New drivers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:16:14 I said the same thing until DC turned 16 and wore me down! We've had many hours behind the wheel and I'm impressed by her ability. And she is so happy to have this little success (school is hard for her). So, you may change your mind. I'm just curious, how old is your DC?

It's entirely possible I will change my mind, especially given how good DD already is at wearing me down . She is 10 now and I make a point of giving her more responsibility and independence than most of her peers are getting, which should hopefully ensure that she will be better prepared whenever she does get behind the wheel. I do plan on letting her get her learner's permit in high school and doing a lot of supervised driving with us, just hope that she will delay driving on her own.

Very easy at 10 to say this. Much You harder when your child turns 16. FYI-in MoCo, you get your permit at 15 years 9 months and cannot get your license till 16 years 6 months. You must hold your permit for 6 months so if you get your permit later, you will get your license later. You also must take a 30 hour class and have 60 hours of driving time before you can take your driver's test.

It is not like you can get your permit and then take a driver's test. Giving them responsibility and independence has nothing to do with whether or not they will be good driver's. Are they good at paying attention? reacting quickly to situations that occur without warning? Able to handle multiple tasks? Good at staying calm? Understanding how speed can affect a car's responsiveness?

Many responsible kids just aren't good driver's. They have trouble understanding that other people on the road don't always follow the rules. Some kids are too nervous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi I am the original poster. I am still looking for anecdotal info on how your teens handled the first month, first six months, etc.

Any wrecks? Tickets?

Our son is now in college and has an unblemished driving record. DD has two collisions, and 2 tickets (one parking one failure to yield) in the first 4 months. The judge in juvenile traffic court told us we had to allow her to get back on the road to get her more experience as that's the only way she'll learn.