It is time to get back to basics, time to learn the fundamentals of what it is to become a responsible driver. Parents, teachers, friends and neighbors, no matter what your politics or religion or taste in the arts, we all need to carry out our most important job: child safety — in this case, safety on the road.

In teaching our children to drive a motor vehicle, do we teach them how not to drive, as well? This week’s news informs us of yet two more tragic losses. What can we do to prevent these young, hopeful lives from being cut short so terribly? They are mostly preventable with instruction and guidance from us, the parents.

Bigger vehicles aren’t necessarily safer. This week’s crash proves again that an SUV is no match for a tree on Westlake Boulevard. Rain, plus speed, plus an 18-year-old behind the wheel equals potential disaster and unfathomable heartbreak. Our prayers go out to the families who suffer this grievous loss.

Parents, teach your children well. Children learning to drive, if you read this letter, save your families and friends the pain of having to write and read about the many accolades in your lives published in local obituary pages.

— Michael Skopes, Thousand Oaks