Teenagers have long been known for risky driving. In 1958, a boy named Bill learned the hard way how dangerous speed can be. Bill was only sixteen when his life was cut short in a crash, his car flying off the road at 90 miles per hour. After his death, his girlfriend wrote a poem that captured the heartbreak:
“This Little Boy Named Bill”
Every morning at half past eight,
I saw a car go flying by;
A car of blue and with no top,
A car of life; it would not stop.
A car of bliss, a car of joy;
This car brought death to a wonderful boy.
This little boy was left one day
To roam the earth no more.
He once said “Hey,”
But to his loved ones tore.
It was May 8th, 1957,
When Bill was drawn so close to heaven;
And that evening at half past five,
My darling Bill was not alive.
Today, 66 years later, the story repeats on streets like Elm and Cone, where drivers—many of them teenagers—ignore speed limits. Police surveys from 2021 show drivers often push 50 mph or more on Elm, with some even reaching the 70s and 80s. Crashes are common: since May of 2024, there have been 41 accidents on Elm alone, with dozens more on Cone. While not every accident is caused by speed, most could have been avoided if drivers had slowed down.
Teen speeding is driven by overconfidence and a belief in invincibility. Fatal crashes involving teens include speeding 34% of the time—much higher than the 20% seen with adults. Many of these accidents happen on local roads, like Battleground, Cone, and Elm, not highways. Speeding also raises the chance of deadly rollovers and cars running off the road.
The city of Greensboro has tried to make streets safer by installing speed humps, roundabouts, and other obstacles, but drivers push back. They claim that roads like Elm and Cone are built for higher speeds, making the 35-mph limit feel too slow. Yet raising the limit would require additional safety measures—redesigning intersections, adding crosswalks, and more.
It is important to remember that roads like Elm and similar, are extremely busy when school is starting and letting out, putting more lives at risk. Speeding is not just a danger to the driver, it continues to be a danger to innocent bystanders who could be driving home from work or school, expecting to be home by a family.
WFMY- https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/traffic/city-data-shows-elm-street-in-downtown-greensboro-has-had-dozens-of-vehicle-crashes-this-year-pedestrian/83-5b214a22-fd9a-4d03-8fff-f50e53d34a93
GHSA Ford- https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/GHSA_TeenSpeeding_Final_Jan21.pdf
