Class Emphasizes Driving Responsibly

To bring teenagers and their parents together to negotiate guidelines for responsible driving, Pierce College Extension is offering a four-hour class on Saturday.

Chris McNicoll, a Woodland Hills mother of five who helped arrange the class, plans to attend with her husband and their 16-year-old son, Mike. In January, Mike and two friends were in a car accident while Mike was driving. One of the boys wasn’t wearing a seat belt and suffered facial cuts, McNicoll said.

“I know kids who’ve been given cars when they only have their [driver’s] permit,” she said. “As soon as they get their license, whether they’re qualified or not, they just go out there and drive anywhere they want to. When things come easy to kids, when they have money and get these cars, I just don’t think they realize how serious the responsibility is.”

The session at Pierce encourages students and parents to decide whether the teenager is ready to drive and, if so, under what guidelines, said Pierce College Extension spokeswoman Stephanie Hernand. Under the instruction of Bob Marlowe, a licensed traffic school teacher, each family will write a contract that establishes driving standards for the teenager.

The class will be held Saturday at Pierce College from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost is $48 per teenager (parents are admitted free). To register, call (818) 719-6425.