"My cell phone rang early this morning. It was a call from my 16-½ year old daughter, who for the past few months has been driving herself to school. She was alarmed by the fact that the car’s message center alerted her to “change oil now.” She took the message literally and had pulled over to the side of the road to call me about how to change her oil. I advised her that we could change the oil this weekend, which would certainly suffice. She wasn’t sure I was right, but proceeded to school nevertheless.

I’m sure all parents of newly minted 16-year-old drivers have similar stories. Although my daughter practiced driving for months and took a comprehensive driver’s education course, there is much that she (and other new drivers her age) still has to learn. We’ve had cell phone calls, much like this morning’s, about how to turn on the rear wipers, how to work the gas pumps, how and when to put air in the tires, and numerous other innocent questions.

My favorite question from my daughter was what to do about the fact that the impatient driver behind her on a single lane road kept honking at her and giving her “the finger,” which she could see through the rear view mirror—despite the fact that she was driving at “exactly the posted speed limit.” I suggested she simply ignore him.

But, while many of the above incidents are basic and even humorous in nature, it is imperative that we take very seriously our children’s inquires regarding safe driving. They know only what we teach them and, more importantly, what we show them. Let’s teach them a good lesson and drive safely, courteously, and intelligently."