Letter to the Editor:

September 24, 2006

On today’s front page there is a story about another needless teenage death on the roads of Westchester. Over the past number of weeks and months, there have been many similar stories. Obviously, it is not easy to prevent young people from going out late at night, though this accident was at 11 AM. It is patently obvious that it is almost impossible to prevent many young people from engaging in risky behavior and mixing substance abuse with high speed. One suggestion I have is to place a “governor” on all vehicles owned and driven by individuals under the age of 21. Since most authorities believe “speed kills,” if young driver’s speed were limited to a maximum of 55 mph, many a life could be saved. If society cannot change our mindless social habits regarding the mixing of driving, poor judgment, and intoxication, than we should mechanically slow cars down. This is something that can be done, let us petition our state legislature and stop the carnage.

Richard J. Garfunkel