Teenagers Shouldn't Drive

[Kingpatzer]

So, I'm coming home from work yesterday, and this 16 year old girl runs the stop sign in front of me, giving me no time to turn, brake or anything else. I t-bone her at speed. She's fine. My civic is totaled, and I'm home from work after spending last night in the emergency room.

No serious damage, but I've got one hell of a headache.

Got a CAT scan of the old noggin as well as full body x-rays.

I'm covered in cuts and abrasions and bruises. I look like someone took a baseball bat to me. It really is remarkable that nothing is broken and I'm not more seriously hurt.

The scariest part for me was really seeing her turn to look as I slammed into her car . . . I thought for sure I was about to kill her.

Followed shortly by the white dust from the air bags in the air, I thought for a few seconds my car was burning . . .

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Wow, sorry to hear that but we're glad your ok.

 

[fairybasslet]

As the mom of a teen-aged boy, I totally agree. I won't even bore you with all of the details from his first year of driving but I think there are about 4 accidents, so far about 9 points, Lord knows how many dollars in tickets and fines, not to mention the cost of insurance.

Sorry to hear about your accident and I hope you feel better soon.

 

[DennisW]

Sorry you had an accident and I'm glad you are ok. Sometimes it's the adults that can't drive. I had a woman do the same thing to me about 20 years ago

Not all teanagers are bad drivers. My kids were and still are good drivers. They have never had a ticket or accident and I taught them how to drive. I guess I did a pretty good job.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

The problem was not her age but the fact that she broke the law by not stopping.

I happen to agree that we might need stricter laws on teenagers driving, too many people see driving as a right instead of a privelige, but I have to say I take some offense at being told I am an unsafe driver.

I am 18. I learned on a stick. I currently drive a black truck with an I4, not exactly a muscle car... I am an all A's student with a current GPA in college of 3.92. I scored a perfect 100 on my driving test here in Florida (the instructor told me I was the first in the last three months before I took my test to get a 100). I have never gotten a ticket, never been pulled over, never been in an accident. I check all of my lights routinely and change my own oil. I always stop fully. My friends complain that I drive too slowly, because I always follow speed limits, and if I speed, it's less than 5mph over, and I'm fairly certain my speedometer reads one to two mph faster than I'm actually going, if the "this is your speed" things are to be trusted at all. I don't drink, I don't do drugs. I pay for my insurance and, yes, my parents' matched what I raised for my truck as a graduation gift, but I paid for the thing in cash.

Please, tell me why I should not be allowed to drive? I know, I know, "you are a teenager, your brain isn't fully developed." Heck, the brain isn't garunteed to be fully developed until you are, what, 25? As best as I can tell, I am reasonably mature and a reasonably safe driver, and I should be allowed to drive. While I am in favour of stricter rules for driving (say, you have to get a 90 or above on driving exam, have to pay for your own insurance and keep a GPA of 3.2 or higher, and no more than two accidents that are your fault before you are 20, to be allowed to drive as a teen) I think it goes a little far to suggest that simply because I am 18, Ishould not be allowed to drive.


It's just like with divers: it's not the level of c-cards you possess, it's how much you dive and how good you are at it. A diver with an AOW card isn't necessarily safe on a 140' dive in a quarry, just like an OW diver isn't necessarily unsafe on the same dive.

 

[Nick_W]

I have a friend who was in a similar situation as you about two months after he got his license. Except it was a 70-some-odd year old lady who ran the stop sign and she did die in the accident. He was found not at fault since she ran the stop sign, but then in a civil suit he was found at fault because he was going an estimated 29 in a 25 when it happened, I'm sure the fact that he was 16 didn't help matters. The million dollar plus settlement his insurance had to pay out meant that he didn't even start driving again until ten years later because he either couldn't get insurance at all or it was so expensive he just couldn't afford it.

Suggest not allowing teenagers to drive and its cool, suggest taking the license from a 70-year-old and its age discrimination.

 

[fairybasslet]

Jah Jah. Will you be my son? Your parents can have mine. LOL.

And I didn't even teach him how to drive. He had a professional instructor.

 

[Teamcasa]

I’m glad both of you are OK.

As a father of two adult children who survived their teenage years, barely getting through that age myself and working in the auto industry, I can tell you that many teenagers will get involved in some sort auto accident or incident. What is important is what they learn from it.

OTOH, being a teenager does not automatically make them an unsafe driver. Being a safe driver is being aware and paying attention to your responsibilities when driving. This is not age dependant, it is attention dependant. Many drivers never have to make a panic stop, avoidance vs panic braking, skid control or a myriad of other skills that when needed, require instinctual reaction.

Driving, like diving requires practice. Young and old drivers need to learn more skills and pay attention.

 

[chip104]

Good to hear you're ok.

I got into my first car accident 2 weeks after I got my license (I just turned 17). Some stupid woman ran the red light (early 40s) at 75km/h and smashed into my side as I was turning on the advance green. She was on her cell phone - this was back in the late 90s!

The next accident I was in was high speed. A car flipped a couple cars infront of me and everyone braked as hard as they could. Some stupid woman was following too close behind and rear ended me (her windstar front was totalled, my jeep back had a small dent). She had a good 10 years on me.

I like your logic. I keep telling everyone stupid people and women shouldn't drive.

Please, tell me why I should not be allowed to drive?

I'll tell you once you're old enough.

 

[ACR]

Heck, the brain isn't garunteed to be fully developed until you are, what, 25?

You're absolutely right people under 25 shouldn't be allowed to drive.