How do you convince a kid

[etz bseder]

I started with a 90 olds cutlass supreme, but that got T-boned, and with the insurance money given me by the other guy, i got a legacy, that got totalled, and with that guys insurance money, i got a nissan altima. then i ended up just getting my svx from my parents for giving my altima to my sister. I'm sticking with the 'buy him like a geo metro' or real old crapy car.

[Landshark]

give him the same beginning driving experience i had, and get him one of these:




he won't be able to get into too much trouble with 84hp, and he will appreciate ANY car he gets after driving a crap-box like that.

[benebob]

Originally Posted by Landshark

give him the same beginning driving experience i had, and get him one of these:




he won't be able to get into too much trouble with 84hp, and he will appreciate ANY car he gets after driving a crap-box like that.

Hey Landshark that's what I learned to drive stick on. Used to steal my brothers until I somehow managed to kill the clutch. Still got in home that night but the next morning it was a no-go. When I finally got a EA-81 Hatch I was so amazed how much better of a car it was than the Omni. There wasn't a rattle coming from every single plastic bit in the thing!

[Manarius]

Well, I can't say that I've been paying for the insurance or maintenance on the car (aside from oil changes and the occasional wheel bearing). But, my dad said that if I wrecked, he wouldn't renew the insurance so I keep that in the back of my mind all the time. I can't really afford to buy a new car or pay for insurance at this stage in the game.

[NapaBavarian]

Yup, stick with responsibility

As long as you tell him or try to beat it into him he will never learn, and very well may rebell just for being sick of hearing dad preach, but if he learns that he is responsible and you work with him you have a good chance of teaching him

[Landshark]

Originally Posted by benebob

Hey Landshark that's what I learned to drive stick on. Used to steal my brothers until I somehow managed to kill the clutch. Still got in home that night but the next morning it was a no-go. When I finally got a EA-81 Hatch I was so amazed how much better of a car it was than the Omni. There wasn't a rattle coming from every single plastic bit in the thing!

i remember having to shut off the AC so it would make it up a steep hill i used to take. it literally did not have the power to go up it with the AC on.

[Earthworm]

My Justy was a fun car to learn on. Also takes a long time to reach 80mph

[Crazy_pilot]

Well people tend to be reluctant to do something stupid after it all goes to smash once, but that approach tends to be expensive. I agree with all the suggestions of limiting what he can do and make him responsable for it. Don't provide anything for him. Make him pay his own insurance, gas, maintenance, tickets, make him drive the most underpowered thing on four-ish wheels... You didn't say if he already is, but that would be somewhere to start.

My 87 year old grandfather is in no condition to drive now, but still wants to. The argument we're using for him is that if he kills himself it doesn't really matter, he's had a good run. But what about the parents he kills who's children now grow up orphans? I don't complain about chaufeuring him around, he does have a 2005 Forester....

Of course I give advice, but I'm still a 20 year old guy who knows exactly what speed his car is governed to. My philosophy is that if someone's willing to deal with the consequences, and those consequences affect ONLY them, then go for it. I'll do my thing, but only if I know that I'm the only one who will get into trouble.

[SHISVX]

i can say from personal experience that i was one of those 17 year old kids

my mom told me the first speeding ticket i got...my liscence is gone that kept me in check

when i really learned that people don't just walk around in their own special protective bubble is when i joined as a volunteer on a rescue squad...

short form of the story, two 17 year old boys were speeding down the road and the driver wrapped his passager side front door around a telephone pole. the driver was okay..and i was the first one to the car. the passager was unconscious and posturing (something that people do when they significant brain damage...possibly a bleed) and bleeding from the ears and the mouth. i wasn't small enough to squeeze into the car to really get to him, so i squeezed the best i could...

while the crash team cut the car up so we could get him out...i talked to him..i called his name out with no response. i just kept suctioning the blood out of his mouth to keep his airway open. as soon as we got him out the medivac landed and he was off to a trauma center.

lucky he is alive and not dependent on a ventilator, probably because the quick response of the helicopter and the flight team. by the grace of god he is walking and talking, not as great as he was but he still moves air through his lungs

this wasn't the first and wasn't the last accident i cried my way home from. most cars i've seen with half that damaged, passagers were not that lucky

i was 18

now i am 24 and an emergency room RN.. and the stories get worse because now i not only deal with the dying child...but the family as they watch

pictures and stories won't cure it...mom and dad telling him how bad and dangerous a car really is won't do it....don't you know, he knows everything. saddly the first accident that was close to home for me.. i was 16 and three kids were killed in a car accident, i was dating a passager

i guess just remind him that driving is something a responsible adult does and if he tends to continue to drive...he will do it responsibly....you have the power to take his keys away. if he was my kid....i would take him to work with me..

i hope the best in the world for you and your son...i hope he comes around...good luck


Kelli

[It's Just Eric]

Well...My mother was always realy laid back. She had a kindof "Youll regret mistakes later" kindof attitude toward me learning stuff like this. For example, when I failed 6th grade because I'm a lazey, no homeworking little kid, she didnt get mad..at all. Just a "well, when all your friends are graduating youll be mad you had to stay back" And damnit, she was right!(Though I did meet like 300 new people)

As for the car...I started with an 89 cadillac fleetwood that I bought because it had comfortable seats. I liked it's style, and it had class. What I didnt realize, was that just about the only working thing on it was the check engine light.Hell, the thing didnt go over 50...(though I did get it up to 80 once rolling down a big hill) ..But it didnt matter..I only used it around town, and hell, I drove like an old lady anyway.It soon was just too broken to fix.

Now, I can honestly say, my parents didnt give me a single dime towards anything other than having a roof over my head and food in the refridgerator. I bought my car myself, registered it in my name, shopped for my own car insurance, made my own car insurance payments to my policy in my name, payed every dime of gas for the car, and even did my own repairs. I decided to buy another car to replace the anemic cadillac....my 94 SVX..because hell, the price was right and it actually went.

As soon as I sat in the seat I became idiot driver guy. Hell, I had the thing up to 120 on the way home. At the time, I really only sped on highways and abandonded roads, and kept my otherwise irritatingly safe driving habits. I learned pretty quick to avoid speeding on highways when I was pulled over. I got a ticket that, because the officer lost my licence, I was luckily able to battle it down to a neglible loss of 330$ and an afternoon in the Dennisville township Municiple court. No points..I got off lucky

Still sped on abandoned roads every so often. I suppose I was a little too rough on the car, because the engine took a dive, and the valve seals went bad. I have not taken the car to a mechanic in the entire year I had it..I put in my own engine, and later fixed an issue or two with the power steering. So...after that, I prettymuch decided not to stomp on the gas pedal so much...and slowly started pushing my luck in the corners, seeing how much speed I could carry

My luck pushed back recently. I lost controll of the car and slid it backwards off the road, putting the rear quarterpanel at the c-pillar into a tree. The car is very obviously totaled, but I steped out of it like a kid who just got off a good roller coaster...Completely unharmed. Hell, I thwarted the nearby stickerbushed efforts just to say I got out without a single scratch

Yes, I am keeping the not taking it to a mechanic tradition, and yes, I am rebuilding the car, in one way shape or form

So, looks like it back to driving like an old lady. Sometimes though, theres just no way to convince a kid they are doing wrong, they just need to realize it themselves.You can nguide them however you feel, but ultimatly your just going to hope that when they make a mistake, they step out safe and wise. Whoever mentuioned the driving school....It is a decent idea. Much like Karate, although it teaches you something potentially dangerious, youll also grow to respect the power you have.