<p>I’ve also searched in vain for the kind of advanced driving courses that Chedva mentions in our area (Long Island). S. is not a reckless driver, but even after many many practice runs with us, you can tell he’s still quite inexperienced. He is conscientious, but it’s those split-second, unexpected occurrences that scare me.</p>
<p>Weenie and other parents: PLEASE also take a minute to talk to your kids about the hazards of riding in the back of a pick-up truck no matter how slow it might be going. Our neighbor lost her college age son in a tragic accident 2 years ago when he was riding home from a friends house who lived just a couple of streets away. The driver jokingly jerked the steering wheel THINKING his friend was safely in the back of the truck but he was actually just sitting up on the edge of the truck bed. The boy was tossed into the air and landed head first onto the pavement right in front of our house. He suffered massive head trauma and died a month later. Our son also had a friend in high school that fell out of the back of a pick-up truck and 6 years later began having seizures from the head injury, he will never be the same. Kids just don’t think sometimes.</p>
<p>For the record, while I’m sure many teens are supremely overconfident about their driving, it really irritates me when adults just completely dismiss the possibility that a teenage driver could have any driving skill simply because they’re young and don’t have a ton of experience.</p>
<p>I’ve met adult drivers who are so disgustingly bad at driving it sickens me. I’m not necessarily talking about reckless - that’s bad too - but rather about people who seem to lack the necessary spatial senses and reaction speed to operate a car well.</p>
<p>I took a defensive driving course, including emergency maneuvers, among other things, and even while driving with adults who ostensibly are extremely experienced, good drivers, I notice a ton of small things they should be doing better (that I do). I think that while focusing on teenage driving is a great idea, there’s also a lot of bad adult drivers out there who could benefit just as much from a good defensive driving course and some refreshers on how to drive properly.</p>
<p>Agree with above poster. While most tips are pretty good, the last one about having a parent drive is going a little too far.</p>
<p>The only way to improve your driving is by driving. And plus I’ve never been behind the wheel of an accident after almost 4 years, so it’d be a little silly for me to bother my mom with more driving.</p>
<p>I just want to say on the subject of the importance of seatbelts, when I was 17 I totalled my car in a very bad one-car accident. My car, a RAV4, rolled twice before landing back on the wheels. My brother, who was in the car, and I both walked away with minor scratches, which I attribute to the seatbelts we were wearing. I definitely knew that they had held me in, becasue the next day I had lines of bruises on my body everywhere a seatbelt would hold you in. They saved my life, and my brothers too, and I have never even turned on a car since them without putting one on.</p>
<p>Anyone of any age or level of experience can have a car accident. Sometimes the most experienced get careless.</p>
<p>Don’t forget the importance of the car itself - not just the maintenance, but the construction. Little cars may be cute, and they may be just as safe in a crash with another little car as a bigger car is, but in a contest with an SUV. . . Look for all the safety features and double-check the safety stats for any vehicle you’re interested in.</p>
<p>I’m often surprised at the parents who buy cheap little cars for their inexperienced drivers without checking the safety ratings. Too many are made like tin cans and crush just as easily. I call some of them “death boxes.” Sometimes it’s the car (+ the seat belts) that can make the difference between walking away and being carried away.</p>
<p>1of42, no one dismissed the possibility that adults drive badly (I live in Massachusetts; I know better!). But first, this is the parents cafe, and if you think for a moment that we care about anyone or anything as much as our kids, you’re mistaken. Second, statistically, all other things being equal, inexperience leads to error. And particularly among “immortal” teenaged boys. It’s actually been shown, based on insurance company data which takes into account regional differences, that the highest accident rate occurs among male drivers who have driven between 1 and 3 years - they’re just experienced enough to get cocky. Second highest is among female drivers who have driven between 1 and 3 years - same deal.</p>
<p>However, I also know some amazingly good teenaged drivers. But we tend to be protective when it’s our own.</p>
<p>We have a young relative who fits into the category Chedva mentions above. Driving came very easily to him and he has been driving for over a year now. The other day he went a tiny bit off the road’s edge (probably going too fast) and overcompensated-- turned the wheel too and flipped his car. Only minor injuries, thank goodness. His mother is just happy he’s alive, and actually relieved that he is now carless untill after freshman year.</p>
<p>I highly recommend “Car Control”. Had both of the kids take it. An added plus is that in our state, taking one of these defensive driving classes gets you a discount on your state taxes (as well as your auto insurance). Not to mention, it is just a great program to help the kids learn to handle emergency conditions, and it is reasonably priced.</p>
<p>As for the distractions, ds’ are lower right now, as (A) is gf is out of town and (B) he just ran his Ipod though the washing machine! :eek: :(</p>
<p>DS washed his Ipod Nano and, amazingly, it survived. It just needed to dry out completely. I propped it up vertically on a paper towel and let it sit for a couple of weeks. I’ve also heard of someone putting it in a zip-lock bag of silica gel. Then plugged it in to the computer, let it fully charge, and it’s worked perfectly ever since (several months).</p>
<p>Yikes; now they’re saying the driver was texting while driving:</p>
<p><a href=“News, Politics, Sports, Mail & Latest Headlines - AOL.com”>http://news.aol.com/story/_a/cops-eye-role-of-text-messages-in-crash/20070714125809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001</a></p>
<p>BTW my D was at fault in an accident in Feb. for fiddling with her Ipod. She paid a hefty (>$200) fine and paid to have her friend’s care fixed ($1,700). It was a very expensive lesson, but unfortunately now she’s got a NJ speeding ticket hanging over her head for which she is going to court for next month.</p>
<p>Needless to say, her driving privileges are greatly restricted. She is also doing an online driving course. She has happily agreed to all of it.</p>
<p>It could be much worse. My cousin has a daughter the same age who has totalled two of their cars already (both her fault). The Judge in VA where they live has let her keep her license, but I don’t thing she’s driving at all anymore.</p>
<p>Chedva makes a good point about checking out safety ratings. We researched crash-test ratings meticulously before we bought our daughters a 1998 Subaru Forester a couple of years ago. Our younger daughter was in a bad car accident not long ago, broadsided at an intersection near our home. The car was “totaled,” but the sturdy construction of the car and its safety features may well have saved her life. Fortunately for us, the car that hit her was another small one (also totaled), not a huge SUV. So, a combination of good research and luck can make a difference between life, death, and serious injury.</p>
<p>SpringfieldMom–I can totally relate. I’ve had one daughter (17yo) in a bad accident (two cars totaled, but nobody hurt) and another (19yo) who got her first speeding ticket while driving with friends from Ohio to Florida over spring break. Ironically, I spoke to her just minutes before they left on their road trip, and told her to please set the cruise control at or near the speed limit. She was stopped for going 83 mph within hours of my warning. God help me. What’s a mother to do?</p>
<p>While I am absolutely in agreement that seat belts must be used, they are not always going to save a life.
A young man in our area lost his life on Tuesday in a terrible crash. He was wearing his seat belt. It made no difference but at least he was wearing one.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=49693[/url]”>http://www.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=49693</a></p>
<p>The car split in half. They think he may have fallen asleep on his way home from work - in the daylight hours.</p>
<p>My son was in a bad accident. He was wearing his seat belt and driving a 1998 Lincoln Continental he inherited from my husband. The firemen and policemen said the two things saved his life. So I will add…please please do not buy your teenager a jacked up/souped up truck, or sports car.<br>
Get the safety ratings and buy a big heavy vehicle with good front and side impact ratings.</p>
<p>In addition to all the safety factors of drivers’ ed., specialty skid schools, safe cars with airbags, seatbelt usage, etc., parents need to be vigilant about their young drivers following the rules, and laws, when they drive. If your young driver is involved in multiple accidents and/or getting ticketed for speeding 83 MPH, there should be serious consequences. There should also be serious consequences for parents who allow their kids to drive in defiance of the regulations stipulated by the type of license they have. Those girls in NY should never have been in those cars at that time of night, let alone texting each other. That’s something those parents will have to live with for the rest of their lives. Please don’t make the same mistake.</p>
<p>I’m searching too for an advanced driver training course like Chevda mentioned. Can we start a list of advanced driver training courses with links? Any body in the Bay Area have an advanced driver training course to recommend?</p>
<p>Can’t help with the Bay area, but the ones I mentioned are located here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.incontroladt.com/[/url]”>http://www.incontroladt.com/</a>
<a href=“http://www.skidschool.org%5B/url%5D”>www.skidschool.org</a></p>
<p>Perhaps a call to one of them could put you in touch with similar courses in your area.</p>
<p>Thank you for the link weenie, I emailed it to my daughter. What a terrible thing to happen.</p>
<p>In addition to the good suggestions already made, I’ll add this one:</p>
<p>You do not owe your child access to a car.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter that you live in the sticks and can’t get anywhere without a car. It doesn’t matter that all the other kids are driving. It doesn’t matter that he’s of legal age to drive. If you don’t have rock-solid reason to believe that your child is going to be a safe and careful driver – if you haven’t seen evidence that he understands risk, responsibility, and consequences – don’t give him access to a car until he is. Do you have to remind him to wear a seat belt when he’s a passenger? Then he isn’t ready to drive.</p>
<p>Of course, any human being can make a fatal mistake. But in my experience, the kids who die in foolish, reckless car accidents are often kids who did lots of other foolish and reckless things, and the parents gave them cars anyway. </p>
<p>“buy a big heavy vehicle”</p>
<p>I don’t really want my kid to kill anybody else’s kid, either. In the hands of inexperienced drivers, the biggest cars pose the biggest risks to other vehicles. Participating in this ridiculous arms race just makes the problem worse. We already see a lot of Hummers on suburban roads; are tanks next? There are reasonably-sized, economical options out there with terrific safety ratings.</p>