Recent headlines in the Las Vegas paper have been about a 16 year-old girl who died in an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) accident. The machine rolled, her helmet came off, and she died on the spot of head injuries.



My first thought was "Look at that, even a helmet couldn't protect her."

Reading further into the article I discovered a witness statement:

"I was behind her about 20 feet, and she was texting with her right hand on the phone, and her left hand was across her body on the throttle, trying to steer," Young said.

Young said her friend was wearing a helmet, but it was unfastened.

Cosgrove said the teenager could have died even if her helmet had remained intact -- and even if she had not been distracted by her cellphone. However, she added, "No one operating any kind of motor vehicle should have any kind of distractions, including texting."

That says it all, doesn't it? It's almost one of those Darwin's Law situations, and you have to wonder what the parents were thinking letting such a young driver go out with a cell phone and unfastened helmet driving a vehicle with the power of a car, the equivalent of a convertible without seatbelts.

What a shame.