<p>Wow. No way. Not ever. (Well, I did let my daughter drive in a circle in a completely empty beach parking lot one month before her 16th birthday, when she could get her permit. She was deathly afraid of driving, and I wanted to de-mystify it for her a little. Plus, it was raining and cold, and we were all bored to tears, and the whole project provided entertainment for six people for about an hour.)</p>
<p>Re 14 year-olds driving: In Alaska, at least a few years ago, 14 year-olds could get permits and licenses. One of my cousins split the year between a rural town there and his home near Buffalo, and his wife and kids spent summers there. His oldest child got his license at 14, and drove regularly there. They didn’t let him drive in New York State, though, until he was 16.</p>
<p>It was (is?) Alaska. They’re not really into restrictions there. I know he carried guns in the car (truck) all the time. That was often why he was driving – to go shoot things.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about restrictions. I think the kid did it with his (idiot) father in the passenger seat. Of course the kid was going around telling everyone because he was so thrilled with it all. Don’t get me started on the “Fun Dad” syndrome again.!! (I’m the UnFUn Mom, I guess!)</p>
<p>My grandfather taught me to drive at 14. Started in the parking lot near his house. Was driving his car on the New Jersey turnpike, with him next to me and my grandmother alsleep in the backseat the summer I turned 15. I don’t know if my parents ever knew, or what his motivation was. Of course, this was in the day of no seat belts and car beds for babies. I would never allow it for my kids, but I do have fond memories of piloting the 72 buick station wagon up the turnpike.</p>
<p>I never allowed mine to drive without permit and I heard the same thing from them–“other parents let their kids…”. I did let mine “practice” sometimes on private property farm roads, in parking lots (empty church lots), and in cemeteries.</p>
<p>I do know some parents who actually did let their kids drive without a license (had permit, but no adult in car). My opinion of those parents went downhill fast! Here if a driver is caught driving underage, it is no license until 21 (at least that’s what the kids tell me).</p>
<p>I saw a 14 year old boy driving down our street and called his mom, couple of blocks away, and she blithely says, "Jeff is a very careful driver " :eek:</p>
<p>So then I called her next-door neighbor, who is my friend, and has toddlers playing in the their cul-de-sac. She went over and yelled at the mom, the son, and also called the police, who went over and had a chat. Last of Jeff driving.</p>
<p>Chocoholic, that was perfect. Can you imagine?? With toddlers around? What a remark of that mother. What is with these people thinking that they’re above the law? I don’t get it.</p>
<p>My kids got permits and D got her license at 14 (Arkansas). But even after kids pass the driving test here, they can’t drive alone until 16, so it is sort of like a permit.
I think this law was made for rural areas so kids could drive on their parents property (large farms and ranches) at 14 but not alone on public roads until age 16. I’m sure a lot of farm kids younger than 14 are driving, too. </p>
<p>They don’t have to take the driving test again, either–those who have a license can just turn it in and get a new one at 16. I wouldn’t let my kids drive until 16 anyway. I think 14 is too young.</p>
<p>Maybe they should have separate permits for tractors and other farm vehicles @ 14. No kids should be driving on the roads before 16. Even that seems young. Our State just changed the laws and increased the permit age from 16 to 17 and the license age from 17 to 18.</p>
<p>I think Iowa is one of the 14 year old states too. I once knew a girl online who got her permit at 14, and then at like 15 i think she got a school permit where she was allowed to drive to school herself but nowhere else, and then at 16 a junior license, etc… at least I think that’s how she explained it… it would have been ten years ago.</p>
<p>Around here the police fairly regularly setup license checkpoints and will ticket unlicensed drivers and impound their cars. They always catch a number of them at the checkpoints. I think most of the unlicensed drivers they catch are illegal aliens though and not 14 y/o kids.</p>
<p>There was a terrible accident in my area last year. A 15 year old boy took his mother’s car, in the middle of the night, and went joy riding with three friends (14 and 15 year olds). He ran into another car at an intersection (one of the drivers ran a red light). Two of the teenagers in his car were killed, the teen driver and one of his passengers survived, and the driver of the car that was hit was not badly injured. In this case the parent was unaware that the car was taken, but I just can’t imagine a parent allowing a non-licensed teen to drive their car.</p>
<p>I’ve never heard of anyone driving underage except for farmers kids and that was tractors and trucks on their property. Definately doesn’t fly around here. Love that story chocoholic!</p>
<p>Believe it or not, I hear about this occasionally where I live- parents taking their kids out before the legal age for whatever reason. Of course, safety is the main reason to be concerned, but to me you are also teaching the kid that it is perfectly OK to bend the rules and break the law whenever it suits you - ie the rules are for somebody else, not me mentality.</p>
<p>Roshke, that’s EXACTLY what I see…its like the parents who serve beer to kids at parties (here starting at 12)…The kids are utterly entitled and think that the rules don’t pertain to them. Its so frustrating when you’re trying to teach your kids to do the right thing. I feel like I’m always swimming upstream!</p>
<p>My kids did their first driving on a private airplane runway on a private island (no police) here in Washington, at the age of 12 and 13, heavily supervised and not allowed out of first gear. They got their permits as soon as allowed (age 15) and did a lot of heavily supervised driving until they got their licenses. They drove fast on the track with their learners permits and took accident avoidance classes with those permits as well. </p>
<p>No driving on public roads before the permit, though. And always supervised until they got those licenses.</p>
<p>I must live in a dull area of the country–none of my Ds have asked if they could drive without a license because every does it. </p>
<p>But I did have a friend who left what they thought was their responsible 15 year old at home alone over the weekend. Turns out that one of her friends came over and convinced her it would be a great fun to take the family car out for a spin. Somehow the parents found out, and that 15 year old had to wait a full year beyond the time she would have originally gotten her license.</p>
<p>We live in the country and I know a couple of people who allow their 14 and 15 year old kids to drive while the parents are in the car. I was surprised and appalled.</p>
<p>However, in all honesty, I must say that I did allow my child to drive down our private road with me in the car a few times when she was 15 before my husband read me the riot act.</p>
<p>Those parents must be bonkers: There was a heartbreaking story on NPR’s “All Things Consdered” tonight about teen deaths in auto accidents, including a sheriff describing a string of fatalities in his community, including an an underage kid who had taken the family car and drove into a utility pole. One thing that caught my attention was how few teen fatalities involve alcohol; often it’s just inexperience.</p>