<p>bay,
I agree that it sounds like you have thought this through well. I resisted posting when the thread took a turn for the worse, but now that it is back on track, this may be helpful. My younger s drove to pick up some friends from the subway station without our knowledge, just before the required “6 mos with no one under 25 in the car” rule (in our state) was up for him. When we found out (and we also suspect that he may have been out just after the midnight curfew as well) we did several things. First and foremost, because we did not want him trying to get his friends to cover for him, we took his electronics away (his internet access, cellphone, etc). Then, when we did allow him onto the computer, we made him sit with the laptop where we could monitor him, and I required him to put me on his facebook account as a friend WITH access to his wall (I have since been removed from all this, but it was a requirement at the time, which he HATED. I maybe checked it once the whole time I was on it, but the mere threat that I could access it kept him on the straight and narrow). I also called the parents of the kids he picked up to be sure they were aware of what happened as well. </p>
<p>Our older s. got a speeding ticket (a few miles over the limit in a town that was trying to make extra $$, but yes, he was driving over the speed limit on his way to a committment for a religious youthgroup activity). He did have to go to court for the ticket. The judges, we discovered, are more lenient when the parents have already come down hard on the kids. The more you do, the less they will do. If a parent minimizes a driving infraction, the judges come down hard. They want to know htat you take your child’s driving seriously. We restricted his driving, and made him start riding the bus again to school (he hated that). We also made him write a paper on the risks of speeding (which he brought to the court date) and we signed him up for a weekend defensive driving class (he had already taken the “car control” program, which is really good, by the way). They judge was impressed that we took this stuff seriously, and let him off with a warning.</p>
<p>I really like your idea of a donation to the the Brain Injury Association. Here, if someone gets a ticket for driving without a seatbelt or riding a motorcycle without a helmet, part of their fine goes to a fund for victims of Brain Injuries. I think that is a really good idea. </p>
<p>Good luck with your daughter. Sounds like you have made good plans.</p>