dbj1000

On a related subject, a few replies in this thread mention not allowing teens to drive on the freeway.

I recently read an article that gave statistics showing that you were much, much safer driving on the freeway than on suburban roads, but I can't find it now. Anyone else seen these figures?

Ben

I agree with the lack of driving skills. However, when you have driven on non dual carriageway roads for a long time (try driving round Lincolnshire for a few years), you soon realise that a car with a bit of umph helps regarding passing. Having a car with little to no power at all, and the inexperience of a teenager can lead to the same problems of too much power and the little experience of a teenager.

You mean to tell me that as an experienced driver, you don't feel the benefits of having a car with the ability of decent acceleration when needed, without having to have an overly huge engine and 0-60 in 5 seconds that seems to be what is advertised here!

And I didn't say it was the parents fault. Parents don't buy their children cars for the reason to kill their children! Accidents happen. A fact of life. However, there are both ends of the spectrum and something that I feel parents should be made aware of. Buying a car that has an excess of power is dangerous, but a car with no power can also be dangerous to a person with no experience on how to drive.

Ben

eeer, yes. So therefore you don't buy/give access to a newly qualified driver a fast car or one that is too slow on acceleration to get someone out of danger

Pimpbot

At my niece and nephews school, the kids drive around in their own Hummers. I'm more scared of teenagers in a 10 ton truck than a fast car.

BritGuyTN

Now that is *****ING stupid

my kids will have something like a jetta I think, and I WON'T pay for it.... I may go half and half for safety's sake

dbj1000

For safety's sake? Is that to stop them selling their souls (or their bodies!) to raise money for that first car then?

dbark

But Ben, we're not talking about experienced drivers, we're talking about teenagers (especially boys, though I hate to say it) who get speed-crazy. If the power/decent acceleration is there, they are going to (ab)use it. My stepson, age 18, and his friend age 17, "raced" their cars (Ford Mustang and Mitsubishi Eclipse) here in town at 12.30 one Saturday night, smart move.... They were stopped by the Sheriff's department, and got tickets for careless driving, as the guy had not clocked their speeds, although he estimated they were doing 70 or 75 in a 35. My stepson says more like 90 - he was proud although says he knew it was against the rules - but he felt the rules were wrong, as who is out at 12.30 at night? Therefore he felt they weren't endangering anyone but themselves. They both appeared in court and had 3 days community service, which involved picking up trash from the road and processing cardboard in the recycling plant. We'll see if it taught them a lesson.

jjmb

I love the fact so many people on this thread have said well they can drive but not this or that freeway. How the hell are you going to stop them?

Here in Texas they can learn to drive from the age of 15, although they can't get a full permit until they are 16, big deal! We arrived here a few weeks before my daughter's 15th birthday and imagine our surprise when Elisabeth recieved a form of birthday card from the local driving school. We decided there and then, none of our kids would learn to drive until they were 17, the legal learning age in the UK, despite the fact it means ferrying them everywhere until then.

Like EM says learning to drive over here is basic to say the least, 32hrs of in class instruction ,7hrs of driving practise and 7 hrs of behind the wheel practise, where they watch another teen drive. If you are over 18, like my daughter was once she got her permit, you aren't required to get any instruction.

Getting back to first sentence on restricting where they go, last week whilst we were away in the Big Bend area, it apparently rained very heavily in the Austin Area. My son, who was driving his sister's truck (a small S10) whilst she is away in the UK, decided to try some mud sliding in a nearby field. You can imagine his panic when it broke down in a deep puddle. Fortunately, for him after some serious cleaning up and drying out, the truck is fine. Bet he wont be doing that for a while!

However, that is why he will be getting a small very old car for his 18th birthday in week or so time. He will have total resposibility for it, any damage plus insurance and running costs which isn't cheap by a lot shot! Given there isn't any public transport in this area, we have little choice but I would rather he damaged his car than ours.

Toontje

Listen, the kid got himself (and others) into trouble when he decided to overtake the other car. He should have taken into account the ability of his car to accelerate BEFORE he started to overtake the other car. And why did he want to overtake that other car? To show off to his friends?

I am a professional truck driver and I'm often stuck behind slow vehicles, but I have learned to be patient. And patience is a virtue that a lot of kids don't have.

anotherlimey

I'll second this, the kid shouldn't have overtaken the car.

I used to drive my mum's company car when I passed my test, I crashed it (only a minor accident) two weeks after - showing off to a girl I liked

syllk

Couldn't agree more...when I was younger, I had a very narrow escape when overtaking another car. However, the situation wasn't caused by the lack of power in my vehicle, but more to do with me being a sheer reckless stupid dumb-assed idiot.

ladyofthelake

My first car was a 1.0L Vauxhall Nova. I couldn't overtake anything even if I wanted too.

If you need the extra power to 'get out of danger' when overtaking, then you shouldn't be overtaking anyway.