Group on teen driving fatalites created

The first public meeting of the newly created Mid-Missouri Attentive Driving Always Matters group will take place Thursday to focus attention on fatal accidents among teenage drivers and to provide support for family and friends.

The meeting is from noon to 2 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Select Executive Center, 2200 I-70 Drive SW.

Centralia resident Jennifer Briggs began a mid-Missouri chapter of the group three months after her 19-year-old stepdaughter, Whitney, died in a car accident in June. Briggs’ friend began the organization in Minnesota after her son, Adam, was killed by a reckless driver.

“Whitney was wearing a seatbelt, was not on her cell phone and was not speeding,” Briggs said. “She simply went off the road and lost control.”

Michael Karlin of Chicago, whose son died in a high-speed car crash last year, is scheduled to be the main presenter. Karlin is one of the founders of Brakes for Brett, a not-for-profit Illinois corporation dedicated to educating teen drivers on the dangers of speeding, and encourages people who have suffered similar losses to cope with their grief through communication and counseling.

Karlin and Briggs say inattentiveness, more than alcohol and drugs, causes the majority of teenage vehicle accidents. The Missouri Department of Transportation lists inattentiveness among the leading causes of fatal crashes among people ages 15-20.

“We need people to be aware of what is really going on and to see if there is something we can do to better educate our teens about driving safely,” Briggs said.

Other speakers are scheduled to include Sgt. Paul Reinsch of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Capt. Gale Blomenkamp of the Boone County Fire Protection District and Lynn Wobig of Allstate Insurance. Briggs said Sen. Chuck Graham, D-Columbia, and Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, were expected to attend, as well.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, there were 202 teenage traffic fatalities in Missouri in 2003.