Frazzled...all fingernails gone.

[Slingblade61]

What's better than a parent teaching the ins and outs of something that really is experienced based?

I'm not nearly qualified to teach it. I know what I know but I do not know how to relate it to a kid.

 

[mediaguru]

I have this to look forward too? Great. Just great.

 

[Bravo]

It's a fact that more adults die every year from falling asleep at the wheel than teens die from speed related deaths. So should we create schools to teach older drivers to keep from falling asleep at the wheel?

R35

The clinic started off with a brief lecture. Among the statistics he quoted was:

Drivers under the age of 20 constitute 7% of all drivers yet represent 22% of all deaths.

FWIW (and being completely candid) I was a pretty wild driver at times when I was a kid. My first speeding ticket happened 3 months after I got my license. I got plenty of tickets up until I was about 25...

I know many of you skeptics are going to like epilogue to my story from Saturday...we got in the car to drive home. This was a two lane road that ran for about five miles through various residential neighborhoods - speed limit 35 mph/56kph.

Within 60 seconds she hit 50 mph/80 kph...and of course I am yelling...."slow it down!!". She replies, "Dad it seems so slow now.."

So there is no doubt that this course will Not teach them to drive too fast, or drive under the influence or drive recklessly. They have to learn that for themselves - somehow.

It did however, undoubtedly teach her how to handle the vehicle with much greater skill and confidence though..and I don't see how that can do anything but help...I would recommend it to any parent...

 

[Silver]

So there is no doubt that this course will Not teach them to drive too fast, or drive under the influence or drive recklessly. They have to learn that for themselves - somehow.

It did however, undoubtedly teach her how to handle the vehicle with much greater skill and confidence though..and I don't see how that can do anything but help...I would recommend it to any parent...

My only concern would be to echo Rock's...with increased confidence may come increased speed...but without the experience to really "know better." I think it's a tough call in this scenario - the increased confidence and greater skill are instrumental for her to have, but they could also lead to her getting herself into more trouble than she would if she were just a typical timid 16 year old girl without that kind of training. Then again, she may end up just using the knowledge wisely and only applying it in situations where it's necessary. That's all you can hope for.

 

[Eracer]

Hear that grinding noise? Thats Bravo chewing off his toe nails...

If it makes you feel any better B, she'll probably date somebody better than E here...:biglol:

R35

I wouldn't want to get arrested for "dating" Bravo's daughter...

But if you've got a sister, Rock....I can claim diplomatic (or should I say - undiplomatic) immunity.

 

[Farquod]

It's a fact that more adults die every year from falling asleep at the wheel than teens die from speed related deaths.

Never heard of that one, but then there are far more non-teens driving than teens, so it would be hard to believe that it could be otherwise. There are probably more people aged 20 and over who work nights and evenings, or on rotating shifts, than there are driving teens. And these shiftworkers are the people most likely to fall asleep at the wheel.

The reason the drinking age in the US was raised to 21 was due to the association between traffic deaths and driving while under the influence among teens.

What I think would be just as effective, both economically and for a sense of knowing your kids better would be to ACTUALLY DRIVE WITH THEM.

Dude, that's just insulting to any parent with a new driver. What Bravo is talking about is add-on experience.

I know in my first year of driving, i'd be damned if I would drive drunk or speed.

You wuss.

FWIW, Bravo, it sounds like a great idea. The last snowstorm we had, I took my daughter out to a local parting lot in my Jeep, and made her slip and slide all over the place to learn how to recover from a skid. (she is a whiz at doing donuts, now, 'natch.) It was worth the experience, but I would have to think that a course using a standardized protocol would have been at least as effective.

Now, I have been thinking of taking one of those racing classes with Porsche. Anybody ever done that? It looks like a blast.

 

[Rockford35]

Dude, that's just insulting to any parent with a new driver. What Bravo is talking about is add-on experience.

Well, of course.

What I was trying to state was that through hands on parenting and regular driver-ed, how did we all possibly make it this far? Are/were we any different? I would think not...

I'm not saying the idea isn't a good one, I'm just saying I don't think it's necessary to instill the proper driving technique into a teen.

R35

 

[DaveE]

You still learn through experiences, it's really as simple as that. Some people pick it up faster than others. That's why some start off in the Walmart parking lot and others are driving the family tractor at 7 years old...

Just my thoughts.

R35

You do learn from experience but I think what Bravo did was a good idea. Both of my girls have been close to having accidents and both learned from the experience. But, they would have been better prepared for or maybe avoided the situation all together with a little experience at sliding etc.

I felt like I did a decent job of teaching them how to drive but I wouldn't have known how to properly teach what Bravos girl got to do. Well worth the $95 if you ask me.

 

[Bravo]

I wouldn't have known how to properly teach what Bravos girl got to do. Well worth the $95 if you ask me.

Dave:

I very quickly learned that I had no clue about how to teach this...the drills continued to "build on the previous drill" by teaching successive levels of skill based on conquering the previous skill set.

The instruction was originally designed by a race car driver...

http://www.carcontrol.com/us.htm

If you go to that page and can find the video, it is very accurate...a bunch of orange cones in the parking lot with the drivers learning how to steer around them while braking to the max..

And it was a hell of a lot of fun...my daughter at first was very intimidated and after a couple of hours, she couldn't wait until we got to the head of the line/queue and we were up next...

Rock: From your description, Drivers Ed in Canadian schools is probably more advanced than what we get here. In the U.S., it is mostly a school teacher or football coach who rides along while the student drives around on roads under normal conditions. There is no high speed performance or accident avoidance training...

 

[Bravo]

Now, I have been thinking of taking one of those racing classes with Porsche. Anybody ever done that? It looks like a blast.

Porsche does those classes here..I have a friend who did the two day school and raved about it.

http://www.porschedriving.com/the_track_detail.asp

 

[Rockford35]

Rock: From your description, Drivers Ed in Canadian schools is probably more advanced than what we get here. In the U.S., it is mostly a school teacher or football coach who rides along while the student drives around on roads under normal conditions. There is no high speed performance or accident avoidance training...

Perhaps. This did enter into my mind whilst I was typing some of that. Maybe we're a bit more prepared up here than down there.

The best thing we can hope for out of these sorts of things is a generation of better drivers. It's for the best, on many levels...

R35

 

[Farquod]

Porsche does those classes here..I have a friend who did the two day school and raved about it.

http://www.porschedriving.com/the_track_detail.asp

Yeah, baby, that's the one....

Re: the driving school stuff, as an FYI, the former fruitcake governor of our state, Jim McGreedy, mandated that all drivers take a series of at least 6 hours at an accredited driving school before they are eligible to take their road test. That has basically turned driver's ed into a theory/rules of the road course, with the practical being taken over by the driving school.

And no, the cost of the driving school is not subsidized by our taxes. The schools have come up with special packages for just this purpose. FWIW, it was a worthwhile, albeit expensive, $500 exercise.

 

[Bravo]

And no, the cost of the driving school is not subsidized by our taxes. The schools have come up with special packages for just this purpose. FWIW, it was a worthwhile, albeit expensive, $500 exercise.

Hell you need lessons just to know how to drive the Jersey Turnpike don't you??

 

[Farquod]

Hell you need lessons just to know how to drive the Jersey Turnpike don't you??

No JB, that's an experience thing. Nothing prepares you for it.

 

[Rockford35]

I remember Bravo bringing up the Porsche facility and me wanting to win some money to be able to go there. The 911 Turbo is by far my favorite automobile of all time.

I can't think of anything better than practicing insane manouvers in the car of my dreams...

Maybe if Elin was in the passenger seat. Now there's your "experience"...



R35