that we will be safe on our highways? I only wish we could find some
magical instant solution to the problem. So far, all the mechanical im-
provements on automobiles, all the highway improvements, all the
strengthening of our traffic safety laws have not been able to curb our
rising number of highway deaths and injuries. Thus, the answer must
lie with you, the drivers. It has been found that four of five traffic
accidents are due to driver errors. Driver errors—not faulty automotive
equipment or bad road conditions—but avoidable bad judgment on the
part of our motorists.
You, as the young drivers of our State, will be subjected to these con-
ditions when you venture out on our public thoroughfares. You will be
faced with reckless drivers who pass on curves, exceed speed limits and
drink while driving. Will you join them in their deadly game? Or will
you be able to exercise good judgment and survive? Again, I say, the
choice is up to you. Only by being a mature, knowledgeable driver, with
full control of your vehicle and awareness of the responsibilities of driv-
ing, will you be able to remain a living human being and not a statistic.
The odds are in your favor. As teenagers, you have all the natural-
born assets that contribute to good driving skills. You have good vision
and hearing, above average coordination and fast reflex timing. With
these God-given faculties, you should be the best drivers on our roads,
if—and I stress the "if"—if you develop now the good judgment and
favorable attitudes toward the privilege and responsibility of driving.
You and other teenagers like you have many long years ahead of you as
Maryland motorists. It is my fervent hope that these years will not be
marred for you by needless highway tragedies. Therefore, in an attempt
to instill within you at this early age the concepts of good driving
attitudes and practices, the General Assembly this year passed a bill
requiring the youth of our State to complete thirty hours of driver
education courses before obtaining drivers licenses. In this way, we hope
you will learn from the very beginning the proper methods of safely
handling a motor vehicle. You will learn driving skills from qualified
teachers rather than from a parent or friend who might unknowingly
pass along poor driving habits. By requiring you to take this course, we
are not saying that you are bad driving risks. Rather, we are trying to
instill within you good driving attitudes and skills right from the start,
so that you will begin your driving career with the proper motivations
and hopefully will continue to be the safe motorists of Maryland's
future.
I feel certain that the young men and women I am addressing today
will be among that group which Marylanders can point to with pride as
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