All About UsNeon 18
We are a non-profit advocacy group that supports children's rights. Neon18.com holds the belief that children make mistakes and adults are held accountable for their children in their circle of influence. Children under 21 are still developing their adolescent brains and when it comes to driving, we need to help our young people to be responsible on the roadways. Since the "Luis Ortega Street-Racing Bill" failed in The Florida Legislature in 2009 and there is very little protection from illegal street-racing in our neighborhoods, we need to advocate safe driving in the pro-racing capital of the USA! Three blocks from my daughters roadside memorial on the Beachline in Orlando, the annual SEMA show exhibits their after market racing gear. Every year there are annual racing events and our children are dying on the sides of the roadways, without any metrics for illegal street racing or any representation of the fact that SPEED KILLS! The Louis Ortega Street Racing Bill was finally passed and signed into law at the end of April 2010. After three tries in the Florida Legislature, The Street Racing Bill increases fines and penalties for illegal street-racing. There were many compromises but the law is now in place and now it is up to the Orange County Police to enforce the law. The police are going to need help enforcing the laws and without real drivers education and support from professional racing organizations, illegal street racing will continue to kill our Native children. Many thanks to MARS-CFL (Mothers Against Racing on the Street-Central Florida) who have also had the burdens of the victims of illegal street racing. The legal language regarding illegal street racing was found to be unconstitutional in 2007 because it was too vague. The law went from 5-7 lines of legal explanation to one full page in the book of criminal statutes . Now that the penalties are in place and the law is written for understanding, we need to educate our young people on the dangers of street racing, speed, and reckless driving. NO EXCUSES! You can follow us on Twitter.
HistoryOn April 2nd of 2005, at 10:15 a.m., a tragedy occurred at mile marker # 27 on Highway 528 (Beachline ) in Orange County Florida. The life of a young, beautiful, talented girl was violently taken. Her name was Emily Jasmine; she was my daughter.
This is not a story of grief, of how to overcome tragedy, of how to rebuild your life from the ashes left behind by a loved one’s death. This is a narrative, if you will, of the dangers of street racing, the careless culture of racing fanatics, and the lack of concern for human life. This is the compelling recounting of the tragedy of a gifted, promising young lady. A young lady whose life was cut short by a world that bowed down to the shrine of the Speed Fanatic Culture, where private businesses, officers of the law, and young drivers were fascinated by speed and blind to consequence. The young man who tried to pass another vehicle on the highway, in his brand new Honda Civic at excessive speeds, also lost his life that Saturday morning in April. Sadly and tragically, two families are left behind who must pick up the pieces and somehow make sence of their new reality in a culture that will not address the unintended consequences of Speed. History repeats itself again and again. When will we stand up for our young adults? Neon18.com is an advocacy group for safe teen driving. Since 2007 we have given 6 scholarships to deserving students heading for college in memory of our beautiful and talented daughter, Emily Jasmine. We continue to raise awareness of the dangers of speed and reckless driving decisions for young drivers under 21 by partnering with like-minded advocacy groups. There is always a choice to be made.
If you had a perfect excuse, you would not need forgiveness; if the whole of
your actions needs forgiveness, then there was no excuse for it. But the trouble
is that what we call "asking God's forgiveness" very often really consists in
asking God to accept our excuses. - CS Lewis
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The police officers have to witness the "Racing Behaviors" and because they are not around when the blow-by happens it is difficult to prosecute illegal street racing or to prosecute th co-instigators. We need to put in place Graduated Drivers Licensing Education at the karting parks, High-Schools and Middle Schools AND we ALSO need help from the professional racing organizations who are always present in our state. If the kids in the professional racing circuit have permission to race and are not licensed to drive-the laws regarding children protection apply AND there is a larger responsibility NOT less.
The professionals who involve children under 18 in their professional racing "ladder programs" are automatically stakeholders in safe teen driving and the graduated drivers licensing program! We expect MORE from the "professionals" not less-
FREEDOM: LICENTIOUS OR RESPONSIBLE
When discussing freedom, some fallaciously believe, or would like to believe, that freedom grants license to do whatever one pleases. This implies that disrespect toward others and violations of their rights are permitted. It assumes license to do anything one pleases.
Freedom does not enjoy the right to disrespect others, and it does not permit violation of the rights of another person. The word “license” when applied to freedom means to do whatever one pleases; however, license is not inherent in freedom. Freedom has a boundary, and that boundary is the rights of another person. Where one person’s rights begin, another person’s freedom ends. Freedom is enjoyed by everyone when the speech and/or actions of one person do not infringe upon another person’s freedom to achieve his own internalized goals.
http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/s110.htm
Those professionals who seek to influence teenagers and young adults need to take responsibility for the overall impact on the young people and their peer groups.