Driver's Ed from TMQ

Writer of the wonderful column "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" (TMQ), Gregg Easterbrook, has some excellent advice for young drivers and those responsible for them. I have never liked following or having people follow me in a car. You should get directions and meet at your destination, and not travel by caravan. You should always have a pen and paper in your car, but if you happen not to, just write a text message before leaving, so that a passenger may read the directions to the driver, or the driver can quickly consult them to refresh his or her memory. Here are his thoughts -

Driver's Ed Should Teach Kids Not to Drive in Caravans: People who, like me, live in the Washington, D.C., area were shocked in mid-June when a terrible car crash took the lives of two girls and two young women, all recent graduates of the same high school. People who live in New York state were shocked less than two weeks later when a disturbingly similar terrible car crash took the lives of five girls who were all recent graduates of the same high school. In both cases, the victims were on their way to graduation celebrations -- a beach week and a lakeside week. All the victims were beautiful teenagers or young women, and few events seem sadder than the death of beauty in youth because it is assumed -- whether truly or falsely -- that the world lies at the feet of the young and attractive. Alcohol was a factor in the first crash, an autopsy showing the driver legally intoxicated under Virginia's strict standard for those younger than 21; cell phone use while driving is suspected in the second. The tragedies did have one thing in common, however: In both cases, the crashed cars were traveling at highway speed as a caravan of carloads of friends headed to the same destination, and in both cases, it was the lead car that crashed.

AP Photo/Dan Elliott

Alcohol, drowsiness, cell phone use -- and caravan-driving -- are causes.

Here's a safety rule that ought to be taught in driver's ed: Do not travel in caravans! Caravan driving is more stressful than regular driving, especially for the lead driver, as she must look in her mirrors constantly to see whether the trailing car remains in view. Caravan driving tends to cause lead drivers to take intemperate risks to avoid getting blamed for causing the following car to become lost. And if those in the trailing car are using their phones to provide running commentary to the lead car, another layer of distraction is created. Police found that in the New York tragedy, the driver's cell phone received the text message "what are you doing?"about 30 seconds before the crash; the driver might have been attempting to text back when she lost control. On congested highways, it is nearly impossible for two cars to stay right together with the first driver leading the second. Use MapQuest, use GPS, use good old Rand McNally, agree to meet at a certain place and time -- but don't drive as a caravan! Distraction is a principal cause of crashes by young drivers, and few road situations distract a young driver more than attempting to lead a high-speed caravan.