Traffic To Your Website | Message From Two Lower Merion High School Principals Regarding Student Driver Safety

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As students return to Harriton and Lower Merion for the 2011-12 school year, we wanted to share a few thoughts regarding the safety and wellbeing of student drivers and their passengers. This message comes in the wake of the tragic accident that took the lives of four young men from Mainland High School in Linwood, New Jersey last week. The teens had just finished football practice and were heading to a team meal when the 17-year old driver lost control of his SUV on the highway. The car flipped when the driver applied his brakes upon encountering sudden and unexpected heavy traffic. Three of the young men died on site. A fourth was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital. Four other passengers suffered minor injuries.

The Mainland tragedy did not involve alcohol or drugs. It happened in broad daylight on a well-traveled road. The scene of a group of teens piling into a car after a practice, a play, a sporting event is common to communities across the country. Young drivers opening their doors to one more friend who needs a ride - it happens all the time.

As your child reaches driving age, and as he/she gains experience as a young driver, we encourage you to have continued dialogue about being safe and making smart decisions behind the wheel. In addition to discussing the dangers of drunk driving and texting while driving, your conversation may cover seatbelt safety, setting limits on the number of passengers in the car, avoiding aggressive driving and keeping the volume down on the radio. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website offers a complete set of tools and tips for parents to help keep young drivers and passengers safe. To view, visitwww.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/ . Please let your kids know how important their safety is to you and encourage them to be cautious, careful and informed drivers.

The safety and security of your children is our highest priority. If you have any comments or questions you would like to share regarding this matter, please