Saving teens' lives

Talk about notable numbers. Yes, we knew there had been a string of fatal accidents involving teenage drivers in Johnston County. But add up the deaths there since the beginning of 2006, and the total is just plain shocking.

As The N&O's Leah Friedman reports, 26 Johnston teens have died in vehicle crashes during that period. That makes Johnston second from the worst among North Carolina's 100 counties in its highway death toll for teenagers, behind only Buncombe (Asheville and environs). The two counties -- one in the mountains, the other with lots of flat farmland -- don't have much in common except that their roads, often narrow, twisting and poorly lit, clearly are dangerous places for young drivers.

Johnston's predicament calls for community leadership, and County Commissioner Tony Braswell is stepping forward. Braswell, who lives near the site of a wreck in which a Princeton High School senior and a recent graduate died last month, is summoning a range of officials and experts to figure out how to prevent so many young people from being killed on the county's roads.

More effective drivers education could be a tool, as could lower speed limits and upgraded roads. Surely if roads are full blind spots, if shoulders are narrow or non-existent, and if speeding is looked at as just something that young drivers with fast cars do for fun -- then the cost in deaths and injuries will be high.

Other factors that could be involved in Johnston include the county's rapid growth, which puts more cars on roads not designed for heavy traffic, and the many kids in still-rural areas who drive relatively long distances to get to school or jobs. And as Capt. Everett Clendenin of the State Highway Patrol said, it's crucial that parents teach good driving habits.

That means wearing seats belts and heeding Clendenin's warning: "Teens are more likely to die in a car crash due to speeding than anything else." So, young and old alike, slow down and live.