17 yr. old son - travel alone via greyhound?

red911sc · 03-19-2009, 02:54 PM

Would you guys trust a 17 yr. old male to be safe traveling roughly 7 hrs. (Ohio to Tennessee) via greyhound? Any experiences?

Arizona_928 · 03-19-2009, 02:58 PM

did 12 hours on one from san diego to phoenix when i was 15. It f'ing sucked, I swore to never do it again. Anyways for the money for a greyhound you could get a cheap southwest flight...

the · 03-19-2009, 02:59 PM

I think as long as he has a good head on his shoulders, he should be ok.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,396043,00.html

afterburn 549 · 03-19-2009, 02:59 PM

Did it in 1970 LOL whenI Joined the Army..

Seahawk · 03-19-2009, 03:19 PM

I drove across the country by myself when I was 17.

He will encounter about 10 times the losers in his seven hour cruise than I met in four days and 3000 miles.

One of my good friends was the CO of NAS Key West...when any of the squadrons visiting Key West for Carrier Quals, gun hops, etc. had an individual get into trouble out in town partying, he would make said individual take a bus ride home, often as far as Cali.

Word got out. Problem solved.

Rent the boy a car for goodness sake...

slakjaw · 03-19-2009, 03:22 PM

Omaha to Denver when I was 15. Some guy started messing with me but the gang banger chick I was sitting next to made him go away.

Laneco · 03-19-2009, 03:26 PM

If the 17 year old is pretty solid for his age, then yeah, go ahead. I rode a Greyhound bus for 5 hours to pick up a car that I bought out of area.

I hated it. Two young punks climb on the bus and start doing "gang banger" blustering attitude trying to get me to move from my seat. I just put my book down and started talking to them. Boy did they disclose an eye opener to me.

Turns out that Greyhound has a contract to transport prisoners who are on release back to whatever place they came from. I hated the trip, couldn't stand the people, but I never felt unsafe. Didn't have to share a seat either. It was the longest trip of my life.

angela

stomachmonkey · 03-19-2009, 03:26 PM

used to hop on planes by myself and fly home to germany when I was 14.

would land frankfurt, take connector to stuttgart, take shuttle bus to bahnhoff then streetcar to omi's

from 16 on would spend a couple of days with omi then raid my bank account and hop a train to austria to go skiing for a week

piece of cake.

HardDrive · 03-19-2009, 03:37 PM

I wouldn't.

I've taken the bus a few times. He may be fine, but there are some rough folks riding the bus.

Moses · 03-19-2009, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red911sc

Would you guys trust a 17 yr. old male to be safe traveling roughly 7 hrs. (Ohio to Tennessee) via greyhound?

No. I used to ride the dog when I was poor. Scary. Sometimes dangerous. Drug addicts and deviants.

rsrfan · 03-19-2009, 04:29 PM

So long as he isn't dressed nice or looks like he has ANY money.

Took the bus years ago LA to El Paso. I was 22. Dressed in in nice "preppy" gear. Every person on the bus asked me for money and I was sure that I would get robbed. If ever I had to do it again, I would not shave or bathe for days and would wear my rattiest clothes.

Superman · 03-19-2009, 04:34 PM

No.

mattdavis11 · 03-19-2009, 04:36 PM

I rode the hound a few times. Oxford, MS to Dallas during my freshman year in school at Ole Miss, 13 hours. I did that round trip 3 or 4 times. There are some shady characters that ride the bus, that's for sure. I was never worried but sure wanted to get the fuch off of that bus when we hit Texas.

Since then, I have taken the red eye from Dallas to Austin and it hasn't been that bad. If the gas prices skyrocket again, I'll probably board another. $26 was a cheap trip.

the · 03-19-2009, 04:46 PM

Does he have purdy lips?

Don Plumley · Don Plumley's Garage

For a multi-state trip, wouldn't ride it nor would I let my children ride it. Have you seen the surroundings of most center city Greydog terminals. If meth and bums are your thing, then I guess it's good.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Make sure he knows the risks of sexually transmitted diseases.

red911sc · 03-19-2009, 05:45 PM

Well most of you share my concerns and his mother (my ex) is totally against it. She lost her only other child, a 9 month old baby boy last summer and is now uber-protective so looking at arilines now.

MT930 · 03-19-2009, 05:56 PM

Greyhound Bus ride will be a study in human sociality. Thats a side of culture most people never see, it will probably be a good experience that he will not want to repeat.

stealthn · 03-19-2009, 06:03 PM

Sorry not in this day, when I was that young it would've been fine, but throw him on a flight.

s_morrison57 · 03-19-2009, 06:09 PM

might be a tough trip, lots of losers on the bus but lots of good people too, thing is , do you trust him, don't want him to get fudge packed on the trip, why don't you drive him there. he should have played hockey when he was younger cause by 17 he could deal with the low lifes, maybe i'm biased being a Canuck , but we had a a nut job shoot a fellow passenger in the head for no reason and we have way less handguns then south of the 49. I didn't ride the dog when I was his age cause I had my own car, no help from the folks, had to work and pay for it my self , that was a different age then , I'm 51 and NFW would I put my kid on the dog, I'd drive him , or he'd have his own ride, bottom line is trust , do you trust him too make the right call when some drunk low life trys to prey on him? If not drive him there and let the pampering continue.