I love you and want you to be safe.' "