How Many Teens Have to Die on the Streets of San Diego?

It’s happened too many times here in San Diego County this year. Seven times since October according to the San Diego “Union Tribune”.

That’s 7 fatal car accidents involving high school age teenaged drivers. That’s a lot. The kids didn’t get it figured out after one or two. And they won’t after this one either. Don’t you know, kids are immortal. Tell that to grieving parents.

I guess that I’ve believed for quite some time that teens should get their licenses (with restrictions) at about 17. The reason I believe this is a bit different and I think it would be interesting to research. I believe that a drivers license is a critical thing for kids in terms of the decisions that they have to make. When they get behind the wheel of a car, they’re making decisions that are literally “life or death”. Make too big a mistake in either judgment or execution and someone can die. But kids are immortal and nothing’s going to happen to them, is it.

But, kids still die. This latest death was caused by a 17 year old driver who had only had her license for 2 months. By law, she was supposed to be in the car alone. She had her best friend in the front seat and 3 boys in the back that she had picked up to give a ride. She hit a truck head-on. The boys were all injured—2 of them seriously. The two guys in the truck were hurt. Her best friend is dead. She was doing 80 in a 40 zone. 80! Damn. It’s just so stupid.

(Google images photo)

What should happen to her? That’s a good question. She did something incredibly stupid. She killed someone. Why? It’s against the law in the first place for a 2 month driver to have ANYONE in the car unless there’s a licensed driver over 23 in the car. It’s against the law to exceed the speed limit by 40 miles an hour. It’s against the law to drive outside your lane. And because of that the state must seriously consider felony manslaughter charges.

Now, the parents of the young girl who was killed have asked the District Attorney’s office not to prosecute the driver. I don’t know about that. Was a crime committed? How serious a crime? Whose job is it to determine whether someone is prosecuted? Certainly not the parents of either the victim or the driver.

If it were my own kid who was driving, what would I think or do? If it were my daughter whose funeral I’m going to attend, what would I think or do? I don’t know that I could be that charitable, but then again, I’m not really vindictive either.

I think in a society governed by laws, that the decision to prosecute is irrespective of the family of the victim. That’s what the social contract is all about. We abrogate that right to the government. If we agree with the notion (like with convicted double murder/rapist John Gardner III) that the victim’s family can plead for either mercy or vengeance at the time of sentencing then that is the time for the family of the victim to come forward and “petition” the judge.

I don’t know anymore. What I do know is that I’m tired of this carnage. Kids are going to do stupid things behind the wheel, just like they do stupid things at other times. Hopefully, they’ll “get away with it” with only a good scare and perhaps a ticket. But sometimes, someone dies. When someone dies because of this kind of stupidity, who should pay?

Nothing Good Happens After Midnight

There’s a reason why the Fairy Godmother told Cinderella to be back by midnight. Remember? She was late. The coach turned back into a pumpkin, the footmen back into mice and Cinderella from a gorgeous princess back into a waifish stepdaughter.

What’s the reason? It’s simple. Nothing good happens after midnight.

Five 17 year olds partied on Saturday night here in the San Diego area. They were good kids. They were affluent kids. They were drunk. They were driving too fast. Now one is dead. One is in critical condition with blunt head trauma. Two had minor injuries and one is in jail. He’s charged with felony driving under the influence and gross vehicular manslaughter. Five young lives that will never be the same.

The accident happened at 1:45 in the morning. Nothing good happens after midnight. Especially to kids. Especially to parents.

What went wrong? The classic “perfect storm” for immature drivers (hell, for any driver). Too much speed. Alcohol. And five 17year-olds partying; distracted, showing-off. Only 2 were wearing seat belts. The 1 year-old car was full of air-bags but they won’t protect properly if the people in the car aren’t buckled up.

What’s the lesson here? Well, for one, parents try to do their best and are absolutely aghast, horrified and devastated when a tragedy such as this happens—especially to them.

There were too many kids in the car. Five 17-year olds, drinking, yields just too much testosterone for safety.

They thought, as do all teens, that they are immortal. They’re not. Sheet metal can’t win when there’s too much speed and immoveable objects in the way. And once the sheet metal goes, the living tissue inside is going to get hurt.

Alcohol was involved with kids 4 years too young to legally drink and never old enough to drive drunk.

Speed. Speed plus booze plus distracted equals only one thing. Disaster.

Odds are they could do the same thing 100 times and make it home OK. But, that one time when they don’t results in catastrophe.

Parents, teach your children. Monitor them. Have inviolable rules in place. Enforce them. Even when it makes them and you uncomfortable. That’s the way to love them.

Because nothing good happens after midnight.

A Turd in the Sandbox From the EPA

Summer. Days of sun and fun. Just like Sly and the Family Stone sang in “Hot Fun in the Summertime”. Makes you want to go to the beach and just kick back.

Joy Hickey (Jaime Pressly) "Don't be a turd in the sandbox"

Now comes a report that promises to spoil that image. Joy Hickey from “My Name Is Earl” says it best. “Don’t be a turd in the sandbox.” We’ve all seen ‘em, literally and figuratively. The kid is in the sandbox playing with his toy truck, a load of logs on the back. But wait. Those aren’t logs. They’re cat turds!

Well, the Environmental Protection Agency just laid a huge turd in the sandbox of every beach. “A new study says that you risk getting an upset stomach and diarrhea if you dig into the granular stuff to fill toy pails, build sand castles or bury yourself.”

You know there are just some things that are best left unsaid. You don’t need a government study to know that birds crap on the beach. Beach sand comes from under the sea. Fish poop sinks to the bottom and if the sand is dredged to renew a beach, the poop comes up with it. Birds crap in backyards where kids play too. And backyard dirt has worm castings (that’s a polite way of saying worm turds). Does that mean people shouldn’t garden?

But, according to the EPA, they just think it’s important to caution people about the bird droppings, urban runoff, sewage and other contaminants that pollute sand. So what’s next? Tyvek haz-mat suits for everyone going to the beach? Definitely not good for tanning or for mobility during that beach volleyball game.


Awwwww man. Are the beaches going to be deserted? No more young girls in skimpy bikinis? No more beef-cake guys with bigger pecs than the young girls in the skimpy bikinis? No more Frisbee throwing to dogs on the beach?

According to the study less than 10 percent of people who played with sand came down with diarrhea and/or gastrointestinal illness. But, that’s 24 percent higher than for people who didn’t.

Chris Heaney, lead author of the study and a post-doc student at the University of North Carolina said, “The beach…is not a sterile environment.” (And the government spent money to find that out!)

This weekend will see huge crowds at the beach in Imperial Beach, the southernmost city in San Diego County, for its annual U.S. Open Sandcastle competition. Nearly 300,000 people are expected to attend. That’s all the competition needs is for people to come down with diarrhea and pollute sand sculptures which took hours for artists to create.

And additional thousands will be in attendance at the annual Over the Line tournament which is a version of beach softball that attracts huge crowds. There’s lots of face diving into the sand for fly balls and line drives. Is the Monday diarrhea from bratwurst, beer or gull poop?
Kids, go to the beach. Play, have fun. Way too many of you have anal retentive Moms who are paranoid about germs. It’s playing and stuff where you get resistant to germs. Just wash or use hand sanitizer at the beach. But geez, if you worry about every little thing that might possibly have a germ, you’ll never do anything.


And that would be the biggest turd in the sandbox of all.