The DMV and Driver Safety. Can I just make the rules?

Depending on where you live, there's a good chance that you got snow, rain, ice or at least some darn chilly temperatures this past week.

In our area (someone remind me why I live in the Midwest, again?) the entire city came to a standstill on Wednesday because of the amount of snow that dropped down and blew around Tuesday night. The kids and I spent the day marveling at the piles that were taller than they were from the warmth and comfort that came along with staying inside.

But Thursday the world went right back to normal, which seemed to have its positives and its negatives. On the one hand, let's continue on with our lives, right? On the other, are there people out there that live around here that have just forgotten how to drive in the snow? I mean, how do you even get yourself into a situation like this?

In my pre-child years, I'm sure I thought about drivers and safety... but nowhere near as much as I do now. What are you people thinking? Why are there people behind the wheel that just seem unqualified to be there?

When I was younger I'm sure I thought that I was one of the best drivers on the road, no worries about teen safety stats or any of that, no, none of that applied to me. I stepped right up there in the DMV and passed my test with flying colors without a second glance. But now, even though my girls are more than a decade away from having their own drivers' license (whew!), I can already see that it's going to be extremely difficult to see them pull out of the driveway on their own.

Little Sister B is off to a good start, though. She's already taking driving very seriously!

Even if my daughters are as good of a driver that I was (or thought I was) as a teen, that doesn't mean that there won't be crazies still out there driving too fast on the slippery roads or, worse yet, under the influence. How am I not going to want to install GSP or some sort of homing device on my kids once they start to drive? How am I not going to want to walk into the DMV and ask that I get to personally approve each and every person who applies for a license to make sure that they seem like they'll be a safe driver?

Thank goodness I have a while to get used to the idea, because for now I'll stick with keeping my kids warm and safe inside the house even when the snow piles up and the slick roads are threatening outside.

What about you? Are there crazy drivers in your area? Are your kids old enough to have a license and, if so, how in the world do you handle it?