My son was coming up to driving age and I was copping a lot of flack about driver training from the chief. She has a new corolla and I have a 5.8 litre V8 and we didn't want him in either car. Under new laws, he needed 60 hours worth of log book driving. So I bought a 4 door 2litre manual sonata to learn on. He did the 60 hours, no cheating, passed the test and got his licence.
Two weeks later, he followed cars turning right at a green arrow and was rammed by someone coming the other way, ignoring the red light. He and his passenger are lucky to be alive. 2 weeks after getting a licence. Is this a record? It took me a year at least to write off a car when I got my licence.
The airbag deployed and the car is a writeoff. No witnessess apart from his passenger saw it and the passenger is classed as a bias wittness. So, it is his word against the other guy. Wipe one car and drain the bank account again.
I was living on an Island off burma in the 80's doing navigation for oil search. I should have stayed there.
two weeks is pretty quick.. In my first 6 months driving I wrote off my fathers car which had already been written off due to hail damage
by 12 months I had lost my liscence (twice) ..well it would of been twice if the court didn't take it off me the first time before my next appearance .
cars we can replace our kids not so..I know theres not a lot of positives in all this ..but thats one you can at least be thankfull for.
I'm also thrilled to hear dispite the death of the vehicle that its occupants are OK.
My youngest totalled two cars over an 8 day period a few years ago. She was also very lucky both times in as far as she wasn't hurt. I'm a big believer in saying prayers. She made me glad I did.
While I'm glad to hear none of the aforementioned teenagers was injured, it seems that people are accepting this as "normal" . Anyone who stacks 2 cars in 8 weeks needs about 12 months on foot or public transport (and a size nine up the posterior as well).
I learnt to drive when I was seven in a $30 FE Holden with three on the tree. I needed a booster seat, and my father put wood blocks on the pedals so I could reach them. By ten I could get and hold that FE in to four wheel drifts at any speed. By 18 I had years of driving experience in car control that most people never even get in a lifetime of driving.
I used to practice driving without using brakes or the clutch in city traffic. You should try it, it will save you a heap of fuel drag racing to get to the next red light like the rest of the suburbanite sheeple.
The only time I had a car written off was while waiting at the lights and a driver three cars back failed to notice that the traffic turning right was stopped at the lights, and the impact drove the taxi behind me in to me. I saw it coming, but I had nowhere to go. So I stood on my brakes as hard as I could, which stopped the driver in front of me recieving any damage (when stopped in traffic always leave enough gap so you can see the rear tyres of the car in front).
In 27 years of driving I have never crashed a car, never lost points, never had a speeding fine, and never had to lodge an insurance claim for or against.
I'm glad my father was such a wise man and good teacher to begin my education at such a young age. And that $30 has probably saved me many thousands of dollars, and maybe even my life.
In contrast a mates son wrote off the $6000 Ford his father bought him the same night his son got his licence. He was out with his friends and thought doing fishtails down a dirt road would be fun, till he lost it and wrapped it around a tree. His next car he didn't crash, just got 12 speeding fines in 6 months and lost his licence. His father had to drive him to work, and pay all the fines, or his son was going to prison.
Some kids never learn, because they get everything given to them, and it means nothing to them.
My advice is let him walk till he can buy his own car, and he might be a little more careful with it, after he has to walk in the rain to get around.
My youngest son , now 27 has had two cars, written off in the first 12 months of driving.
On both occasions he was 100% in the right.
First crash he wasn't even moving, and was hit by a young fellow, how had pinched his mothers car and had no licence.
The second one a clown pissed to the eyeballs totally him after running two sets of red lights on a duel carriage way.
He had saved and bought cars himself, the only thing i helped him do is hunt the second twit down as he actually drove his wreck from the scene, leaving his two female passengers standing on the road.
On his journey away from the scene he went through a round about, and I mean straight over the top, the flowers and plants were still in the damaged car, when I found it the next day parked in some side street not far from my place, by chance.
I had camera in hand and was photographing it when he turned up, he was nearly sober and admitted it was his, and was very ashamed of what he had done, and reported himself to the police.
I stayed in contact with him, and he agreed to pay 500.00 per month for my sons car, he keep his promise and didn't let me down, I hope he learned a valuable lesson, as after the final payment I have no idea what happened to him, but expect the police did their duty.
My son was not really injured, but now drives so carefully it is nearly dangerous.
Glad no one was hurt.
I wrote off my dads 1970 Ford Wagon 2 days after he bought it and 3 days after I got my licence. Not my fault twit ran a red light, I had witnesses, but he claimed he had right of way as he was on my right and I had to give way to him even though he had red light. Turned out he was a senior constable in the Mt Isa police at the time.
Took me only 4 months to write off my new Mazda 323 which was my first car , looking at some sexy school girls and I didn't even see the sharp corner in the road - I'm sure it wasn't there before I hit it , wound up in a ditch and near rolled the car - was lucky to survive the accident - really impressed the girls too.
After having my last car damaged in a hit/run some years ago, I decided its time to no longer own a car. So, after repairs I decided to sell it at the auctions. Ironically a few days before, the clutch started to fail. I didnt get that much for it anyway, the auctioneers made me an offer to buy it outright rather then go to auction, so I cut my losses and accepted. It was a Subaru Sportswagon. Ive never seen it round newcastle, so an out of towner must have bought it.
Only the middle and rear side was damaged, and it was properly repaired, whoever did get the car after replacing the clutch would have a car with an engine and gearbox as new, as I changed the oils more then twice as often as necessary, I was very fussy about maintenence.
My mums car was damaged while parked in front of our place an idiot neighbour was showing off reversing up the street and hit it. he was totally uninsured, and the damage was 5 grand. he was the son of a policeman too! he begged us to let one of his mates fix it. yeah right, it was a near new car. We took it to the dealers smash repairer and got insurance to pay (who would then bill the kid), costing us nothing.
A mate has had one car written off, and his new one dameged THREE times in collisions, NONE of them his fault. Goes to show theres a lot of really BAD drivers out there. I personally thing that if someone causes three at fault colisions, they should be banned from driving for life.
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I personally thing that if someone causes three at fault colisions, they should be banned from driving for life.
Dunno how much effect that will have... there's a saying I've heard that goes something like 'Laws work on the honest'..... or something like that.
It was reported recently in a local rag, that local Police are charging 40 - 50 unlicenced drivers a week , and that many of them were driving unlicenced cars.
Take a lawbreakers licence away - assuming they have one, banning them for life - if not already, whatever.... they're just going to drive again anyway.