Adults must show way to good driving

As the parent of two teenagers earning their driver’s license through Illinois’ Graduated Driver’s License (GDL) program, I am more concerned about what the fully licensed and long term drivers are doing on the road than my children.

We read stories all the time about young and inexperienced drivers making poor decisions and causing irreparable harm to themselves and others. What we don’t read about is the multitude of adult drivers that push these young drivers to take actions and make decisions that are both unnecessary and unfortunate.

On multiple occasions I have been a passenger with one of my children driving and have witnessed tailgating, blaring horns, waving hands, pumping fists, cutoff maneuvers aimed at my children while they appropriately obeyed the speed limit, waited for pedestrians in a crosswalk and stayed behind the line at a left turn lane while a stream of opposing cars continued through an intersection long after the light had turned red. We also witness many adults texting while driving and creating unnecessary risk for all on the road.

I recall learning to drive and the lessons of defensive driving that were taught to me. Defensive driving has taken on an entirely new meaning as I now educate my young drivers what to do as they await a left turn light to turn green, how to handle a merging road due to construction, what to do when a driver insists on tailing them on a road where they are observing the speed limit or viewing a texting, inattentive driver around them.

Yes, teenage drivers can make poor decisions. All I ask is that the adults around them set good examples and not create the next generation of adults who forget what it was like to learn to drive.

Rob Gelb

Naperville