I almost wrecked into am SUV the other day. I was driving along, and it pulled out of the driveway, less than 100 feet in front of me. I was alert and stopped (I was travelling slowly), but incensed because, had I gotten into the wreck, the other driver would have surely been killed or seriously injured, and I would have been 100% at fault, regardless.

You see, the "driver" was about 4 years old, and the "SUV" was a plastic battery operated vehicle that travels at 5-10 miles an hour.

There is a reason we on't license 4 year olds to drive. They are too young, and lack the judgement and coordination to do so safely. In addition, they lack the decision making skills to avoid wrecks such as the one I nearly encountered. And yet, I am seeing an increasing number of these vehicles on the roads in increasing numbers, and am outraged that parents don't have the good sense to teach their children to stay out of traffic with these things. You see, Johnny wants to be just like daddy and drive on the road. But Johnny's got a lot of learning before he's ready.

I am not advocating outlawing these things; we have too many laws already. But I am asking parents who might read this to think about the potential hazards their children might encounter and supervise them as long as they are too young to make the proper judgements.

Respectfully submitted,

Gideon MacLeish