“Since the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, about 2,600 American troops have been killed in combat and war related incidents. During the same period, more than 22,000 teenagers, ages 15 to 19, have died in traffic accidents on U.S. roads.”

That was the lead copy in a Sept. 4, 2006 issue of AutoWeek Magazine that got my attention. This article was filled with thought-provoking comments such as this. “We just accept the fact that somewhere between 5,000 and 6,000 kids will die on our roads this year and another 300,000 will be seriously injured. And it’s just not acceptable,” say Ron Langford, who created the Masterdrive driver education program in Colorado after the death of his own 16-year-old daughter in a traffic accident.

This article and one by The AAA are must-reads and I will tell you how to find them in their entirety at the end of this column.