Teens in brand new cars, what are the parents thinking?
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College courses >> High School AP classes. Myself and MANY other students handled our studies and working 20 hours a week (maximum allowed by the university) with ease, engineering school nonetheless. We needed to work so we had a vehicle (fuel, insurance, maintenance) to commute to school, among other things requiring self sufficiency. Maybe it was the few years prior in high school where we learned how to multi-task our lives. Your excuses are lame.
My son is in engineering school. He is also on the crew team and spends summers training and competing in a push to get ready to try out for the Olympics. He works on campus removing snow (at 4 a.m. and picking up trash after football games and he serves as the boat maintenance person for the crew team, however that money mostly just goes to pay for crew costs (transportation/lodging etc). He works a little here and there at other things, but not enough to make any meaningful amount of money. He only has 12 days home in the summer, so it is not practical to try to get a summer job. We pay his rent and meal plan and part of his tuition, he pays for some of his tuition and has scholarships and maybe loans too (not sure). He studies 4-5 hours a day, has class 4 - 6 hours a day, works out/trains 4 hours a day and works an average of 2 hours a day. That leaves less than 8 hours to sleep after accounting for cooking, eating, showering laundry, dishes, shopping, Dr., dentist, etc.
So, if he is going to have a car, we have to find a way to buy one for him. He does not have to have a car, but then we have to drive out to visit him and/or go pick him up take him back so he can come home for a weekend or holiday. It is a 6 hour round trip drive (or as much as 10 hours if there is snow) so it is a PIA and worth it to try to get him a car so we do not have to drive. A new car? No. I don't get a new car, nor does my wife. But we have saved up $1800, we will borrow another $1000 and help him find a car for $2500. He will maintain it (he also maintains our cars when he visits, because he is a pretty accomplished mechanic), but that is about all he can contribute.
Some woudl say he should drop crew except it has been recognized for centuries the development of the body is necessary for full development of the mind. Beside the possibility of the Olympics is something that may well mean more to him in his life than any academic or professional achievement.
Some woudl say he should drop crew except it has been recognized for centuries the development of the body is necessary for full development of the mind. Beside the possibility of the Olympics is something that may well mean more to him in his life than any academic or professional achievement.
Haha come on, you can't be serious with that comment. 30 mins in the gym three days a week is fine exercise for "full development of the mind". Comments like these make the rest of your comment lose all credibility.
I'd much rather my kid be an A student and do a reasonable workout than kill himself doing a sport that won't continue after college and let it eat into his academics and/or social life.
I don't think anybody would suggest that a safe car could compensate for unsafe driving.
I mean; that would be counter-intuitive & in a big way. Mitigate? Yes. But not compensate for.
But I also am fairly sure that certain types of cars have the ability to actually encourage a teenage driver to engage in unsafe driving.
The Smart car has one of the worst crash-test safety ratings on the planet yet drivers are not perishing in record numbers because the car itself simply does not attract aggresive drivers.
The kid who got stuck with Mom's "Silver Bullet" minivan does not typically look for those freshly snowed on parking lots to do doughnuts in because, well; he's the guy in the mom-mobile.
The opinion of a teens peers matter more than my preaching, lecturing, scare tactics by MADD or school assemblys with the State Patrol ... And a car that has a reputation for speed is going to prompt certain encouragements from my kids friends than one that doesn't.
Since the dawn of time; teenagers ... like to show-off. And some cars just lend themselves to showing-off more than others.
Within this context I could believe that a "safe" car, while unable to compensate for un-safe driving, might be able to not only mitigate it but discourage it as well.
Ahh evolution... Mustang GT+Inexperienced driver=Darwin Award.
Funniest part... When the kid kicks the rear end sideways and wraps it around the telephone pole at 80+ the parents would be the first to file a law suite.
Myself and MANY other students handled our studies and working 20 hours a week (maximum allowed by the university) with ease, engineering school nonetheless.
I agree. I saw that as normal when I was in college back around 1999/2000
I went to college for mech engineering. I took AP courses in HS, was national honor society, high score on the ACT/SAT, got scholarships, etc etc. Big HS basketball player too. When I went to college, I still had a job to support myself and pay for my car and it's insurance and gas and even took out student loans for whatever my scholarships didn't cover. It was just how it was and all my peers did the same.
Technically, I'm considered a millennial, but it appears I missed out on some of the perks the latest of my generation get these days.
Oh, I also had a Mustang at age 17 (that I paid for). Car didn't kill me. In fact, it's still in my garage.
Last edited by BostonMike7; 12-19-2016 at 12:28 PM..
I agree. I saw that as normal when I was in college back around 1999/2000
I went to college for mech engineering. I took AP courses in HS, was national honor society, high score on the ACT/SAT, got scholarships, etc etc. Big HS basketball player too. When I went to college, I still had a job to support myself and pay for my car and it's insurance and gas and even took out student loans for whatever my scholarships didn't cover. It was just how it was and all my peers did the same.
Technically, I'm considered a millennial, but it appears I missed out on some of the perks the latest of my generation get these days.
This isn't a new or recent phenomena.
No, I promise you that there were kids driving newish cars when you were in college.
There were also plenty of kids driving new/new-ish cars when my baby boomer dad was in college.
How naive it is to think that there weren't wealthy people or indulged children fifty years ago.
It has never been as common as some might have you believe. Far easier for parents to buy THEMSELVES a new car and give the kid the old one.
I don't think anybody would suggest that a safe car could compensate for unsafe driving.
I mean; that would be counter-intuitive & in a big way. Mitigate? Yes. But not compensate for.
But I also am fairly sure that certain types of cars have the ability to actually encourage a teenage driver to engage in unsafe driving.
The Smart car has one of the worst crash-test safety ratings on the planet yet drivers are not perishing in record numbers because the car itself simply does not attract aggresive drivers.
The kid who got stuck with Mom's "Silver Bullet" minivan does not typically look for those freshly snowed on parking lots to do doughnuts in because, well; he's the guy in the mom-mobile.
The opinion of a teens peers matter more than my preaching, lecturing, scare tactics by MADD or school assemblys with the State Patrol ... And a car that has a reputation for speed is going to prompt certain encouragements from my kids friends than one that doesn't.
Since the dawn of time; teenagers ... like to show-off. And some cars just lend themselves to showing-off more than others.
Within this context I could believe that a "safe" car, while unable to compensate for un-safe driving, might be able to not only mitigate it but discourage it as well.
I had a friend in high school who totaled the family minivan trying to jump it off some homemade ramps. It worked. Sort of. It just came down on the front bumper instead of the tires. Meanwhile I was doing autocross and occasionally a trip to the drag strips running 12s, faster than the current C5 Corvette but not quite as fast a C5 Z06.
I'd put my kid in the minivan though. I'd rather find out he's stupid and tries to jump the family minivan in a minivan than he's stupid in a new Corvette.
All else being equal, a newer car is far safer. Side airbags will save your life when a drunk driver t-bones you. A strong roof structure will save you when you roll over in a ditch.
No they wont. Do not be deceived.
Side airbags will only keep you safer if you are T-Boned at certain speeds and at certain angles - if they do not hurt you or kill you when they go off. Same with a roof structure. It may help in some accidents, but not in all rollovers (which are extremely rare).
They way to improve your safety is to improve your avoidance. Paying better attention, wear a seat belt. Keep heavy objects in the trunk or belt them in place. Do not look at your danged phone, not even "just ofr a second"
People argue till they are blue in the face whether an older heavier car or a newer crumple zoned car is safer. They are talking about a difference of 0.003% in overall safety.
Those same people get in their "safer" car and drive along posting on CD while moving. (or reading a text, dialing a number, inputting an address, etc). Now the margin of saftey difference just went to 0.0000000001%. In other words, if you are not going to pay attention and look in the direction you are moving at all times, nothing (except autonomous driving) will keep you even a little bit safe. It is like covering yourself with gasoline and smoking but saying I am safer because my clothing is fire resistant.
But I also am fairly sure that certain types of cars have the ability to actually encourage a teenage driver to engage in unsafe driving.
The kid who got stuck with Mom's "Silver Bullet" minivan does not typically look for those freshly snowed on parking lots to do doughnuts in because, well; he's the guy in the mom-mobile.
Disagree here. When I was in high school I was relegated to the old station wagon after the family got a replacement. I did doughnuts, lawn jobs, California turn arounds, drifted in winter, jumped railroad tracks, drove 100 MPH. The main difference of the wagon was I could put 10 - 20 friends in it at once, so I usually drove vs. my friend's mustang which would only hold 2 comfortably and 4-6 if you really crammed them in. . Actually the more people int he car, the more likely were were to get egged on to do something stupid. My dad had a nicer more sporty car. When I drove that, I did not want to risk damaging it because it was cool to drive and be seen in, so, other than some rabbit starts and a touch of speeding, I never drove it crazily. Same with my friend's mustang. He was so proud of it and put so much into spiffing it up and making it faster, he was afraid to drive it fast or crazy because it might get damaged. Mom's old wagon on the way to the scrap yard - nope didn't really care about it. Having a car you did not care about was "cool" it did not matter what it was. Having a car you were terrified to touch - less cool, even if it was an awesome car.
The rich kid with the fancy car ala Ferris Buhler - is a movie fantasy, not a reality. Sure it may have happened once, but most kids who are allowed to drive dad's porsche once, are so terrified, they cannot wait to get it home.
Side airbags will only keep you safer if you are T-Boned at certain speeds and at certain angles - if they do not hurt you or kill you when they go off. Same with a roof structure. It may help in some accidents, but not in all rollovers (which are extremely rare).
They way to improve your safety is to improve your avoidance. Paying better attention, wear a seat belt. Keep heavy objects in the trunk or belt them in place. Do not look at your danged phone, not even "just ofr a second"
People argue till they are blue in the face whether an older heavier car or a newer crumple zoned car is safer. They are talking about a difference of 0.003% in overall safety.
Those same people get in their "safer" car and drive along posting on CD while moving. (or reading a text, dialing a number, inputting an address, etc). Now the margin of saftey difference just went to 0.0000000001%. In other words, if you are not going to pay attention and look in the direction you are moving at all times, nothing (except autonomous driving) will keep you even a little bit safe. It is like covering yourself with gasoline and smoking but saying I am safer because my clothing is fire resistant.
I agree 100%.
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