A few days ago, we lost three young people to a traffic accident on an icy road. One of them was a classmate of my son's. The proximity of this tragedy prompts me to question why our training of young or new drivers is so inadequate. My 16-year-old just passed his driver's license test without exceeding 20 miles per hour, and there was no requirement for emergencies such as a skid or a spin.

As a private pilot, I had to prove my ability to recover from in-air emergencies both with an instructor and an FAA examiner. Wouldn't it be better for everyone if we required and provided the same kind of training for our new drivers?

PETER KELSEY, St. Paul