Local News - August 2002

Teen’s death prompts new efforts at safety

By ALICE SMITH, LTN Staff Writer

August 19, 2002 - As family members and friends cope with loss, school and county officials are hoping to make students be safer on the road.

Grayson Hall’s death marks the fourth time in less than three years that an East Lincoln High School student has died as a result of an automobile accident.

Students and teachers there know this feeling all too well.

And now, in the wake of Grayson’s death, officials are looking for ways to make students understand the importance of driving safety.

They don’t want this to happen again.

According to an article in USA Today, 2,778 drivers younger than 19 died in 2000. North Carolina is ranked 6th in the nation for teen fatalities stemming from automobile accidents. Teen drivers die at more than twice the rate of all drivers.

Fourteen percent of all deaths due to motor vehicle accidents are teens, according to the Web site, www.drivehomesafe.com.

At ELHS, faculty is stressing the importance of safe driving. A driver safety presentation for students is in the works.

After Grayson’s accident, Todd Black, ELHS principal, addressed students regarding driving.

“They are not immune to these kinds of acts,” Black said last week. “You have to think when you’re behind the wheel.”

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the N.C. Highway Patrol are stepping up patrols around the school, in hopes that making themselves visible to students will prevent future wrecks.

Bill Beam, chief deputy at the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, said everyone needs to take an active role in driver education.

“It’s going to take a realization on their part — and a lot of guidance from parents.”

The police do all they can, but the main responsibility of driving is placed on the driver.

“We can’t be at all places at all times,” Beam said. “We have a lot more schools than we do officers.”

Beam said it is extremely dangerous for inexperienced drivers to be out on the road.

If officers see violations, they will write tickets.

Jane Parker, ELHS guidance counselor, said the school is exploring different ways of preventing accidents like Grayson’s.

The school is considering a rule that if a student is caught violating a driving law — even speeding — they will lose their parking permits.

Even if the offense happens off school grounds, the student’s parking pass will be taken away, Parker said.

No concrete plans have been made, but the school is tossing around these ideas.

“There’s not any easy answer at all,” Beam said. “It’s something we try to continuously look at.

“But the bottom line is that the person operating the vehicle has a great deal of power and responsibility in their hands.”

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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