Good Dads Don't Let Kids Drive Porsches

[KnockOff]

18 yr. old daughter, Porsche 996 Cabriolet, 100+mph in traffic

[Truth Detector]

Holy crap.

Did she survive??

[roadracer]

I would say no.

Put them in tanks until they learn a little.

[KnockOff]

Fatal

[KnockOff]

I would say no.

Put them in tanks until they learn a little.

Agreed:

Kid Tank

[roadracer]

In the next day or two I'll try to post a pic of my younger son's first ride - which he totaled.

Slow, vault-like, bulldozer. Couple tons of non-handling German steel. On purpose.

Today he's fine and smarter. We could teach classes.

[Truth Detector]

Put them in tanks until they learn a little.

My 13 y/o daughter wants to inherit my Suburban. I like the idea of her being wrapped up in a big 'ol bunch of steel but I'm still struggling with that back seat I'd be giving her....

[comfortably numb]

I've provided my sons with beaters for their first cars knowing they would have their moments.

They did not prove me wrong---at least they were minor moments.

[R22]

wow just so sad.........

my daughter got a '79 98 olds and proved me right.
the son a '78 gmc 3/4 ton pu. and he proved me right too.

if you get them a "high performance" vehicle, then get them some
high performance schooling from a professional teacher. and some
on road experience. and skidpad training too.

shame on the parents that did this, but my
heart goes out to them.

parents, raise your children right.

sorry i'm so cold.

and i pray to God my kids have learned
what i've tried to teach.

that's a very sad pic, "just a moment, and the moment's gone.
dust in the wind"

[harrington.jack]

I just saw this, first thing in the morning. It just about completly broke, my already damaged heart.

[nascarnation]

I used the opposite approach
didn't want them to take out anybody else so we went with small stuff - Saturns - new with ABS /airbags / trac control but 2300 lbs. Luckily we never had the "big one"

BTW that Porsche crash shows the effect of high speeds, ie kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed

Trying to figure out the location - - is that a toll plaza - obviously it was not designed for a high speed approach - -on the interstates now the abutments are somewhat shielded with fluid or sand filled containers.

[skypigeon]

Think I've told this one before... I knew a kid in high school whose first two cars were beaters. He totaled both of them.

So--no joke--his father gave him a '63 Corvette Sting Ray.

Supposedly, his dad's logic was if the vehicle he drove had real value, he would drive it more carefully. And he did. Treated it like a baby; never had an accident again.

Different strokes, I guess... still doesn't make what happened to the young lady any less tragic and stupid...

[Bombardier R142]

When my mom was getting a new car around the same time my brother was getting his licence (which he would be driving) she looked at a Celica, but my dad figured it would be a bad idea to get something that sporty. It was a good idea as my brother spent the first year or so of his driving days beating the hell out of a '76 Grand Prix. I never even got to drive it, which was too bad. It had a t-top and everything, a real pimp-mobile. I ended up with an '81 Grand Prix.

Getting a kid a Porche is like getting them an M-16. They'll enjoy it, but it will end badly.

[crispy]

Unfortunately, the old Volvos are no longer the safest vehicles for a kid.

Safest would be something midsize with front and side-curtain airbags if cost isn't an issue. Still think it should be slow. Had I had a Stingray, I would have babied it, but I would have "got on it" too.

SUVs of any type, even cutesy small ones, are an absolute no-no. No 16-18 year old knows how to avoid an accident without rolling one.

[badmuzak]

I used the opposite approach
didn't want them to take out anybody else so we went with small stuff - Saturns - new with ABS /airbags / trac control but 2300 lbs. Luckily we never had the "big one"

BTW that Porsche crash shows the effect of high speeds, ie kinetic energy is proportional to the square of the speed

Trying to figure out the location - - is that a toll plaza - obviously it was not designed for a high speed approach - -on the interstates now the abutments are somewhat shielded with fluid or sand filled containers.

looks like a toll booth from the wrong direction...check out the sign...it is facing the other way

[Bombardier R142]

looks like a toll booth from the wrong direction...check out the sign...it is facing the other way

I don't think that's what she initially hit as the adbutment doesn't seem that worse for wear. You'd think a high speed impact would damage it a lot more.

[KnockOff]

Initial news report said she was driving through traffic at 100+, clipped a Honda Civic which spun her out of control, across the median and oncoming traffic, then hit the toll building.

Note the height of the impact on the door. I think she must've been cartwheeling because there are no scar marks on the pavement, just a tire mark on the curb.

btw: accident reconstruction has always fascinated me

No injuries in the Civic, but they were very, very lucky. The median between lanes had no barrier, just an unpaved area and wire cable.

[nascarnation]

SUVs of any type, even cutesy small ones, are an absolute no-no. No 16-18 year old knows how to avoid an accident without rolling one.

My buddies kid (age 16) did that in the hs parking lot with an S10 Chevy Blazer.
Only by some miracle was the unrestrained passenger ejected thru the open side window and come out not seriously injured.

[shawn67]

SUVs of any type, even cutesy small ones, are an absolute no-no. No 16-18 year old knows how to avoid an accident without rolling one.

I never did like their (SUV's) center of gravity...are any of those three cylinder Geo Metros still around??....that and a five point harness

[NDGator]

It makes me sick to watch parents buy their kids these cars.

If the kid buys a junker, it will be GOLD to him and they'll treat it better as well as understand the inherent costs if it is wrecked.

Keep the silver spoons on the table.

Next thing you do is work overtime to put your kid through college, while they treat summer vacation as a vacation.

Responsiblity taught at a young age is much better than having an indebt 30 yr old child still being weened from your pursestrings.

[Sea Fury]

Getting a kid a Porche is like getting them an M-16. They'll enjoy it, but it will end badly.

Well, when I was that age I had an AR-15, and the next year I got a Monte Carlo with a rat motor in it. I'm still around. Reason: Even then, I wasn't an idiot....

[Marc P. Gregoire]

My dad bought me a Buick Regal, the thing was just constant problems, a new electrical issue every day, etc. We were both looking for something to replace it and he kind of regretted picking it up.

I rode that car so hard though, triple digit cruising speed on the highway, driving a thousand plus miles a week, etc.

I think I went through a set of front brake pads in 8,000 miles, I didn't burn the tires off it because smokeshows are a good way to break transmissions.

I did so much stupid stuff with it, and the one night I wasn't trying too hard, I wrote it off. Stupid thing, it looked driveable but I bent the front subframe sliding into the ditch on a patch of wet clay on an otherwise drivable gravel road.

If I'd have been doing something crazy, I'd have been paying more attention and not got myself into that bind. Teach your kids to drive within their limits, and keep their head up, most importantly of all.

The vehicle I got to replace it had such low limits that other than straight-line velocity I could not get into trouble with it. Well, driving related trouble...

[autoracingfan2]

My 13 y/o daughter wants to inherit my Suburban. I like the idea of her being wrapped up in a big 'ol bunch of steel but I'm still struggling with that back seat I'd be giving her....

That's a large vehicle for a first car.

I would say an older model full size car; that's what I had. Large enough protect the kid yet small enough to give the other party a chance. Just IMO of course.