Teaching kid to drive

[benbo]

I’m teaching my kid to drive and it’s terrifying. He’s 18, a little older than the normal age kids get their license. He had a habit of, shall we say, opting out of class occasionally and I figured it would just be worse with a car. So I wanted to get him through high school at least.

I got my license on my 16th birthday and taught all three of my sisters to drive, but these days I actually care about my life and insurance rates. It just seems to me like he follows too close and goes too fast. I know his reflexes are much better than mine, but it freaks me out. Yesterday we came up over a hill and there was a cop car parked in the middle of the road and I swear he got within 10 feet before even slowing down. I admit to being a total geriatric wimp behind the wheel, but it can’t be too advisable to plow into a cop car before you even get your license.

I guess I’m just ranting, because it’s unlikely he’ll actually listen to me.

 

[snickerd3]

State Farm has a new driver program with videos and things. Mr snick did it in his early 20's to get the insurance discount. It basically amounted to getting the 25 yr old male discount at age 22, but it is meant for beginner drivers like your son

new fords have a mode that you can set on the car for your teen drivers. I think it limits the speed and maybe records driving trip history. It is a feature on mr snicks new flex that we never plan on using so we haven't looked to closely at it.

 

[RIP - VTEnviro]

It basically amounted to getting the 25 yr old male discount

What are 25 year old males going for these days anyway? Maybe I can pick one up on the cheap for my SIL this Xmas.

 

[benbo]

It basically amounted to getting the 25 yr old male discount

What are 25 year old males going for these days anyway? Maybe I can pick one up on the cheap for my SIL this Xmas.

Glad you added that second sentence.

 

[FusionWhite]

It basically amounted to getting the 25 yr old male discount

What are 25 year old males going for these days anyway? Maybe I can pick one up on the cheap for my SIL this Xmas.

A 6-pack, a good meal and 2nd base on a first date is usually all it takes.

 

[MA_PE]

they all follow too close and go too fast. Not to mention today's distracttions of cell phones, texting, ipods, etc. Just hope the accident count is kept to a a minimum and get him his own beater car so he stays away from yours.

 

[benbo]

they all follow too close and go too fast. Not to mention today's distracttions of cell phones, texting, ipods, etc. Just hope the accident count is kept to a a minimum and get him his own beater car so he stays away from yours.

That's what I thought. I've got a beater car to give him, then we may buy another one.

 

[maryannette]

I sympathize, benbo. Ours are both "experienced" drivers now. But it was not easy getting them there. And we have 2 girls. Boys, I imagine, are more aggressive drivers.

 

[snickerd3]

My parents paid for drivers ed so they didn't have to deal with the teaching.

 

[Supe]

I sympathize, benbo. Ours are both "experienced" drivers now. But it was not easy getting them there. And we have 2 girls. Boys, I imagine, are more aggressive drivers.

I'm not so sure about that. Most teenage girl drivers I've seen speed more often and are fiddling with more crap while driving than their male counterparts.

 

[Flyer_PE]

I grew up on a farm. Started driving tractors while I was still too short to engage the clutch without getting of the seat. Since I no longer live on one, I figure teaching my kid to drive when the time comes will be an adventure. It was nice learning the mechanics of driving with a ton of room and no traffic to deal with.

 

[benbo]

My parents paid for drivers ed so they didn't have to deal with the teaching.

So did I. About 12 hours. I'd like to buy more, but in his infinite wisdom he feels he has exhausted all that they have to offer him. I suspect he just doesn't like driving with someone he has to be relatively polite to. But I am going to pay them for a couple more lessons right before he takes his test. And part of the deal is he gets to use their perfectly up-to-code car for the test.

My main concern is that he will become confused about what to do at left turns - when he has to yield, where he should turn, etc. That's where massive collisions can occur.

 

[benbo]

I grew up on a farm. Started driving tractors while I was still too short to engage the clutch without getting of the seat. Since I no longer live on one, I figure teaching my kid to drive when the time comes will be an adventure. It was nice learning the mechanics of driving with a ton of room and no traffic to deal with.

My kid also had his first driving experiences on his uncle's farm. There was no traffic except a few wandering turkeys and geese. Unfortunately, he still behaves like there's no traffic, even on major highways.

Yesterday he told me he can't wait to drive by himself, claiming he'll learn more by "taking risks." I think I cleared that up for him. I wonder if all the video games makes this crap worse.

Well, I'm sure he'll learn eventually.

 

[FusionWhite]

My dad put me through car boot camp when I turned 16 and it was one of the best things he ever taught me. One of the challenges was changing a tire within a taped off area that was supposed to simulate the shoulder of a highway. Step outside the tape = failure. Another one was he left his headlights on over night and got me up at 5 am to jump start his truck (if he was late to work = failure). I had to be able to identify all the fluids in the car by the color.

 

[Supe]

Million dollar question: which is the right way to cross a divided highway to turn down the road on the bottom - red or blue?

 

[snickerd3]

Million dollar question: which is the right way to cross a divided highway to turn down the road on the bottom - red or blue?

if the road you would be turning on is also one way then either would work.

 

[MA_PE]

I sympathize, benbo. Ours are both "experienced" drivers now. But it was not easy getting them there. And we have 2 girls. Boys, I imagine, are more aggressive drivers.

Consistent with what Supe said, it's my expereince that boys may be more "aggressive" but thay are also more attentive and more concious of their surroundings. girls are more preoccupied with the radio or phone and less aware of things around them, which IMHO is just as bad or worse than going fast.

My parents paid for drivers ed so they didn't have to deal with the teaching.

Driver's Ed is no substitute for actual driving/teching. In MA they recently (2007 increased the number of hours that kids need to log before they can road test. Also PARENTS are required to have 2 hrs. classroom "training" as part of Driver's Ed.

from here: http://www.mass.gov/rmv/rmvnews/2007/driver_ed_regs.htm

Behind the Wheel Training: Required 12 hour behind-the-wheel driver education training (up from 6 hours) and required 40 hours of parent-supervised driving (up from 12 hours).

Parent Curriculum: Required two-hour parent/guardian class on the driving skills and rules their children should be learning and practicing throughout the driver education experience.

My dad put me through car boot camp when I turned 16 and it was one of the best things he ever taught me. One of the challenges was changing a tire within a taped off area that was supposed to simulate the shoulder of a highway. Step outside the tape = failure. Another one was he left his headlights on over night and got me up at 5 am to jump start his truck (if he was late to work = failure). I had to be able to identify all the fluids in the car by the color.

Not sure how these drills will improve your driving but they are certainly good life skills to have.

 

[Supe]

Million dollar question: which is the right way to cross a divided highway to turn down the road on the bottom - red or blue?

if the road you would be turning on is also one way then either would work.

Bottom road is not one way. Also, think of traffic moving right having to do a u-turn to go left.

 

[MA_PE]

Million dollar question: which is the right way to cross a divided highway to turn down the road on the bottom - red or blue?

if the road you would be turning on is also one way then either would work.

Bottom road is not one way. Also, think of traffic moving right having to do a u-turn to go left.

red, but with a stop at the center before you cross the bottom road.

 

[benbo]

Million dollar question: which is the right way to cross a divided highway to turn down the road on the bottom - red or blue?

if the road you would be turning on is also one way then either would work.

Bottom road is not one way. Also, think of traffic moving right having to do a u-turn to go left.

red, but with a stop at the center before you cross the bottom road.

THat would be my guess too. I don't know what the law is, but that's how I'd do it. My only caveat would be that I wouldn't do it at all if the back end of my car could protrude into my original lane.