Thrills! Nausea! Bad acting!

AS memorable adolescent experiences go, viewing one of the California Highway Patrol's "Red Asphalt" films ranks right up there with your first kiss or having your parents come home early to find a kegger in full swing. For generations, the lights have dimmed, the screen has flickered, and like young Alex in Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange," the state's youngest drivers have been compelled to watch this strange and enduring rite of passage.

By Martin J. Smith

June 21, 2006