Montanez has come to realize -- at her father's insistence -- that independence comes at a price. She checks her car's oil, keeps an eye on tire tread and has changed her car's tires several times.
Her friends leave such tasks up to their fathers. Kristin Backstrom, who recently started S2W (Safe Smart Women), a driving and car-care program in Maryland for girls, thinks that's a problem.
Jackie Tayman, left, and Shana Shrader of Clarksville both have had car accidents, though none serious. Nationally female teenagers are crashing cars -- and dying in cars -- at significantly higher rates than a decade ago.
(Juana Arias -- The Washington Post)
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Backstrom says she believes girls would be better drivers if they knew more about their cars. At 16, she was required to take care of her Ford Fairlane by a mother who had a motorcycle and a sports car. She realizes hers was not a typical education but is surprised that attitudes haven't changed. Now, as then, she says, girls pick up a subtle, erroneous, message: Driving is cool but taking care of cars is a guy thing.
"I recently ran a focus group of 16 very bright young women," she says. "Their experiences with cars were appalling." On the positive side, she adds, is that girls are less likely than guys to drink and drive and more likely to wear seat belts. They're safety-conscious to a point, but not car-conscious: "They know little about the control they can have, or should have, over their cars."
Safety experts say parents have no business giving cars to their daughters or sons in high school. Ownership virtually ensures that young people will drive more than if they have to negotiate time with the family car. And handing over a new car, especially with high-performance capabilities, resembles giving the teenager a loaded pistol without requiring firearms training. "You're giving them the power without the skills," says instructor Booth.
Yet some parents with money feel compelled to play Santa. Wright, of the highway traffic safety administration, knows a girl who was recently surprised by a new sporty convertible.
"Wow, she might be a good kid," he thought to himself, "but she's still 16 years old."
A State Farm Insurance agent in Northwest Washington in the business for 21 years says he has seen a big jump in the number of girls who have their own cars. "It's almost a given."
He recalls clients who, about a year ago, bought their 19-year-old daughter a classic, powerful Nissan 300ZX. "I remember thinking at the time, 'Why are you buying that car for her?' "
Shortly after the young woman started driving, he says, she took it out during a rainstorm, lost control, ran into a truck and was killed.
