Motor vehicles are inherently dangerous. The average weighs 3,000 pounds and a pick-up or SUV could weigh twice that. And when a vehicle is traveling at highway speeds, the forces exerted in a crash or collision can be staggering.

Ask any Indiana State Police trooper what can happen in a car crash, and they may tell you that you don't want to know. Hitting another vehicle, a guardrail, utility pole or tree can all have equally devastating consequences. 

That is one reason teen drivers are uniquely at risk on the road. They are young, inexperienced and have a dangerous sense of invincibility. This can be exaggerated when they get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. It is difficult to convey to young drivers just how dangerous operating a vehicle can be.

A tragic story involving two boys on a road just north of Jeffersonville highlights this risk. The two teens were heading out to go hunting when their vehicle left a rural road and went down an embankment to a creek. When emergency first responders arrived, they found both boys had been thrown from the vehicle. One was dead at the scene; the other was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and was placed in a medically induced coma due to his injuries from the crash.

It was unclear how the crash occurred, but one can imagine that with two excited teen-age boys on a quiet rural road, the potential for mischief is great. There was no evidence of drugs or alcohol contributing to the crash, but it incident is still under investigation by police.

Young male drivers enjoy the feeling of speed, and yet have little experience with vehicles. It is not difficult to imagine the driver going a little too fast and winding up losing control. Whatever the cause, one boy is dead and a second, if he survives, will carry a special burden the rest of his life.

Source: wlky.com, "Community remembers teen killed in accident," Ann-Lysa Gayle, November 9, 2015