Another important milestone was reached here recently, another step taken towards adulthood and self-sufficiency. The teenager is now officially licensed to begin practicing driving, written test past and knowledge of the state’s laws and regulations demonstrated. We are still a ways away from requests to borrow the keys and nights spent pacing with worry but the first steps there have been taken.
I fear that once again the reason for my trepidation lie in my own past, a sixteen-year-old with a car faster than he should have been driving and a penchant for showing off in front of his friends. She’s older than I was, nominally wiser, and faces stricter state laws than I did at the time. New drivers are prohibited from driving with other teens for the first six months and are only allowed immediate family under twenty years old for the second six. She’s old enough to not be required to follow the state’s driving curfew but still will remain beholden to mine.
None of which changes the fact that motor vehicle accidents are still the leading cause of death among 15-20 year olds and that as a parent to a teenager worrying and nagging are how I spend the vast majority of my time. Anything that can be done to lower the frequency of either is going to be appreciated by us both.
One way I’ll be able to do that is by trying to put her in the safest vehicle possible. Once she leaves the house I can’t control what she does and even more alarmingly can’t control the actions of other drivers but I can control what she is driving.
cars.com will help me with that, not only by helping me find a quality vehicle for sale in my area but by providing either an Autocheck or CARFAX report to review and by providing easy research options on different makes and models.
One way I’ll be able to do that is by trying to put her in the safest vehicle possible. Once she leaves the house I can’t control what she does and even more alarmingly can’t control the actions of other drivers but I can control what she is driving.
cars.com will help me with that, not only by helping me find a quality vehicle for sale in my area but by providing either an Autocheck or CARFAX report to review and by providing easy research options on different makes and models.
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Previously published on thirstydaddy
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Photo credit: Jeremy Barnes