First I’d like to send out my condolences to the family of the 3 young men who died in a car crash in Muskoka last month. The three young men were Toronto residents Tyler Mulcahy, 20, the driver of the car, Kourosh Totonchian, 19, and Cory Mintz, 20. Mulcahy’s girlfriend, Nastasia Elzinga, 19, was the lone survivor of the crash.
Speed and alcohol were a factor in the accident, as the foursome consumed 31 drinks in a 3-hour period before getting in their car and leaving a restaurant shortly before the fatal crash.
Tyler’s father, Tim Mulcahy is petitioning the Ontario government to crack down on speeding and alcohol, pledging for zero tolerance for alcohol and speeding for people under 21. With all due respect, and I truly think that Mr. Mulcahy has good intentions to help save other people from living the same fate, I don’t believe that changing the laws will do much to avoid these types of situations. I believe there is a deeper problem in our society that goes beyond the power of the government to control.
Mr. Mulcahy purchased an Audi S4 for his son Tyler. This is no ordinary car. This is a high performance $70,000+ automobile with 340 horsepower, and an electronically limited top speed of 248 KM/h. In an interview with The Star, Mr. Mulcahy said “Parents need to lobby the government to make changes. We tell our children all the time – as I told Tyler – don’t drink and drive and don’t speed. I know that I have said this to Tyler over 100 times. Obviously that doesn’t work”.
When asked if there is one thing he would do different as a parent, Mr. Mulcahy replied: “Absolutely. I would not have bought him the car that I did. … When he asked me for the car I argued with him incessantly and I finally gave in and I wish I hadn’t.”
I believe parents need to take more responsibility for their kids’ actions. Kids will continue to speed, kids will drink, but purchasing a high performance automobile for your kid will only encourage them more. I understand that these young men were all raised in a very wealthy neighbourhood, went to wealthy private schools and probably had a lot of pressure from their friends to drive expensive luxury cars.
In my opinion, this terrible situation that these young men put themselves in is a result of the society they grew up in, not a result of a lack of government control.