Parents - DON'T WAIT!

[TPD]

Don't wait till your kid is 16 before letting them get behind the wheel of your car for the 1st time. Start taking them to an empty parking lot or a rural county road or down your driveway when they are 10-12 years old and let them get the feel of the wheel and teach them what a gas and brake pedal is and WHERE it is.

My kid comes home from high school today and tells me about this distracted driving simulator they had set up during her lunch period. She had to laugh at all the kids (majority) that got into the car and had no clue how to drive, and certainly not while texting. She said some kids didn't even know how to operate the gas pedal. High school kids that have never been behind the wheel - SMH! My daughter is only 14, but if she had to, she could get me home from a bar on a Friday night without killing us. Yeah - she's fortunate enough to have grown up on a farm and been driving something since about 7 or 8 years old, AND she wasn't glued to a DVD screen in the back seat for the last 14 years - we conversate while driving - talking about the rules of the road, driving maneuvers, road map reading, etc. It only takes a little time now to teach them right!

Drive Square Program @ SMCPS - http://www.smcps.org/news/drive-square-program-safe-driving-program-at-high-schools

 

[MMDad]

Don't wait till your kid is 16 before letting them get behind the wheel of your car for the 1st time. Start taking them to an empty parking lot or a rural county road or down your driveway when they are 10-12 years old and let them get the feel of the wheel and teach them what a gas and brake pedal is and WHERE it is.

Great idea, but this wonderful nanny state has made that illegal.

 

[PrchJrkr]

Great idea, but this wonderful nanny state has made that illegal.

Sometimes you just have to say WTF...

Both my daughter (23) and son (16) have learners permits. Guess which one started driving as soon as they could reach the pedals and see over the dash at the same time.

I also taught my wife to drive a straight stick when she was 16.

 

[Gilligan]

Mine all started driving like I did..around age 12-13. Nary a single accident amongst the lot...and one of them is over 30 now.

 

[mAlice]

I agree. I think that's part of the problem with kids on the roads these days. They didn't get behind the wheel soon enough. They're either terrified if the car and traffic, or they haven't been in a car enough to realize how dangerous it is. I don't mean that as a sweeping generalization, but probably a contributing factor to some of the accidents. That, and the worthless driving schools.

 

[RoseRed]

I agree. I think that's part of the problem with kids on the roads these days. They didn't get behind the wheel soon enough. They're either terrified if the car and traffic, or they haven't been in a car enough to realize how dangerous it is. I don't mean that as a sweeping generalization, but probably a contributing factor to some of the accidents. That, and the worthless driving schools.

Girl has driven out on the farm and in a parking lot with me.

 

[FollowTheMoney]

I started at 10 learning the roads in the Ranch Club, late 70's. Once at the gate, dad let me drive wherever we needed to go. And more elsewhere later, Rt 4, 301.
All I had to do was ask, no matter where we were. Even towing the camping trailer to the camp site. I loved that Chrysler Fury III.
I'd say I had thousands of miles under my belt before drivers ed. Then had learners permit at the minimum age of 15yrs, 9 months.

 

[glhs837]

Great idea, but this wonderful nanny state has made that illegal.

You just have to get creative. When the girl was of age, we found an "abandoned" subdivision up near leonardtown.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3060306,-76.6867811,735m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Even though we lived in Great Mills, we made the trips up there. No houses, just the road and a few cul-de-sacs. Luckily for me, by the time the boy was ready, we were on the private road. So he had a straight 1/4 mile to get his initial on.

 

[acommondisaster]

A couple of falls ago, someone in the area took their kid to the neighborhood elementary/middle school to practice in the parking lots. She got confused and hit the gas instead of the brake and bolted into a power pole, that snapped and started a fire in the dumpster. No school on Monday. Great idea to get kids used to driving, but there ARE hazards to doing and as the adult, you need to be highly aware of where you're taking the kid to practice - and be ready for the stuff that would never happen.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

, we found an "abandoned" subdivision up near leonardtown.

What's up with that?

 

[Justme2]

I started at 10 learning the roads in the Ranch Club, late 70's. Once at the gate, dad let me drive wherever we needed to go. And more elsewhere later, Rt 4, 301.
All I had to do was ask, no matter where we were. Even towing the camping trailer to the camp site. I loved that Chrysler Fury III.
I'd say I had thousands of miles under my belt before drivers ed. Then had learners permit at the minimum age of 15yrs, 9 months.

Now that was a car!!!! With the 383 4 Barrell stick you foot in that and you knew dual exhaust......

 

[glhs837]

What's up with that?

Dunno. Not even sure how we found it anymore. Just the roads, a couple of them, no houses. One of the cul-de-sacs had about 2 or 3 deer carcasses there.........given I was teaching the girl in the +400 horsepower Charger, having empty roads to practice was a huge help.

 

[Vince]

Worked at a gas station when I was 12. Started pulling cars in and out of the garage. By the time I was 15 I could drive a dump truck with a 2 speed rear as well as a front end loader.

 

[phobos512]

I agree. I think that's part of the problem with kids on the roads these days. They didn't get behind the wheel soon enough. They're either terrified if the car and traffic, or they haven't been in a car enough to realize how dangerous it is. I don't mean that as a sweeping generalization, but probably a contributing factor to some of the accidents. That, and the worthless driving schools.

Well, we say kids are terrible at driving, so we don't let them drive until they're older. Then young adults will be terrible at driving, so we restrict it some more. Sooner or later, lots of people can't drive for s**t. Oh, wait. It's just shifting the metrics.

It doesn't help that the majority of kids these days have no responsibility and get awarded for every silly little thing they do. Precious snowflakes my a**. No, I'm not a parent.

 

[BernieP]

You just have to get creative. When the girl was of age, we found an "abandoned" subdivision up near leonardtown.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3060306,-76.6867811,735m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en

Even though we lived in Great Mills, we made the trips up there. No houses, just the road and a few cul-de-sacs. Luckily for me, by the time the boy was ready, we were on the private road. So he had a straight 1/4 mile to get his initial on.

but it's still public so you could get a ticket. My first unescorted trips were up and down the driveway, when I was a little older I was allowed to take the car around the block with a parent in the other seat.
Of course I could change the tires, oil, do minor repairs and tune the car before I was of "legal driving age". Mom tells me "back in the day", as in pre-WWII, to get a license you had to be able to perform some basic repairs as part of your driver exam.

 

[glhs837]

but it's still public so you could get a ticket. My first unescorted trips were up and down the driveway, when I was a little older I was allowed to take the car around the block with a parent in the other seat.
Of course I could change the tires, oil, do minor repairs and tune the car before I was of "legal driving age". Mom tells me "back in the day", as in pre-WWII, to get a license you had to be able to perform some basic repairs as part of your driver exam.

What, those roads? Pretty sure it's privste property. I know the privste road I live on is. It's owned by us proerty owners.

 

[BernieP]

What, those roads? Pretty sure it's privste property. I know the privste road I live on is. It's owned by us proerty owners.

but not your private property