8 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, December 6, 1996 NATION/WORLD r Fatal car crashes. with teen drivers drop nationwide AP PHOTO Shots in memory A kaibile, special forces soldier shoots into the air in remembrance of the fallen soldiers during 36 years of war at the last special forces graduation ceremony yesterday in Poptun, El Peten, Guatemala. The Guatemalan army is discontinuing the training of these special counter-insurgency units due to the signing of the final peace accords in Latin America's longest civil war. Classic toys return this holiday season ATLANTA (AP) - Fatal car crashes involving teen drivers dropped 24 per- cent in the past eight years, and the gov- ernment gives some, of the credit to laws that limit their driving privileges while they gain experience behind the wheel. But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that crashes are still the top killer of youths between 15 and 20 and urged parents to be the road police in states where the laws aren't in place. The CDC said teen dri- vers were Preopl involved in 7,993 fatal encourag crashes in 1995, down 24 decline, percent from 10,415 in 1988. want t#hei "There is a ; decline but there has been a a slight drop in all age groups said Ann risk for ti Dellinger,. a accidents CDC epidemi- ologist. otherage "People will be encouraged by this decline, but CDC I . don't want them to forget that teens are at a higher risk for these accidents than any other age." That's evident in another statistic: Young drivers were involved in about 2 million non-fata),crashes in 1995 alone, the CDC said. Young drivers between 15 and 20 make up 7 percent of all licensed dri- vers but 14 percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes,, Teens are more apt to speed and to drive recklessly, have little experience behind the wheel when they start out and, as they grow older, have more access to alcohol, Dellinger said. Over the past eight years, teen drivers were involved .in 68,206 fatal crashes. Most of them were boys, more than a quarter had been drinking and more than half were not wearing seat belts. 16 al m e All the more reason for limits, the CDC said. That's the thinking behind new laws adopted in at least 15 states credited in part with stopping teens from steering into disaster. The laws establish a multi-step, or "graduated" license that slowly give teen-agers more and more driving priv- ileges as they gain experience behind the wheel, such as increased hours e more passengers. Some programs require adult supervision.until a youth gains enough driving experience. But at least one researcher said will be it's too early to credit these laws id byIthis for the drop in teen crashes. t d n't "I think it's more becaus t an increased fe of seat belts and tteen air bags," said Rob Foss of the gher University of North Carolina, who has studied v graduated licens- Sing for three Syears. "They are ' the most likely Ann Dellinger explanatio@. pidemiologist They save lives:" Kentucky and Michigan - which along with Florida approved graduated licensing this year - are considered to have the most extensive programs. What other states are doing varies widely. Some limit the nighttime hours when teens can drive, and otfs require young drivers to have a learn: permit for six months or more. But most states still have attached few rules to getting an unrestricted license. The CDC hopes 35 states will have adopted some version of the multi-step licensing by the year 2000. "There will be clear benefits in states that have a comprehensive licensing program, but it can't be in bits and pieces," Foss said. In the meantime, parents also car* the job, the CDC said. "They can work out a schedule with their young drivers, they can insist on seat belt use and what hours in the day or night they can drive," Dellinger said. Lacking a single popular hit, older toys 'shine' The Allentown Morning Call It's a refrain heard often at this time of the year. "They don't make toys like they used to." But they do, lots of them, and this is one holiday season you just might notice. There's no Cabbage Patch doll, no Power Ranger action figure, no block- buster toy at all to hog the attention. So the tried and true are getting their due. Some are calling it a classic come- back. But by virtue of their definition, the classics never really went away. Take Uncle Milton's Ant Farm, for instance. "We were always cool," said spokesperson Caryl Svendsen, "but in the absence of these mega-branding products, we shine a little more." The Ant Farm is celebrating its 40th birthday and the company is actually bragging that the plastic habitat for watching live ants create their world is virtually the same as it was in 1956. It's not the only one. Celebrating its 30th anniversary with changes that have amounted to little more than an updated box and spinner is Milton Bradley's Twister. And, to mark the 40th anniversary of Yahtzee, Milton Bradley has released a commemorative edition with foil-stamp packaging and a leather-like throwing tray with matching dice cup. It's not much different than the original. Lincoln Logs turned 80 this year, a good time for Playskool to remind par- ents that the simple Wild West building set was actually invented by John Lloyd Wright, son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The logs are still made of wood and a commemorative edition is avail- able in the dark, rosewood color remi- niscent of the original product. Also on the cusp of its own 80th anniversary is Radio Flyer, the maker of the original little red wagon. The blockbuster movie "Toy Story," with its cast of classics like Mr. Potato Head and Etch A Sketch, is credited for helping to remind people about the play value of some of the old standards. Some of the toys have special "Toy Story" editions. While many of the classic toys have been selling steadily for years, some are experiencing a resurgence in popularity. Like Gumby. The first time anybody saw the flexi- ble green clayboy was in 1956 on the Howdy Doody Show. He was a sensa- tion, his happy-go-lucky, caring and honest personality appealing to both young and old. Today, he's a hit among a new generation, inspired in part by the Gumby television show on Nickelodeon and Gumby movie on home video. To mark Gumby's 40th birthday, Trendmasters has issued more than a dozen new products, including play sets which are the first ever Gumby items advertised on television. Toy industry observers find nothing surprising about the continued interest in these classics. 1 Nobody prepares you like KAPLAN Kaplan has the most complete arsenal of test prep tools available. From videos to virtual reality practice tests, to software and on line services, nobody offers you more ways to practice. Kaplan's dynamic teachers will show you the proven skills and test-taking methods that help you get a higher score. I~ Voted "The Best of Ann Arbor in Test Prep" 1996 Michigan Daily Readership poll LSAT GMAT GRE MCAT 12/7/96 1/18/97 12/14/96 4/19/97 2/8/97 3/15/97 4/12/97 8/16/97 6/16/97 6/21/97 DAT 4/5/97 10/4/97 Call KAPLAN for information about taking a FREE practice test! 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