Oh, boy... now what?

Remember Tommy: If they don't ask any questions, then you dont have to tell them anything! KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!!!

81gtv6 wrote: My kids will be going to one of those car control classes for sure.

I second this motion

914's post made me think of my teenage years and thinking ahead to what I'll be saying to mine in a decade or so. My kids are 4 and 2, and I got the "call us, we'll come get you, no questions asked..." speech from mom and dad, too. Never took advantage of it (probably should have a time or two, though...), but I expect I'll give the same talk to my kids one day, unless we're all back to horses and buggies by then.

Congratulations, Tommy- be careful out there. Plenty of idiot drivers out there stirring their coffee/ adjusting their iPod/ screaming at their kids instead of watching the road.

Mom and dad, good job, too- I don't know you guys at all, but from what I see on here, at least, you've raised a kid with his head on straight. :)

Does the panel think that the streets around Daytona will be safe again by April? Gotta visit the inlaws in Deland by then .

Congrats, Tommy! As everybody else said - and I'm sure you're sick of this already - be careful out there, there are a lot of people to whom a car is just an appliance and who don't care one iota as to what's going on around them. I'm sure you'll be fine and your parents will get used to it. In about 20 years .

The no questions asked picked up sounds like a really good idea.

A friend of mine has some kids that are coming up on that age. He also has an old Mercedes 190D (4 speed). I keep telling him that the 190 is a perfect first car. It has great brakes, must weigh 4000 lbs and has a grand total of something like 80hp!! Perfect! It would be REALLY hard to get in trouble with that thing.

I only have one thing to add. Tommy seems like a pretty mature kid, and with his time at autocrosses, is unlikely to drive like an idiot regularly. Here's my advice: When other guys at school try to egg you on, or make you prove you can drive fast well, don't take the bait. I know its tempting, but best to walk away, or turn it back around on them and try to get them to show up at an autocross.

Oh yeah, secondary advice, not as important, but if you get a chance, take the MSF Basic Rider course. Even though I didn't take it until I was 33, it did a great job of raising my awareness in traffic. Not to mention it was fun.