How to prepare young drivers ?
Discussion
Reading with horror the accident thread made me think about how lucky I was when I was young and inexperienced, I never drove drunk but I had a few near misses, nothing to horrendous but enough to have it burnt into my memory.
I have three lads, aged 11, 12 and 14, eldest is not far of 15 so in just over two years, a blink of an eye he will be demanding L plates, lessons and insurance, then eventually access to his own transport.
My dad did a bit to prepare me, he gave me his old Capri and we practiced on a car park, he got me to brake fully and understand that a MK1 Capri doesnt stop as quickly as I had anticipated and that it would kill me given half a chance, a heady 90 bhp and 165 tyres were enough to land me in a lot of trouble, that he got across but it didnt stop me pushing my luck a bit.
My kids are all pretty bright, but as kids (particularly boys) hey are very very stupid, they will put massive intelligence and cunning into managing to do someting epically stupid, never underestimate that.
Potentially I may have sowed some petrolhead seeds, Mustang posters on walls, Forza Motorsport, watching stuff at Oulton park, going to the Bangers, my own hankerings for daft cars. My own petrolhead phase started twenty five years ago at about 14 so they are in the ball park, I started buying Autocar and Autotrader, spent hours reading both.
So, how do we keep them safe, what car should I get they can use, safely, how do I temper their stupidity.
One thing that stands out to me, dont know how contrived it was but it was my own dads line on drugs, he told me about a bloke he knew who did Heroin, he made it sound appealing, listening to Pink Floyd, its how this guy relaxed, apparently it enhanced the music, he really made it sound great fun, he then said that they went round as they hadnt seen him for a few days and found him today decomposing slightly on his sofa with a needle in his arm, grim, but its that kind of impact I want to have regarding driving.
I have three lads, aged 11, 12 and 14, eldest is not far of 15 so in just over two years, a blink of an eye he will be demanding L plates, lessons and insurance, then eventually access to his own transport.
My dad did a bit to prepare me, he gave me his old Capri and we practiced on a car park, he got me to brake fully and understand that a MK1 Capri doesnt stop as quickly as I had anticipated and that it would kill me given half a chance, a heady 90 bhp and 165 tyres were enough to land me in a lot of trouble, that he got across but it didnt stop me pushing my luck a bit.
My kids are all pretty bright, but as kids (particularly boys) hey are very very stupid, they will put massive intelligence and cunning into managing to do someting epically stupid, never underestimate that.
Potentially I may have sowed some petrolhead seeds, Mustang posters on walls, Forza Motorsport, watching stuff at Oulton park, going to the Bangers, my own hankerings for daft cars. My own petrolhead phase started twenty five years ago at about 14 so they are in the ball park, I started buying Autocar and Autotrader, spent hours reading both.
So, how do we keep them safe, what car should I get they can use, safely, how do I temper their stupidity.
One thing that stands out to me, dont know how contrived it was but it was my own dads line on drugs, he told me about a bloke he knew who did Heroin, he made it sound appealing, listening to Pink Floyd, its how this guy relaxed, apparently it enhanced the music, he really made it sound great fun, he then said that they went round as they hadnt seen him for a few days and found him today decomposing slightly on his sofa with a needle in his arm, grim, but its that kind of impact I want to have regarding driving.
(http://www.under17-carclub.co.uk/)Get them into some kind of cheap motorsport, Autotesting, Grasstrack racing, Mini Stocks etc. Not a huge departure from driving a metro round a field but enough to get the stupidity out of their system safely, and give them a healthy respect for how much hitting other stuff hurts like hell.
Unfortunately most young drivers take the view that they know better than dad, who is of course an old fart who knows f
k all about driving.
My son passed his test and from that point took the view that my advice about him driving too fast was unwanted..............until a couple of weeks later he got caught doing 44 in a 40. £60 and 3 penalty points late, he now has to drive like an old fart for the next 18 months in case he picks up another 3 points and loses his licence. It didn't help me pointing out that in 35 years of driving I'd never picked up a single motoring conviction or fixed penalty.
I, of course, now take great pleasure in thrashing the guts out of my car whenever he is a passenger in it
k all about driving.My son passed his test and from that point took the view that my advice about him driving too fast was unwanted..............until a couple of weeks later he got caught doing 44 in a 40. £60 and 3 penalty points late, he now has to drive like an old fart for the next 18 months in case he picks up another 3 points and loses his licence. It didn't help me pointing out that in 35 years of driving I'd never picked up a single motoring conviction or fixed penalty.
I, of course, now take great pleasure in thrashing the guts out of my car whenever he is a passenger in it
I don't think it can be done to be honest.
No matter what anyone had said to me two years and three months ago, i would have drven the same. But I feel i was one of the safer drivers, and sliding into the outer kerb of a roundabout at 20mph taught me about understeer pretty quickly, and that actually i was crap at driving and my car wasn't a touring car.
Getting a $hite car also stopped me driving quite so quickly, as it really did feel unsafe and as everyone knew my car was awful i was less likely to race it around to show off.
Making them put as much money as they can towards the insurance can help aswell, especially when you explain how much cheaper it will be when they have NCB and no points!
No matter what anyone had said to me two years and three months ago, i would have drven the same. But I feel i was one of the safer drivers, and sliding into the outer kerb of a roundabout at 20mph taught me about understeer pretty quickly, and that actually i was crap at driving and my car wasn't a touring car.
Getting a $hite car also stopped me driving quite so quickly, as it really did feel unsafe and as everyone knew my car was awful i was less likely to race it around to show off.
Making them put as much money as they can towards the insurance can help aswell, especially when you explain how much cheaper it will be when they have NCB and no points!
As someone who passed not that long ago (well, 9 years), my advice would be to get something as slow, new, safe and pointless to hustle as possible. Preferably one with lots of seats so he wont be passengering his idiot mates in their sheds. Maybe a Disco 3 or a Freelander or something.
Once he's passed his test, give him a few proper lessons on how to drive, including ramming home the fact that all other motorists are idiots who are out to kill you.
Also make sure he knows what happens to a car in a serious accident, and that they are a lot less solid than they appear. Your choice as to how far you want to go to shock him, never been to a scrappy but I would have thought the sight of a few nicely mangled wrecks, perhaps with some spots of blood should do the trick without traumatising them too much.
Add in a little motorsport or track action to hone the ability and balance out the stupidness and it should produce a well rounded driver.
Once he's passed his test, give him a few proper lessons on how to drive, including ramming home the fact that all other motorists are idiots who are out to kill you.
Also make sure he knows what happens to a car in a serious accident, and that they are a lot less solid than they appear. Your choice as to how far you want to go to shock him, never been to a scrappy but I would have thought the sight of a few nicely mangled wrecks, perhaps with some spots of blood should do the trick without traumatising them too much.
Add in a little motorsport or track action to hone the ability and balance out the stupidness and it should produce a well rounded driver.
Maybe buy a mini or something classic with him, fix it up during the next few years, and when he can drive he gets it? He'll appreciate it more as he's spent time working hard for the car. Its a constant reminder for him of the wonderful 2 years you've had together and that its some sort of sentimental object for him? This will get him to respect the car more. Take him along to a few of the "safe drive stay alive" type events where they show you some gruesome images and explains the importance of keeping save. (maybe when he's roughly 16-17) Monkey see monkey do, if he sees you driving recklessly then he too will probably copy, so die down your speed to something you think he'll be able to handle when he's driving. When he's actually starting to get lessons, and if you're planning on taking him out for drives, then just observe how he's driving and try to give him pointers ect on car control (something instructors dont actually do). Once he's passed his test send him for his pass plus ect...
Robb F said:
Getting a $hite car also stopped me driving quite so quickly, as it really did feel unsafe and as everyone knew my car was awful i was less likely to race it around to show off.
I agree with this. It is tempting to be all protective and buy something with ten airbags and all the electronic nannies. All this does is give a sense of invincibility, which means when they do eventually get it wrong, invariably the speed at which they are going is higher. And at that point airbags and electronics aren't necesarily going to help. Futhermore, when (not if) the inevitable prang occurs, having a cheap car means the lesson can be learnt without being crippling financially. Definitely give them some responsibilty with regards to the running costs (e.g. insurance), so they at least have some motive to drive carefully to build no-claims. The people I knew who got given cars all paid for at 17 very quickly wrote them off through being stupid and being completely care-free.To be honest, some messages just don't sink in fully until experience shows you the truth behind them. I would imagine a lot of kids earnestly take driving advice on board but it doesn't hit home until they experience the consequences of forgetting. For 99% of people, this just involves a scare but I don't think there's much you can tell them to avoid getting into the odd sticky situation.
With hindsight, I'd say the first couple of weeks after I passed my test were the most dangerous of my driving years. I didn't crash (although I came perilously close on a couple of occasions) but the sudden absence of a passenger telling you what to do and keeping an eye on your every move inevitably leads to some experimentation/stupidity/inadequate thought processes.
I too learned the basics in a remote corner of a car park, and while it did give me a better understanding of clutch control, etc, it didn't really offer much insight into real-world driving.
Perhaps you could insist the kids pass one of the advanced motorist type test.
With hindsight, I'd say the first couple of weeks after I passed my test were the most dangerous of my driving years. I didn't crash (although I came perilously close on a couple of occasions) but the sudden absence of a passenger telling you what to do and keeping an eye on your every move inevitably leads to some experimentation/stupidity/inadequate thought processes.
I too learned the basics in a remote corner of a car park, and while it did give me a better understanding of clutch control, etc, it didn't really offer much insight into real-world driving.
Perhaps you could insist the kids pass one of the advanced motorist type test.
As a petrolhead this will come in hard, but AFAIC there are two options:
1) They work for their car and buy it, in which case it will be a cheap (not to powerfull) car and they will look after their own hard-earned p&j.
2) Buy them a slow car
I've bought my first car (old Nissan Patrol) and it was slow and my pride, so I didn't ever think of doing anything stupid to dent it. (did get it into the dunes for fun tough
) I am fairly certain that I would have had a couple of accidents if I had a faster car.
A slow car doesn't have to be unsafe or un-petrolhead, but I'm convinced that younger drivers shouldn't start off with a fast(ish) car.
1) They work for their car and buy it, in which case it will be a cheap (not to powerfull) car and they will look after their own hard-earned p&j.
2) Buy them a slow car
I've bought my first car (old Nissan Patrol) and it was slow and my pride, so I didn't ever think of doing anything stupid to dent it. (did get it into the dunes for fun tough
) I am fairly certain that I would have had a couple of accidents if I had a faster car.A slow car doesn't have to be unsafe or un-petrolhead, but I'm convinced that younger drivers shouldn't start off with a fast(ish) car.
There isn't much you can do at all, you just have to hope that he matures before he wraps the car around a tree.
And, the problem with 17 year old petrolheads is that although they generally have better driving skills than other 17 year olds, they also push the car more and therefore are more likely to fly off the road at high speed.
And, the problem with 17 year old petrolheads is that although they generally have better driving skills than other 17 year olds, they also push the car more and therefore are more likely to fly off the road at high speed.
Show them this picture of my 18yr old stepbrother's car after "hitting a rock".... AKA driving too quickly. It hit home with my sister who is currently learning to drive. He was okay, god knows how, other than some internal bleeding. His car and his new insurance policy however, certainly isn't too well.
Edited by Louisa911 on Thursday 20th May 13:53
RenesisEvo said:
I agree with this. It is tempting to be all protective and buy something with ten airbags and all the electronic nannies. All this does is give a sense of invincibility, which means when they do eventually get it wrong, invariably the speed at which they are going is higher.
I can definitely understand the logic of making them buy a rubbish car, and think that's a choice best left to the parent but I would personally disagree with this. Out of all of my friends at school, nearly all of them drove like cocks, regardless of the age or value of the vehicle, or whether they bought it themselves or inherited it. The only ones that were sensible were the ones that weren't really bothered about driving.My first car was an MGB that I built, I loved it and it was great fun, but I ragged the tits off it and drove like an arse like everyone does when they're young.
IMHO overall it's more important to make sure they know how to drive properly, and make sure they know full well what happens in a crash. I didn't realise quite how flimsy cars were in a crash, luckily I found out through learning rather than personal experience.
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff