As parents, the battles we have to pick and choose with our teenagers are so very different from those we had to deal with when our kids were still in elementary school. In many cases the decisions our kids make in their teen years can affect opportunities available to them for the rest of their lives. It can be pretty heavy stuff when you really think about it. What’s more is that some of their decisions at this age can mean life or death. With that, AAA has dubbed the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day the 100 Deadliest Days given that fatalities resulting from teen-involved accidents spike tremendously during the summer months. This time of the year is obviously their time to recreate, spend time with friends, stay out late and in many unfortunate cases, engage in behavior that is riskier than normal.

The end of the school year is always a time of transitions for students and families. Anytime is a good time to talk to the teen driver in your family and stress that, when combined with motor vehicles, texting, drugs and alcohol have far greater potential consequences than mere grounding or loss of privileges.

At Purnell Body Shop, we see the consequences of accidents everyday. Some of these accidents are products of happenstance or pure bad luck. Others are results of poor decision making by people of all ages. It is our hope that in stressing to young people the importance of responsible decision making behind the wheel, the likelihood increases that they may carry that notion with them into adulthood.