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The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Old Aug 14th 2005, 2:26 pm
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Default The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

My sons 16 year old friend from school was killed Saturday morning it amazes me the number of young kids in very powerful cars in this country. Very sad and a terrible waste of a young life.

http://pasco.tbo.com/pasco/MGBZJ6KDCCE.html
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 3:26 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Originally Posted by vegas
My sons 16 year old friend from school was killed Saturday morning it amazes me the number of young kids in very powerful cars in this country. Very sad and a terrible waste of a young life.

http://pasco.tbo.com/pasco/MGBZJ6KDCCE.html
Although its a tragedy, and I think that kids should not be given powerful cars until they learn about the road more; its highly likely that this could have happened in pretty much any car on the market and power has little to do with it.

what IS stupid is giving a kid a rear wheel drive car like the three series which has handling charateristics unlike the majority of cars out there.

My wife nearly killed herself at the same time of her life in a three series, and I myself had a 70 mph crash in my mid-twenties driving one also.

Americans tend to call it a propensity to 'go sideways'

I have a memorial to attend this afternoon for a family friends who had a similar accident last year which killed both himself and his passenger. unfortunately drinking was the root cause of this, so I actually care more for the passengers family than anyone else.
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 3:41 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

The motor bike rule in the UK always made sense to me with the cc engine size one can ride being dictataed by both age and years riding.

No doubt the car lobby is too strong and will prevent a similar rule being applied to their engine sizes. Think of the money they make when daddy buys his little girl a mustang! :scared:
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 3:47 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

I wonder what daddy said about his prowler
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 3:48 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Or even his Enzo Ferrari
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 3:53 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Originally Posted by vegas
My sons 16 year old friend from school was killed Saturday morning it amazes me the number of young kids in very powerful cars in this country.
Very sad, it is hard on everyone. My sons who's 14, had a friend die this summer but that was because his Mum made an error turning in front of a truck. She survived.

There are a number of issues. In Atlanta, we selfishly paid more money for a car with a "safety" record. In addition, we spent nearly a $1000 on an Audi weekend driving school which teaches teenages REAL driving skills and putting them in real situations (safely). We also will not let our son on a freeway until he's 18 and had years of driving on normal roads first. We also made him drive for a year and a half by having to call us before he left anywhere and when he got there. Now he has earned a lot of trust and even at 17, he's had more driving experience than myself at that age. It's no guarantee but the Bastard drivers here in Atlanta have no respect for the life of a driver or it's occupants in any car, including their own. It has got out of control. Drive down a freeway and it's more common to see the car distances less than 10 feet at 70mph +

Last but not least, the number one cause of death amongst teens on roads is when they DO NOT wear a seat belt. PLEASE PARENTS, drill it into them that if they are in a wreck, not necessarily caused by themselves, they are likely to die WITHOUT a seat-belt.... Clunk click every trip was SERIOUS.
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 4:23 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

The 16 yr old dying is sad but what I find sadder is people driving irresponsibly in adverse weather conditions.

For example, there was a torrential rainstorm yesterday afternoon as I was returning from Raleigh to Durham. Visibility was no more than 30 ft ahead of the vehicle and when driving down T.W. Alexander Drive, in RTP, we drove past the scene of a very recent accident. I saw a car completely overturned (on its roof) on the steep grass verge. There was another car that had pulled over behind it. The disturbing thing was that there was no-one standing/to be seen outside the upturned car which meant the car's passengers were either trapped or so injured they couldn't get out themselves.

The weather conditions had rapidly turned very windy and tremendously rainy in a matter of seconds and I wouldn't be surpised if the driver hadn't reduced his/her speed to take account of the road and weather conditions.

I dialled 911 as soon as I passed the scene to make a report. I passed by the location a few hours later and there was nothing to indicate what had happened earlier.



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Old Aug 14th 2005, 4:37 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

I think the most dangerous time of day to be on the road near our house is when the high school lets out in the afternoon, and unfortunately I have to go there to pick up my daughter.

We've been hit twice outside the school by teenagers, the first time the girls didn't even stop they quickly drove off.

I would say hardly a week goes by without some kind of prang outside the school. It is not unusual to be sitting behind a teen girl, in a very expensive car, on her cell phone while adjusting her make up. I can only presume they steer with their knees as their hands are too busy holding the phone and applying the lipgloss.

The boys are as bad, you pull out of the school driveway and straight on to a 50 mph road, and the boys seem to feel it is a sign of their manhood to burn out of the drive as fast as they can, and then because of the proximity of the traffic lights they very often plow right into the stationary cars in front of them.

The sheer stupidity of it would be funny if so many of them didn't end up injured or injuring someone else. Just before the summer holidays one kid burned out of the drive, into the waiting traffic, through that and into an electrical sub station of some kind, which then knocked out the electricity in the area.

The driving in our area is so bad I won't let my daughter drive here for her own safety. Too many kids in big trucks with no driving skills and common sense.
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 6:35 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

This may sound callous but it isn't, I've done my share of mourning over the death or injuries of friends of my daughters.

It is becoming increasingly clear that teenage boys don't develop the part of the brain that measures, in advance, the consequences of their actions. This is a property that makes them valuable to the military. I was 21 when I did my National Service and a Sergeant major said it was great having me run the office, but in the field he wanted kids who would obey when he told them to pop up to draw sniper fire. He said I would make a response not suitable for family entertainment.

The best you can do is to prepare them to the best of your ability. I think a session on a skid patch should be mandatory and perhaps, a drive through a marked course sober and again after a beer or the equivalent. I know it's against the law, but we learn by doing, they would find out how much control they lose. Telling them makes little impression.

I suspect that this late development of the teenage boy's brain may be the result of natural selection. In the days of hunter gatherers, the young men would have been the hunters, taking the risks. If they failed to take the risks, the tribe would not be successful.
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 6:47 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Originally Posted by snorkmaiden
I think the most dangerous time of day to be on the road near our house is when the high school lets out in the afternoon, and unfortunately I have to go there to pick up my daughter.

We've been hit twice outside the school by teenagers, the first time the girls didn't even stop they quickly drove off.

I would say hardly a week goes by without some kind of prang outside the school. It is not unusual to be sitting behind a teen girl, in a very expensive car, on her cell phone while adjusting her make up. I can only presume they steer with their knees as their hands are too busy holding the phone and applying the lipgloss.

The boys are as bad, you pull out of the school driveway and straight on to a 50 mph road, and the boys seem to feel it is a sign of their manhood to burn out of the drive as fast as they can, and then because of the proximity of the traffic lights they very often plow right into the stationary cars in front of them. <<snip>>
I wonder if the parents/caregivers of teenager drivers you describe above set an appropriate example to their offspring?



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Old Aug 14th 2005, 8:04 pm
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Post Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Here in New Jersey all they need to do before taking their driving test is to prove that they have had at least six hours tuition from a driving instructor..

Now our 16 year old son had 3 x 2 hour 'driving' lessons in a small SUV (Kia) and I was surprised that due to the higher level of gravity the instructor didn't use a car such as a Ford Focus. I was even more surprised that the instructor didn't seem interested in continuing lessons so our son could get more driving practice in - the attitude seemed to be that the instructor had taught him all he knew... I couldn't even find anyone giving lessons in a car with a manual gearbox. What is really scarey is that he can actually go on the expressways now that he has his permit.....no way will we let him drive on the Garden State Parkway or the NJ Turnpike for instance, the drivers are appallingly bad and I saw a couple of near-misses whilst on the turnpike last night.

In NJ they have a system where drivers aged 16 only get their permit after they've completed the six hours and until they take their test at 17 they can only drive with a parent supervising. From 17 to 18 there are restricted hours (eg. they can't drive I think from the hours of approx 11pm-5am) and have only one non-family member in the car. The instructor has already booked our son in to take his test a couple of days after his 17th birthday as it falls on a Saturday.

Our son is getting his driving practice in our one and only car...a bloody great big Volvo XC90! (We only need one as my husband walks to the station for the trains into NYC, that's when he is actually in the US and not overseas as per usual). At least Volvos have an excellent reputation for safety but it's not really a car for a learner.....we will have to buy a small car as soon as he is 17 as there will be three of us vying for the car at the weekends LOL!

What really gets me is that they don't even have L plates or P plates in this country so you can give learner drivers a wide berth ......it's sorely needed in my opinion. I was tempted to bring a set of L plates back from England last week (there are many expats and immigrants in Northern NJ who would know what they are) but I guess my son would have ripped them off straightaway LOL!
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 8:13 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Lack of speed in a car can also create hazards to teenagers. They can't get themselves out of danger when their car doesn't have enough power. This was one of the issues among the accidents of the young adults in the UK when I was that age. Parents think they are buying a sensible car for their kids by getting a car with a very small engine. A young lad, driving with his friends in the car, decided to overtake another car and hit a mercedes head on because he couldn't get passed the car he was overtaking quick enough. He was killed and his friends were seriously injured. No drinking was involved, just teenage excitement. He was driving a Panda.

And this is just one example of quite a few I read about over the years of people I went to school with who were injured or killed as a result of driving a car that didn't have any power and were flimsily built.
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 8:18 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Originally Posted by Englishmum
Here in New Jersey all they need to do before taking their driving test is to prove that they have had at least six hours tuition from a driving instructor..

Now our 16 year old son had 3 x 2 hour 'driving' lessons in a small SUV (Kia) and I was surprised that due to the higher level of gravity the instructor didn't use a car such as a Ford Focus. I was even more surprised that the instructor didn't seem interested in continuing lessons so our son could get more driving practice in - the attitude seemed to be that the instructor had taught him all he knew... I couldn't even find anyone giving lessons in a car with a manual gearbox. What is really scarey is that he can actually go on the expressways now that he has his permit.....no way will we let him drive on the Garden State Parkway or the NJ Turnpike for instance, the drivers are appallingly bad and I saw a couple of near-misses whilst on the turnpike last night.

In NJ they have a system where drivers aged 16 only get their permit after they've completed the six hours and until they take their test at 17 they can only drive with a parent supervising. From 17 to 18 there are restricted hours (eg. they can't drive I think from the hours of approx 11pm-5am) and have only one non-family member in the car. The instructor has already booked our son in to take his test a couple of days after his 17th birthday as it falls on a Saturday.

Our son is getting his driving practice in our one and only car...a bloody great big Volvo XC90! (We only need one as my husband walks to the station for the trains into NYC, that's when he is actually in the US and not overseas as per usual). At least Volvos have an excellent reputation for safety but it's not really a car for a learner.....we will have to buy a small car as soon as he is 17 as there will be three of us vying for the car at the weekends LOL!

What really gets me is that they don't even have L plates or P plates in this country so you can give learner drivers a wide berth ......it's sorely needed in my opinion. I was tempted to bring a set of L plates back from England last week (there are many expats and immigrants in Northern NJ who would know what they are) but I guess my son would have ripped them off straightaway LOL!

This was my bug bear when I had 3 teenagers- no proper driving schools, no L plates, licenses far too young- they all used to pass round the answers to the 3 written driving tests in school (so most of them never read the manual even), they think Drivers Ed teaches them to drive period The only the trouble we had with our two boys as teenagers was because they were driving so young...thankfully they didn't kill themselves, although both have friends who did. We managed to keep our daughter from behind the wheel until she was past 18..and she was a much more responsible driver. We didn't give in to the pressure to buy them cars for their 16th birthdays like 'all their frineds had" though- they had to work and save for their vehicles...in the meantime they wrecked ours....
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 8:24 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Originally Posted by Ben
Lack of speed in a car can also create hazards to teenagers. They can't get themselves out of danger when their car doesn't have enough power. This was one of the issues among the accidents of the young adults in the UK when I was that age. Parents think they are buying a sensible car for their kids by getting a car with a very small engine. A young lad, driving with his friends in the car, decided to overtake another car and hit a mercedes head on because he couldn't get passed the car he was overtaking quick enough. He was killed and his friends were seriously injured. No drinking was involved, just teenage excitement. He was driving a Panda.

And this is just one example of quite a few I read about over the years of people I went to school with who were injured or killed as a result of driving a car that didn't have any power and were flimsily built.
Complete and utter bollocks!

The problem isn't the power of the car! It's the attitude of those youngsters......
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Old Aug 14th 2005, 10:16 pm
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Default Re: The madness of giving teenagers powerful cars

Originally Posted by Toontje
Complete and utter bollocks!

The problem isn't the power of the car! It's the attitude of those youngsters......
Yup, I'll second that. Total and utter bollocks from Ben.

It's teens' lack of driving skills that is at fault here, not their parents' failure to buy them more powerful cars.
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