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OT: Teaching Teens To Drive

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So I didn't want to jinx this by mentioning it beforehand, but as coincidence would have it, I had a court date with one of my daughters this afternoon for the ticket she got when she totaled one of our cars in January. She had her license for around three months then and was headed to school around 15 minutes before sunrise when she hit black ice around the corner from our house, less than 1/10 of a mile away. She had just walked out the door and I told her, as I did every morning, "Drive slow, don't rush, it's not worth it. Be safe. I love you." She replied "I know, I will, love you, too," and then the phone rang literally one minute later with her in hysterics because she had driven off the road and into the woods. I'll never forget the tone of her voice and how scared I was that she had been hurt...or that she had hurt someone else.

Of course I instantly thought she must have been speeding because she was running late for school, and/or that she had been on her phone. And when we saw how far into the woods she had gotten and deduced that she must have been airborne in the car for around 20'-30' before landing, we couldn't believe that she hadn't gotten hurt. The sun came up in the meantime and the black ice disappeared, but a minute later a town truck came by to spread salt and sand. Then we started getting texts from many of our neighbors who had just driven past, all reporting that it was like a sheet of ice in the area that morning. Then we heard about two other accidents at the same time within a few miles. It quickly became apparent that she had hit black ice and had no idea what to do because she had never driven on it before and there had been no warning that morning. Nonetheless, the police officer ticketed her for speeding and failure to stay on the right side of the road. The car was totaled because of the damage to the undercarriage when it landed.

Thankfully, I got the ticket nolled today, because that would have been quite the hit on our insurance.

You can teach them to drive on snow, but all bets are off with black ice. I think the best thing you can do is try to be aware when it is present and do everything you can to keep them from driving then, period, until it is treated or goes away.

I stilll can't go by the scene without thinking about it. We were very, very blessed. In a cruelly ironic twist, the person who lives in the house across the street from where she crashed lost his then-teen daughter on that very same road in a one-car accident around 20 years ago. As they say in Spinal Tap, "too much duck_____g perspective."

Same thing happened to my grandson. We worked at the same place and he would drive me home at lunch time and drive back to work. I warned him about a. Urge on a hill that is always shady and icy in that one spot. Guess he forgot cause he hit the ice and went up an embankment which stopped him from going into the woods. He wasn’t hurt but scared himself. Managed to drive down to a parking lot with a bent wheel and flat tire. He was still shook up when he got picked up. Was my car but I didn’t get angry.
 
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One of the best gifts I've had in my life and I will pass it down is my parents have paid for all four of their kids' AAA Plus membership since we have been able to drive and have continued to pay for us and their 11 grandkids every year. They do it for Christmas and they say it's the best piece of mind they can get. Also, as I find out, if you have AAA you can add your kids to your account at no charge while they have their permit.

AAA is a no brainer (someone will tell me I’m wrong). Using it once a year pays for itself and if you don’t you still have peace of mind that they are just a call away.
 
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My youngest son likes to ride his bike, even though he is old enough to drive a car
 
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My problem with drivers ed is that it teaches a person to drive a car but there is no way to teach avoidance techniques and other such things. I would like to see some vr tech used to give new drivers some experience in dealing with driving situations such as black ice, animals running across the road, hydroplaning etc. it could also be used to teach proper use of mirrors.

I tried to teach my then girlfriend, now wife, to drive a manual. We found someone else to teach her to save our relationship.

My 21 year old has no interest in driving. And I love to drive. My wife and I take long road trips every year.

I love manuals but traffic makes automatics so practical. I kept an old manual so I could teach ny son just in case he had to drive one someday. After 2 years of waiting for him to give it a try I sold the car.

Manuals can be equipped with start/stop technology. I drove one in Europe in 2013 and was wondering what to hell was going on.

.
 
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E324DB01-8791-4D64-B746-01E1FD3889A5.jpeg


This is what happened to my last car.
 
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My problem with drivers ed is that it teaches a person to drive a car but there is no way to teach avoidance techniques and other such things. I would like to see some vr tech used to give new drivers some experience in dealing with driving situations such as black ice, animals running across the road, hydroplaning etc. it could also be used to teach proper use of mirrors.

I tried to teach my then girlfriend, now wife, to drive a manual. We found someone else to teach her to save our relationship.

My 21 year old has no interest in driving. And I love to drive. My wife and I take long road trips every year.

I love manuals but traffic makes automatics so practical. I kept an old manual so I could teach ny son just in case he had to drive one someday. After 2 years of waiting for him to give it a try I sold the car.

Manuals can be equipped with start/stop technology. I drove one in Europe in 2013 and was wondering what to hell was going o


My husband took my automTic and left me his stick shift. I had to figure out on my own. The only thing that bothered me is stopping on a hill. Wasn’t paying attention and stopped on a steep hill. No problem.
 

dennismenace

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That's the stuff I'm worried about. I always know what's behind me as well. I see so many adult drivers who pay no attention to what is behind them on the highway. I think it will take some time and that first trip on the highway might be a little terrifying. I worry about her attention span. These kids are so used to being constantly entertained, that they may lose focus. Maybe the danger helps, I don't know.

As for the mechanics, I think the basics are easy enough, but many people don't have a good feel for how their car behaves at the limits. I think I learned a lot by doing dumb teen aged boy things back in the day, counter-steering when the rear wheels break loose, how front wheel and rear wheel drive cars behave when you lose traction front or rear. Especially here where you drive in snow, I think it's helpful to practice those things.
Using empty parking lots (like on the weekend) with lots of snow and ice is a great place to practice pulling out of a skid, stopping etc.
 

dennismenace

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My problem with drivers ed is that it teaches a person to drive a car but there is no way to teach avoidance techniques and other such things. I would like to see some vr tech used to give new drivers some experience in dealing with driving situations such as black ice, animals running across the road, hydroplaning etc. it could also be used to teach proper use of mirrors.

I tried to teach my then girlfriend, now wife, to drive a manual. We found someone else to teach her to save our relationship.

My 21 year old has no interest in driving. And I love to drive. My wife and I take long road trips every year.

I love manuals but traffic makes automatics so practical. I kept an old manual so I could teach ny son just in case he had to drive one someday. After 2 years of waiting for him to give it a try I sold the car.

Manuals can be equipped with start/stop technology. I drove one in Europe in 2013 and was wondering what to hell was going on.

.
Good points. My dad used take us on back roads and when opposing cars took their half in the middle he would say to take your half and dare him a little so you don't get driven off the road. Won't learn that in driving school. Also, driving on highways you can notice that cars tend to drive in packs with pretty good size gaps in between. Drive in the gaps. Another was when seeing someone ahead who loses control take foot off the gas and anticipate which direction they are trending to and look for a hole (like football) in the opposite direction they are moving toward. Space is your friend when you can get it on a highway.
 
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I have a debate going ....do you stop at the end of the entrance ramp ( entering I95) or do you enter without stopping and try to blend in or ride the breakdown lane till there is an opening?
 

8893

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I have a debate going ....do you stop at the end of the entrance ramp ( entering I95) or do you enter without stopping and try to blend in or ride the breakdown lane till there is an opening?
Unless there is a stop sign (like that stupid Route 9 entrance ramp in Middletown, or several on the Merritt) you do not stop; you merge. Zipper merge is best, but that requires too many drivers who know what they are doing. Fat chance of finding three together at the same time these days.
 

Waquoit

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AAA is a no brainer (someone will tell me I’m wrong). Using it once a year pays for itself and if you don’t you still have peace of mind that they are just a call away.
I agree, it's worth it. I never joined in my youth. Until I bought a Ford and it became mandatory.
 

CL82

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There's an entrance ramp onto I-95 near Washington's Crossing (in New Jersey) that has a stop sign and no merge lane. I've done it a few times, but it is insane. I drive a little further to a safer entrance.
 

Waquoit

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There's an entrance ramp onto I-95 near Washington's Crossing (in New Jersey) that has a stop sign and no merge lane. I've done it a few times, but it is insane. I drive a little further to a safer entrance.
That used to the entire Merritt Parkway.
 

CL82

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That used to the entire Merritt Parkway.
It's worse. I think it was put in because of construction and the local lobbied to leave it in. When I say no merge, I mean it. It is pretty much a right angle turn onto 95 toward the bottom of long straight hill. It's best to turn off your traction control and punch it.
 

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