[Grovenet] Driving Help Needed

Mon Jan 14 11:37:55 PST 2008

Katie,

I appreciate the advice on teen driving instruction.

 I have been instructing my children for 10 years. They made their share of
'learning mistakes' and I did my share of correction. I would always discuss
the error and made it quite clear that a responsibility as serious as
driving was not open to much debate and interpretation. Any dissent would
lead to a temporary suspension  of privileges. It is a one-sided issue by
design. Driving a motor vehicle is not the correct avenue to let an
emotionally or intellectually immature person  "find themselves." There are
plenty of non life threatening issues that are appropriate.

I did not recommend that Allen pull his license or permit, but recommended a
parental suspension as long as his  son continues to argue or debate. While
arguing or debating may be typical behavior for many teens, it has no place
behind the wheel.

You call his logic in this instance slightly flawed. I would  call it
severely flawed. I hope that he is kept off the road pending father
maturation.

Yes, Katie, life is beautiful.  Severe injury or death in an automobile tend
to not be.

Steve

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Katie Allnutt" <allnutt at verizon.net>
To: "Forest Grove local interests list" <grovenet at rdrop.com>
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Driving Help Needed

> In defense of Allen and his son I'd like to clarify that he is in the
> learning stage and this is a perfect example of how kids learn to
> drive.  They go with their parents, make a 'learning' mistake, get
> corrected by the parent and go on.
> He doesn't need to have his license or permit pulled, he just needs
> to be corrected.
> Even though Allen says he continued to argue, that is typical for
> kids to do even when they agree with what the parent is saying.
>
> From my interactions with this kid in the neighborhood and school,
> he is a quick learner, he cares about doing things right (he was
> attempting to save gas which is a good goal and he had some logic
> behind his actions -he was under lights - even if it was slightly
> flawed logic), and from what I have seen he would not recklessly
> endanger himself or others.  In other words he is a good kid and he
> is learning.  Life is beautiful.
>
> Katie
>
>
> On Jan 14, 2008, at 10:13 AM, Steve Jerrett wrote:
>
>> Allen,
>>
>>
>> Does he have his license yet?
>>
>> If so, I would seriously consider suspending his driving
>> privileges. If he
>> makes those kinds of decisions with you in the car, who knows what
>> he does
>> if you are not there?
>>
>> Why are you debating with him?  Inform him that he not only needs
>> to follow
>> the State Motor Vehicle Laws but your rules also. If he wants to
>> make up his
>> own rules, he needs to do so when he turns 21 with his own car and
>> insurance
>> policy. It is your responsibility to ensure that he is capable of
>> driving
>> without undue risk to the safety of himself and others.
>>
>>
>> Steve
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "+rlo" <rlo42 at yahoo.com>
>> To: "Forest Grove local interests list" <grovenet at rdrop.com>
>> Sent: Monday, January 14, 2008 9:19 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Grovenet] Driving Help Needed
>>
>>
>>> Again, another example of idiotic thoughts. This scares me! It
>>> doesn't
>>> matter if it's against the law or not...it is certainly against
>>> the law of
>>> common sense!
>>>
>>> Allen Warren <osubuckeye59 at yahoo.com> wrote:  Last evening
>>> approximately
>>> 9:00 PM I was traveling north on Highway 47 with my 16-year old son
>>> driving, approaching the intersection at Highway 8. Approximately 100
>>> yards from the traffic signal the light changed to red. After
>>> stopping for
>>> the signal, my son put the drive gear in Park and turned off the
>>> car. It's
>>> important to note that when the motor is turned off the computer
>>> automatically turns off the lights.
>>>
>>> In a panic I asked, "what's wrong? why did you turn off the
>>> car?!". His
>>> reply: "Since we're going to be sitting here for awhile I wanted
>>> to save
>>> gas so I turned off the car." As you might expect, I told him to
>>> immediately start the car and turn the lights on.
>>>
>>> After my heart rate and blood pressure neared their normal levels, I
>>> informed my son that for the very short period of time we would be
>>> waiting
>>> for the traffic signal to turn green, we would actually use a
>>> little more
>>> fuel and it would be an extra load on the car's system to restart vs.
>>> sitting idling. I also informed my son that not only was it *NOT*
>>> safe to
>>> sit in a parked car with headlights off in a traffic lane at night
>>> but
>>> that I believed it to be against Oregon driving laws.
>>>
>>> My son was open to the potential of the no-real gas/energy savings
>>> answer
>>> being true (but still debated, as is normal for him) but argued that
>>> turning off the vehicle and sitting there in the dark was *NOT*
>>> unsafe as
>>> he said it was a well-lit area, and he also argued it wouldn't be a
>>> traffic violation. I argued it was unsafe because even though it was
>>> indeed a well-lit area and we were stopped at a red light signal,
>>> we were
>>> sitting in a car, in a traffic lane, with no lights on at night. I
>>> also
>>> informed him that unless the car was disabled and could not safely be
>>> moved to the side and off the roadway, deliberately parking a car
>>> in a
>>> traffic lane was a violation. He continued to argue his point this
>>> morning.
>>>
>>> I've looked on the DMV website and can't find actual text validating
>>> either of our positions. Does anyone know if what occurred last
>>> evening
>>> would be considered a violation under Oregon Motor Vehicle driving
>>> laws?
>>>
>>> Thanks in advance for your help,
>>>
>>> Allen Warren
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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