Worst Driver Ever: Update

[yetidave]

I ride my motorcycle about 15K miles a year and this thread scares the hell out of me. By far, the worst drivers I encounter on the road on a daily basis are teenage girls. This year alone I've lost two good friends to female teenage drivers who had no business behind the wheel of a car. Take her keys before she kills someone...please.

[}{arlequin]

You could also scare the crap out of her by taking her on the track with you... maybe she'd begin to respect cars a little more. Once she feels it sliding and it's out of her control, maybe she would see them for what they are: large, heavy, chunks of metal, hurling through space, ready to cause serious damage.

[red-beard]

Paul,

Looking at the Picture, you have a handful. I would take away her Expresso priviliges. That might even help with the driving problems...

Seriously though, how long has she been driving? It seems, more than anything else, she is being distracted while driving. Removing outside influences while driving should help (No friends, no cell phone, no stereo).

Of course, you could always "shame" her into driving right. Maybe by hanging an old tire on each side of the car, as warning to her and others. Tires removed when she starts driving better.

James

[pwd72s]

Count me among the "ground her" votes. All that said, I got in a fender bender the on my 16th birthday, the same day I got my license. The only thing that saved my bacon was that I had a witness in my favor...a local cop had been tailing the drunk driver who ran a stop & nailed me. After citing the drunk, he saw me crying, asked: "Think it would help if I wrote your parents a note?"

[RickM]

Originally posted by yetidave
I ride my motorcycle about 15K miles a year and this thread scares the hell out of me. By far, the worst drivers I encounter on the road on a daily basis are teenage girls. This year alone I've lost two good friends to female teenage drivers who had no business behind the wheel of a car. Take her keys before she kills someone...please.

My exact observation. I was nearly killed by a teenager who passed me on the right in a single lane! Ended up she was rushing to a MAC machine a 1/4 mile away..... Don't get me started.

[StevoRocket]

Your photo of your daughter says it all.
16 years old, pierced lip.
Mini skirt.
Black stockings.
All says - teenage vs grownup protest.
In a kitchen which is impossibly neat, tidy and clean. As you are.
The contrast couldn't be starker. Think about it relative to the cars condition.
My son is 19 and at university.
I taught him to drive.
He has his own insurance, a small euro Peugeot 306 hatchback with a 1400cc engine and airbags - with a great crash test reputation.
I am still scared ****less that he will end up crashed into a tree with three friends on a Saturday night on the way to or from a party.
He is over the protest and dont care stage. It shows in his work and general attitude.
Take the car off her and drive her yourself.
Make those drives part of staying in touch with her life and friends. Make them fun if you can.

[ZAMIRZ]

I don't really think she's that bad of a driver. I mean, it looks like all of the accidents are really minor, low-speed impacts. This type of stuff happens when you're a new driver, especially a girl. It is pretty banged up for a relatively small car, but at least it's still in one piece.

BTW, noticed the misfits pin on her jacket, hope she isn't listening to that kinda music when driving. That could be part of your problem right there, not that there's anything wrong with the music......just not when driving.

[Jay Auskin]

Are you sure she's doing all the damage?? I've remember girls in high school having nice cars, and then letting their boyfriend drive it when they aren't in it. They do some donuts, neutral drops, smoke the tires for a while...etc. I've also seen some really bad drivers, but I just have a hard time thinking she's done all that damage without some help.

Good luck man, you're in a tough situation there.

[techweenie]

The pictures raise one question to me: is she hitting other cars? Is she driving away or staying to report damage to absent (or present) owners?

I've certainly had enough people hit my Porsches over the years and just drive off.

[Schrup]

Thanks again for all the input. I told her yesterday about the restrictions that I'm placing on her driving & when she started to protest I told her forget it, that I was canceling her insurance at which point she apologized & actually started to listen to me. I spent an hour explaining my concerns & used some of the examples given on this thread like "what if it was a bicycler instead of a mailbox". I explained that I am fearful for her safety as well as the people around her. I explained about our insurance & how it could be very costly in the long run if she were involved in a crash , especially if the damages were beyond the coverage of the insurance, we could lose everything including our home. I warned her that if she broke the agreement she would forfeit her license till she turns 18. I advised her to take pics of all the damage & give them to me to store on the PC, because anymore damage would result in her losing her car for 3 months, then 9 months the following time. I told her that this weekend we would spend a couple of hours practicing parking & driving in general.

She really is a good kid, but has some issues she's unwilling to face right now. I wish she would get the therapy she needs, but she has a deep mistrust of shrinks for good reason.

So bottom line is that she will be driving about 75% less with nobody in the car, no music, & to no concerts or shows. I think this may give her more incentive to get a job because I told her I would let her drive to work. I think I handled it well, I didn't get pissed, yell & cuss like I've been known to occasionally do. I stayed calm & firm. Being a parent is tough.

[}{arlequin]

All this is waaaay in front of me still. This is a good learning experience. Thanks Paul. Hope it all works out for both of you.

[Decolliber]

You just have to accept that any car driven by a teenager is going to get dents. Just buy them an old car that does not matter much. When my kids were in high school they drove an old Escort and an old Toyota pickup, both of which were dented to begin with and got lots more dents. And remember that if they park in high school parking lots they will get dents that are not even their own fault. Furthermore there is a lot of petty vandalism in high school parking lots.
The answer is not sanctions; it is making sure the car they drive is not worth worrying about!

[Serge914]

How tall is she ? Maybe she is just sitting too low and cant see outside.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by Decolliber
The answer is not sanctions;

I don't think pre-emptive invasion is the answer, either...

[smoak]

Sounds like things went well all things considered. Stay vigilent and calm and I think you are going to see some positive results. Good luck.

[serge944]

Bust out a bucket of bondo, and make her repair it. Itll teach her some good ol fashioned responsibility.

[CJFusco]

Good job, Paul... although I still think she should get a job and you should make her pay for the repairs... or maybe the repairs from now on? She will respect the car a lot more if she's the one putting money into fixing/maintaining it.

BTW, is your SC really only 1800 lbs? That is my idea of what a Porsche should be.

[Schrup]

This afternoon she was all upset because I wouldn't let her leave the car after school, go to her boyfriend's band practice, then come back & get the car to drive it home.

Tonight, while I was driving her to a show, she said she is seriously considering relinquishing her insurance & asked me if I would give her money if she did so. I said "Hell Yes, I will gladly give you $20 every Friday so you could go to shows, if I can drop you from my insurance". I also told her that if she decides to do so, that it would be permanent. Before she started driving I used to be pretty generous with spending money for her.

So now she's faced with the decision to grow up, get a job & be responsible, or revert back to being a fifteen year old with no worries other than how she's going to get home from shows.

I'm thinking that she'll probable decide to grow up, 16 months without wheels is a long time once you've already had a taste. It will be tough for her to gain the independence she so longs for when she turns 18, if she has to start from scratch. I'll explain to her tomorrow that if she wants to move out the day she turns 18 (as she dreams)that it will take a good chunk of money & she should start saving now. The main reason she wants to move out is so she can smoke as much pot as she wants, sure did Ricky Williams a lot of good.

My car is probable lighter than 1800lbs right now because it in pieces all over my garage, that weight was calculated after I pulled the motor & tranny.

[Zeke]

All I can say is I'm glad all that teenage driving stuff is behind me by a few years. My stepkids are 31 and 36. We went thru a little of that sheet when they started. I had a 914 that my wife drove and we gave it to the boy to drive to high school. He crashed it one morning, but not too bad. I warned him from the get go, but this one was a tough call. He continued to drive.

Then, one night he had a little to drink and said the car slipped the E-brake and rolled into another car. Whatever. It was sold by 10 AM the next day and I took the money and spent it on myself in a display of tyranny.

I got the whole family's attention on that one. From grandparents on down. Didn't have too much trouble with teenage driving after that.

[}{arlequin]

Originally posted by Zeke
It was sold by 10 AM the next day and I took the money and spent it on myself in a display of tyranny.

I got the whole family's attention on that one. From grandparents on down. Didn't have too much trouble with teenage driving after that.

LOL, that's classic! Worked very well, I'm sure.