Maine teens are dying on our roadways at an alarming rate. Everyone thinks that it won’t happen to our own young loved ones, but recent crashes in Maine show us that is not true.

Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers held public meetings to discuss the situation. This resulted in new laws with increased penalties for teen driving infractions. While that may help the situation it does not address the “real” problem.

I attended his public meeting at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles office in Lewiston. He was reluctant to increase driver education requirements that might cause the cost to increase, which could limit students. He even suggested that some sort of financial assistance could be needed if training requirements were increased.

Experienced drivers require insurance coverage, too; politicians might next be suggesting financial help there as well!

Many people consider driving a right when it is really a privilege. Politicians seem to think that increasing the number of rules, regulations and severity of penalties solves everything.

The bottom line is that teens need to improve driving skills. Well, if my last drive down the interstate is any indication, about one-half of Maine’s drivers need to improve their skills. Why not impose the new penalties for every Maine driver?

Who can honestly say that they haven’t seen someone do something stupid on their last hour-long drive on Maine’s roads.

Dan Morency, Freeport