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At 13 driving on a private road in the country is one thing. A public parking lot is another.
I think at 14 1/2 maybe a parking lot would be OK as long as the parent is in the car assuming the kid can get a permit at 15. That makes sense so they get some preparation before they actually drive on the streets.
I just started letting my 14 year old daughter drive. In our neighborhood. Not out of it though as the road outside of our neighborhood is BAD for accidents (3 teens have lost their lives on it in the last 2 years). We are going to take her up to the empty parking lot soon and it IS good practice. They can learn to drive within the lines, park, back up, etc and no one or other vehicles are in the way. I can not stand throwing the keys to a fresh license holder of 16 that has never been behind the wheel. Our kids started "driving" our SeaDoo's at about 9 years old (with an adult at that age) and have been driving golf carts, go karts, etc as well. I started at about age 10 with them in the car pointing out BAD behavior of OTHER DRIVERS and just giving them tidbits of information along the way whenever something came up. EXPERIENCE goes a long way when it comes to driving.
I started driving at 11. ON THE MAIN ROADS! In the city where we lived I had an adult in the car usually. When we went to visit relatives in a teeny tiny country town my grandfather would throw me his keys and tell me to take my little sister and younger cousin to the store for a coke. At 11 or 12 years old I was the oldest in the car. Hubby was raised the same way. When I first started drivers ed and they asked who had driven before I thought most had....... threw my arm up and looked around and saw I had the only hand in the air. Once behind the wheel the "coach" realized I knew how to drive and never bothered to tell me anything except where to turn. With the others you could tell he was freaked out (I was too). Experience, experience, experience. When it comes to being behind the wheel of an automobile....... EXPERIENCE!
BTW, I don't know if an officer can give a ticket to someone if they are underage and driving on PRIVATE PROPERTY?
I just started letting my 14 year old daughter drive. In our neighborhood. Not out of it though as the road outside of our neighborhood is BAD for accidents (3 teens have lost their lives on it in the last 2 years). We are going to take her up to the empty parking lot soon and it IS good practice. They can learn to drive within the lines, park, back up, etc and no one or other vehicles are in the way. I can not stand throwing the keys to a fresh license holder of 16 that has never been behind the wheel. Our kids started "driving" our SeaDoo's at about 9 years old (with an adult at that age) and have been driving golf carts, go karts, etc as well. I started at about age 10 with them in the car pointing out BAD behavior of OTHER DRIVERS and just giving them tidbits of information along the way whenever something came up. EXPERIENCE goes a long way when it comes to driving.
I started driving at 11. ON THE MAIN ROADS! In the city where we lived I had an adult in the car usually. When we went to visit relatives in a teeny tiny country town my grandfather would throw me his keys and tell me to take my little sister and younger cousin to the store for a coke. At 11 or 12 years old I was the oldest in the car. Hubby was raised the same way. When I first started drivers ed and they asked who had driven before I thought most had....... threw my arm up and looked around and saw I had the only hand in the air. Once behind the wheel the "coach" realized I knew how to drive and never bothered to tell me anything except where to turn. With the others you could tell he was freaked out (I was too). Experience, experience, experience. When it comes to being behind the wheel of an automobile....... EXPERIENCE!
BTW, I don't know if an officer can give a ticket to someone if they are underage and driving on PRIVATE PROPERTY?
They cannot give a ticet to someone driving underage on private property (the ticket would be for driving without a license actually), such as on a ranch or farm. A public parking lot though I think they might be able to, but I'm not sure. I know that people can get DWI's for driving drunk in a public parking lot and the law on DWI only applies to driving "in a public place."
I DO agree that kids need experience before starting to drive. Clearly, though, what you're doing with your daughter could get her a ticket and it could actually get you a ticket too (in Texas, which I'm assuming is where you live, you can get a ticket for allowing an unlicensed driver to drive your car and a parent can get a ticket for allowing his/her child to drive unlicensed).
In Alaska, kids can get their learner's permit at age 14. I think the theory is that gives them two seasons of driving under winter conditions with a licensed driver. We did know one family that let their kids drive as early as age 12. In that case, the kid was one of the worst drivers, way too over-confident.
Its probably not prudent for her to do it in a parking lot just because its not their private property. If someone was upset by it they could call the police and, well, it is illegal. They'd probably get a warning but you never know.
I think some 13 yr olds are skilled and mature (and big) enough to do so and do operate tractors, old trucks etc... on private property like ranches and farms. I think its a matter of the way they were raised and the experiences they had.
I would not give the keys to a 13 yr old whose only experience is playing grand turismo (or whatever the big driving game is).
I agree with lisdol. The parking lot is the only thing that I think is a problem. You can get a ticket for that; it's not legal.
I started to teach my son how to operate a car before he was old enough to drive on the road. With the way traffic is today, I figure that young drivers need all of the help that they can get. By the time they're old enough to get a permit, they seem to think that they should pull away from the curb for the first time and head right on over to the expressway.
I got stopped by the police for driving on a public way when I was 9. We were haying and Dad thought it would be a good time to let me handle the old Ford 2½ Ton truck we had. (This was 1983 after all). I was doing just fine until the Deputy could barely see me in the cab and turned on its blue lights. I got so scared I jumped on the brakes and parked the truck right there, cross ways in the road blocking both lanes as I was in the midst of merging onto the East Road at the time. He was yelling and screaming at Dad as to why he would let a 9 year old drive a big truck, but Dad was not to moved by it...until he got his fine...$50 bucks for allowing me to drive a truck on public way.
A few other issues over the years were driving across a highway with a bulldozer when I was 10, not to mention discing fields all by myself when I was 8. I admit I did not graduate to the Class A type trucks until I was 15 though
I think a 13 year old in a parking lot is a great idea. They say the biggest issue with teen drivers is a lack of experience. My Grandfather told me to go out on slippery roads and do donuts to "get a feel for how the car will handle in snow." His advice was sound, no accidents in 20 years of Maine driving.
As a society, I think we got to stop coddling our children and teach them ourselves. A parent is THE IDEAL teacher and role model, and its just plain time we stopped trying to sub-contract out parenting to others.That includes using day care centers and driving education teachers in my opinion.
In a 100% free society, there won't be a one-size-fits-all set of universal rules. Your neighborhood roads might be owned by one entity with one set of rules, a neighboring neighborhood might have different rules, various highways would have other rules, etc. Most would probably leverage some of the competing driver certification authorities, some of which may or may not have age limits.
It would balance out to fairly uniform accessibility for most drivers, but a 13-year-old will have to query his navigation system to find out if he is allowed to take a certain route or not. In most cases the answer would probably be no, but some neighborhoods may allow 15-year-olds to drive to a convenience store - that's their business.
My dad actually taught me how to drive in an empty parking lot. We'd go every weekend - I must have logged 100 miles in that parking lot.
FYI - In Kansas one can drive at 14 1/2 years old. They issue "learner's permit" - allowing the new driver to drive to/from school alone or with a licensed driver anywhere.
My brother and I used to drive Daddy's jeep when I was about 10 and he was 13. He drove into the woods to pick up wood and I followed his tracks going back home. Since it was our property there is nothing against the law about it. Just fun and a present for spending the day working.
I believe in North Carolina it is not against the law for a young person to drive a farm tractor to and from the fields on a public road. I know when I was younger that was the case.
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