BUMPER TAG; HOTLINE HELPS PARENTS MONITOR TEEN MOTORISTS.Byline: Jesse Hiestand Daily News Staff Writer Do you know how your teen-ager is driving? Now if teen drivers misbehave mis·be·have v. mis·be·haved, mis·be·hav·ing, mis·be·haves v.intr. To behave badly. v.tr. on the road, there's a way to find out. An emergency room nurse, tired of treating child car-crash victims, has set up a hotline to report bad drivers whose cars have ``1 (888)-TELL DAD'' bumper stickers bumper sticker n. A sticker bearing a printed message for display on a vehicle's bumper. bumper sticker n → Aufkleber m . The Sylmar resident's service costs $14.95 for the bumper sticker and $5 per month for monitoring, including notification of parents. ``A lot of times you can have a really good kid, and when they're with their friends they get a little reckless, careless careless adj., adv. 1) negligent. 2) the opposite of careful. A careless act can result in liability for damages to others. (See: negligent, negligence, care) , a little daring,'' said Wendy Petta, 26. ``This will make them think: Oh, yeah, I have a sticker on my bumper.'' Petta recently began distributing the stickers. Each carries a large-print identification number so motorists can lodge a specific complaint. So far she has four customers, including Lisette Perez, who made her 19-year-old daughter put it on the bumper of her Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the . ``It will give me a little more peace of mind to know someone is keeping an eye on her and she's not driving recklessly,'' said Perez, a 40-year-old La Canada Flintridge resident who said she has reported truck drivers for bad driving. ``It's just one more deterrent.'' Kristell Perez said she had little choice but to accept the sticker because she is still living at home and the car is in her parents' name. ``They said as long as I keep having the sticker on, I can take the car wherever I want to go,'' she said. ``I have a feeling that if they do get called, I'd probably get my car taken away.'' Police welcome the idea but question how effective it will be for kids who might remove the sticker or who face little prospect of being punished if they are caught. ``The thing is, how are you going to get the kids to keep it on their car?'' said Officer Dwight McDonald of the California Highway Patrol's West Valley station. He said the one who doesn't mind having the sticker on the car is probably the one more likely to obey traffic laws, anyway. McDonald said the CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan regularly receives complaints about bad driving and, using the license plate as an identifier, follows up with a letter warning that the alleged violator's actions were observed. ``If we get enough complaints, we take it to the city attorney,'' he said. Petta said she started the business out of her home after a close call with a teen-age driver on Angeles Crest Highway The Angeles Crest Highway is a two-lane (one lane of travel in each direction) segment of California State Route 2 in the United States. The road is 66 miles in length, with its western terminus at the intersection at Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge and its eastern about two months ago. ``I was coming home from my mom's with my two kids in the car, and this young kid came by in his Mustang mustang [Sp. mesteño=a stray], small feral horse of the W United States. Mustangs are descended from escaped Native American horses, which in turn were descended from horses of North African blood, brought to the New World by the Spanish c.1500. and cut me off, and I had to swerve,'' she said. ``I thought: I wish his mom knew how he was driving because if she did he wouldn't be driving like that.'' As an emergency room nurse at Verdugo Hills Hospital, Petta said she often sees the injuries that teen-agers and others suffer in traffic crashes. ``If they know their parents are going to find out about reckless driving reckless driving n. operation of an automobile in a dangerous manner under the circumstances, including speeding (or going too fast for the conditions, even though within the posted speed limit), driving after drinking (but not drunk), having too many passengers in , they're going to drive safer,'' she said. When phoning in a complaint to her service, a person should give the identification number on the bumper sticker and the time, date and location of the incident. Petta said she will then call the parents and relay the information. Sixteen-year-old Melissa La Joice said she is glad to drive the family Dodge Caravan Not to be confused with the Nissan Caravan. The Dodge Caravan and Dodge Grand Caravan are minivans manufactured by the Chrysler Group (DaimlerChrysler from 1998). when she is allowed, although it carries one of the bumper stickers. ``I don't think it's a burden,'' said Melissa, who has a learner's permit Noun 1. learner's permit - a document authorizing the bearer to learn to drive an automobile license, permit, licence - a legal document giving official permission to do something . ``It's a protective measure. If someone has that on, they'll have that responsibility on their shoulders.'' Her mother, Jan La Joice, agrees. ``I've heard some people say, oh, it's Big Brother watching, but I don't think that's what it was intended for,'' she said. ``It's more of a reminder that you need to be aware and need to be safe.'' Because Jan La Joice also drives the Caravan caravan, group of travelers or merchants banded together and organized for mutual assistance and defense while traveling through unsettled or hostile country. , she knows she must live up to the standard she expects of her daughter. ``They could just as easily report me as my daughter,'' she said. ``So the parents have to set an example.'' CAPTION(S): photo PHOTO Wendy Peta, a nurse, is selling bumper stickers and a monitoring service The general surveillance of known air traffic movements by reference to a radar scope presentation or other means, for the purpose of passing advisory information concerning conflicting traffic or providing navigational assistance. to parents of young drivers. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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