<p>“you’re right of course that the faster the speed the more likely there will be fatalities. However, the fatal accident I recounted earlier was in a 40 mph zone. They had only driven about 1/4 mile from a complete stop at a traffic light.”</p>
<p>"two kids in our town were killed on their way to school. It was a 30 mile an hour zone, "</p>
<p>YIKES!!! Now I will worry more than ever!</p>
<p>In a town near us a student was killed when she was adjusting her radio, went slightly out of lane and was hit by an uncoming school bus. Passengers survived. </p>
<p>My son has been driving his friends around (legally) since junior year. He’s responsible and careful, but it’s impossible not to worry some. Since he was such an early driver and always has access to a car, I don’t believe he’s ever been driven by a friend.</p>
<p>BethieVT…I believe I know the accident about which you refer, unfortunately. It so happens that the boy who survived as a passenger in that accident is my daughter’s roommate’s younger brother and we know the family as our kids have done theater together in this region for years and that is why our kids are roomies in college in NYC. The driver who was killed was this boy’s girlfriend and the other passenger was this boy’s best friend from when they were young. The accident was horrific and the two kids who died were gifted in many ways. The night it happened, my D was beside herself trying to get information in NYC to console her roomie. Just in my daughter’s apartment in college, they have ALL been touched by car accidents. My own daughter was seriously injured in a terrible car crash almost two years ago at age 16 in Vermont. Her roomie’s brother was in the car crash you just mentioned where his best friend and girlfriend died. My D’s other roomie’s then 17 year old older sister was killed by a drunk driver. All that just in one college apartment of roomies. Another good friend in college is confined to a wheelchair since a young child due to a car accident as well.</p>
<p>I was really surprised to learn that the highest death rates for type of road driven is #1 - Rural roads with speed limits of 55 followed by #2 - urban roads with speed limit of 35 mph. I was really shocked by this, thinking that urban highways would have been much higher on this ranking until reading that one of the biggest contributing causes of fatal accidents are soft shoulders, which can lead to rollovers. Rural roads are also more winding, not straight, so a small distraction can lead to running off the road into a tree, the median or the shoulder. It also takes help longer to arrive in more isolated areas.</p>
<p>Another common misconception people have is that it is actually safer to have a single teenage passenger riding along with a teenage driver. I used to think this made sense as well.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=65057[/url]”>http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=65057</a></p>
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<p>Anyway, it’s definitely a balancing act - you want the kids to get the experience while they are still at home under your watch, and you want them to be able to go out and enjoy and experience life, but in a way that is not likely to lead to tragedy.</p>
<p>I hate to tell you this but I can honestly say, as a senior in high school, that there’s really no way you can actually control driving situations. A lot of my friends are “not allowed” to be in the car with a teen driver or drive others, but it doesn’t mean they actually obey this rule.</p>
<p>Just make sure your kid understands how to be respectful as a passenger, to avoid distracting the driver and causing an accident, and (the other way around) what he or she should expect from passengers that they are driving around.</p>
<p>Exhibit #2…Andrewshap.</p>
<p>I think parents are better off having honest conversations with their children about the risk they take getting in the car with people, so that they assess situations in terms of number of passengers, attitude of driver, conditions, etc. Some of that responsibility has to lie directly with the teens, because for those who believe their restrictions have completely prevented driving situations, I am certain you would find hundreds of CC students who would refute that notion.</p>
<p>yeah I really appreciate those talks that my mother has had with me.</p>
<p>Andrew, you were listening to your mother, right? :)</p>
<p>There is a lot to be said for good mass transit and walking. Horriffic accidents do happen, but fortunately they are not the norm. I think we need to teach our kids to be able to make good choices and NEVER hestitate to call us or call a cab to get wherever they need to go, no questions asked. If we can instill that in our kids, they have a lot more options & can resist the peer pressure to just go along with a questionable situation where they’re not sure about the capabilities, distraction, exhaustion, sobriety of the driver, etc.
My folks told me & told me, but it never sunk home until I was driven home by a drunk driver once. Also, when my friend & I and someone I had never met before but whom my friend knew were driving across country, it turned out to be much more tiring & scary than I had ever imagined. I had never driven a stick shift much but here we were tooling around on unfamiliar roads in a 5-speed stick shift. I had also never navigated or read a map much (actually had rarely ever driven), but every time I drove, they’d fall asleep & I’d have to eventually pull over & admit I was lost & tell them the last sign we had passed & ask them where we were supposed to be going. My friend was an excellent driver, but the 3rd person was awful & would be speeding along ASLEEP at the wheel! We stopped allowing him to drive, but it made for a rather tiring trip & a very unforgetable one!</p>
<p>Absolutely. But I definately wouldn’t have listened to her if she had said “you can’t get in the car with ____.” She was nervous at first, of course, with me getting in the car with my licensed friends, but she knows that I wouldnt hesitate to call her, at any hour, if I need a safe ride for any reason, and that I make safe choices about who I get into a car with.</p>
<p>Where I live as soon as you get your restricted liescense you can have up to two other people in your car unless your going to school or they are family, then it’s okay to have as many people as seat buckles. I’ve always gotten along better with older people. For example, my two best guy friends, are both older than me. One is 3 years older, one is 4. So when one of them got their liescense at 16, I was 12. When I turned 14, my mom let me go out with him until curfew. She never really was worried because she knew if I wasnt home at curfew she could call his dad, who had put fear in them. I was only late to curfew once with him. That night, we were at his house watching movies with about six other friends. His dad stormed in, and made him take me home. Let’s just say we never missed curfew again. I’ve always respected my mom, and now that I’m driving she doesn’t mind if I have people in my car as long as I’m following the laws. I’ve always been responsible. She never has had to worry about what I’m doing & who I’m doing it with. I’ve had a midnight curfew since I was 14, and I still follow it, even though I’m now allowed to be out until 1 am. My mom probably isn’t the typical parent but she trusts me, and knows I would call her if I needed anything. So basically here are my rules.
<p>I love my mom, and her rules. The rules are fair for a responsible teen. She knows I won’t drink & drive, or do anything stupid. I also have a location device in my car, so if i go MIA she can find me & my car. My car once broke down, and i had no clue where I was. I was thankful for that chip.</p>