HS Party with Alcohol... Death

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say 95% of high students aren't prepared for the responsibility of getting behind the wheel of a car.

But just how do you *make* responsible for the task?

How about a minimum age of 18, a mandatory public 50-hour driver's education course, and a paper test and a road test with high failure rates? Also I think that, to pass the road test, you should have to be able to drive a car with a manual transmission and you should be able to parallel park without power steering.

http://www.army.mil/article/71233/New_drivers_ed_program_in_Germany_gives_students__parents_options/

I like it. Plus, I had an elderly European relative tell me that showing how to change your tire was part of her required skills test.
How about that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say 95% of high students aren't prepared for the responsibility of getting behind the wheel of a car.

But just how do you *make* responsible for the task?

How about a minimum age of 18, a mandatory public 50-hour driver's education course, and a paper test and a road test with high failure rates? Also I think that, to pass the road test, you should have to be able to drive a car with a manual transmission and you should be able to parallel park without power steering.

http://www.army.mil/article/71233/New_drivers_ed_program_in_Germany_gives_students__parents_options/

Where do you find a car today with no power steering?

[Anonymous]

We, the parents, can mandate most of these requirements.

Why wait for our lawmakers while our kids die in their car crashes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say 95% of high students aren't prepared for the responsibility of getting behind the wheel of a car.

But just how do you *make* responsible for the task?

How about a minimum age of 18, a mandatory public 50-hour driver's education course, and a paper test and a road test with high failure rates? Also I think that, to pass the road test, you should have to be able to drive a car with a manual transmission and you should be able to parallel park without power steering.

http://www.army.mil/article/71233/New_drivers_ed_program_in_Germany_gives_students__parents_options/

Where do you find a car today with no power steering?

There would be special ones for driver's ed and the road test.

[Anonymous]

As long as we're contributing to the financial support (college or otherwise), we can request certain things from our kids.

Or do they automatically "deserve" everything they want on a silver platter just because we gave birth to them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I say 95% of high students aren't prepared for the responsibility of getting behind the wheel of a car.

But just how do you *make* responsible for the task?

How about a minimum age of 18, a mandatory public 50-hour driver's education course, and a paper test and a road test with high failure rates? Also I think that, to pass the road test, you should have to be able to drive a car with a manual transmission and you should be able to parallel park without power steering.

http://www.army.mil/article/71233/New_drivers_ed_program_in_Germany_gives_students__parents_options/

I like it. Plus, I had an elderly European relative tell me that showing how to change your tire was part of her required skills test.
How about that?

That's a good idea too!

[Anonymous]

I wonder how many kids will be showing up at Wooten (or any HS!) with their own car in September?

One thing the SCHOOLS can do, is to eliminate student parking availability, except in extreme cases authorized by the principal or other responsible individual.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As long as we're contributing to the financial support (college or otherwise), we can request certain things from our kids.

Or do they automatically "deserve" everything they want on a silver platter just because we gave birth to them?

It is not about "deserving", it is about the slow process of giving your child more and more responsibility until the slowly became a mature adult. Unfortunately, we can't keep them under our 100% control and then say okay now you are 23 and 100% responsible for yourself. It is a slow, gradual process. At 18, they feel invincible. They also want independence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As long as we're contributing to the financial support (college or otherwise), we can request certain things from our kids.

Or do they automatically "deserve" everything they want on a silver platter just because we gave birth to them?

It is not about "deserving", it is about the slow process of giving your child more and more responsibility until the slowly became a mature adult. Unfortunately, we can't keep them under our 100% control and then say okay now you are 23 and 100% responsible for yourself. It is a slow, gradual process. At 18, they feel invincible. They also want independence.

Why not allow them to *earn* their independence?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many kids will be showing up at Wooten (or any HS!) with their own car in September?

One thing the SCHOOLS can do, is to eliminate student parking availability, except in extreme cases authorized by the principal or other responsible individual.

Can you imagine the screams? I think that this is a good idea, but probably politically impossible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But I live in an area with no public transportation. It is literally impossible to get to a job, go on a date, or go to friends' houses without walking, riding a bike, or driving a car. And driving a car is safer than riding a bike 10 miles on a county road to a friends house on Saturday night.

Here's a newsflash- not everybody lives the life YOU live.

You failed to answer part of my question- how old are your kids?

Too bad you chose a big house and yard over your kids safety, guess you don't love them as much as I love mine.

Are you serious? You genuinely have no clue. Small Midwestern town. Again- your reality is not the same for everyone.

[Anonymous]

^^^I think it would also be great if suburban school districts eliminated school bus transportation for high school students in areas where it is reasonably convenient to take public transportation to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:But I live in an area with no public transportation. It is literally impossible to get to a job, go on a date, or go to friends' houses without walking, riding a bike, or driving a car. And driving a car is safer than riding a bike 10 miles on a county road to a friends house on Saturday night.

Here's a newsflash- not everybody lives the life YOU live.

You failed to answer part of my question- how old are your kids?

Too bad you chose a big house and yard over your kids safety, guess you don't love them as much as I love mine.

Are you serious? You genuinely have no clue. Small Midwestern town. Again- your reality is not the same for everyone.

Small Midwestern towns tend to be walkable/bikeable, in my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wonder how many kids will be showing up at Wooten (or any HS!) with their own car in September?

One thing the SCHOOLS can do, is to eliminate student parking availability, except in extreme cases authorized by the principal or other responsible individual.

Can you imagine the screams? I think that this is a good idea, but probably politically impossible.

Perhaps the parents of the four kids would have been the first to scream, but maybe not any more. It'll be interesting to see what they'll have to say whenever they're ready to speak. What they wish they might have done differently. Of course we can all look back on our parenting errors...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the Midwest so I got my DL really young - age 14 (the law exists to accommodate farm kids that need to drive farm equipment).

By 16, I was an incredibly reckless driver. I stayed that way until at least 25. My problem wasn't drinking and driving, but speed. Teens feel invincible.

It is possible that this tragedy could have occurred even without alcohol.

I agree with this. I was also an incredibly reckless drive until about age 25. Yes, teens feel invincible. Have no idea what a good solution is.