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Letting your kids drive the car? (teenagers specifically)

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Are you going to let your teenager drive your Tesla? I'm letting my 16 year old son use it to drive to school occasionally, at night when he wants to go out, and during the weekend when I don't need it. Thoughts?


 
Are you going to let your teenager drive your Tesla? I'm letting my 16 year old son use it to drive to school occasionally, at night when he wants to go out, and during the weekend when I don't need it. Thoughts?



Amanda? Yes. Olivia? No.

Each child has their own driving style. Amanda is careful. Olivia put my John Deere up a tree once. Try that yourself and see how hard it is.
 
So does Olivia not drive then? You'd think you'd want your least safe driver in your safest car, no?

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Olivia does not drive. She will not drive until she can prove to me she understands the physics of driving, let alone gives up the passion of attaining the impossible, when it relates to physics. As for driving (from time to time), it is not a matter of the child being coccooned in a safe frame, but rather the amount of dyspepsia and chest pain her father will have when he has to leave it at a body shop for a few weeks - or even worse, wrapped around a tree that has the markings of John Deere differentials on it.
 
No way. I remember what i did when I was 17. 125mph+, drinking, etc. My parents got me my own car for all these reasons. Fortunately, it was different times and nothing happened. The roads are more dangerous today, and a 16, 17 year old just does not have the experience to deal with all that arises. That is why you get them their own car; a car with all the safety features like airbags, antilock breaks, traction control, etc., but which lacks the raw power of a Tesla.

My son does not drive my MB sports car, nor does he want to. He is a safe driver (in that he does not take risks) but drives too fast (in my opinion). He is still wet behind the collar to be trusted driving a car like the model S. Too much power for an inexperienced driver.
 
"when handing your car keys to your kid, be sure that either the car or the kid are old enough."

The first car i drove had 40hp. I'm not sure I would be still around if it had 400. Model S would be great when having a PIN-secured "teen" mode with limited top speed, acceleration, and distance from home.
 
There are two views on what should be a first car:

A. Get a cheap used car because new drivers often get into accidents due to lack of driving experience. A cheap used car cost less when it gets wrecked.

- There is not much to say about this veiw. It's pretty self explanatory. It's also what most people do.

B. Get the safest car you can find because you can always replace a car but you can't replace the driver.

One of the safest cars out there is the Prius, and here's why:

1. There are four braking systems on the Prius:

- Regenerative brakes
- Friction brakes
- Engine brakes
- Parking brakes

2. Vehicle stability control:

- A system that prevents doughnuts during slippery conditions if you are going anything like a reasonable speed. Studies from Europe and Japan indicate that VSC reduces head-on collisions by over 30%.

4. Brake assist:

- A system that applies extra force to the brake pedal when it senses an emergency stop. Studies by Mercedes indicate that people press the brakes quickly but not hard enough. Brake assist compensates for this tendency.

5. Brake override:

- A system that stops the acceleration when the brake pedal is pressed firmly.

6. The smooth acceleration of the Prius (there are no gears that shift) helps prevent you rear-ending someone if they slow down right after stopping. (An old fashioned economy car typically has a very low first gear to disguise the fact the engine is small--this creates rapid acceleration up to about 10 mph after which the acceleration bogs down. The Prius smoothly accelerates up to it's maximum speed of about 105 mph which is controlled by the system.)

7. Optionally in the 2010 Prius:

- Radar pre-collision

- Lane keep

Many of these systems prevent the accident in the first place. The best accident is one you don't have.

I'd stay away from any SUVs, sports cars, or high-powered because beginning drivers just don't have the experience to handle them.
 
Funny story -- Years ago I left my brand new BMW (less than 200 miles on it) with my teenage son and headed out of the country on business for two weeks. When I got home, the car was in perfect shape sitting in the garage waiting for me, freshly washed. But strangely, it only had another 60 miles on it. In TWO weeks! With a TEENAGER. A BOY. Totally confused me.

When he got home, he told me what he'd done. Each day he pulled up to a luxury dealership in Boulder, CO (our home at the time). When the salespeople saw him, they assumed 'silver spoon' and threw him the keys to whatever he wanted to drive for the day. He drove Jags, Mercedes, Lexus', you name it -- and put no miles on my car.

Love that kid.
 
Olivia does not drive. She will not drive until she can prove to me she understands the physics of driving, let alone gives up the passion of attaining the impossible, when it relates to physics. As for driving (from time to time), it is not a matter of the child being coccooned in a safe frame, but rather the amount of dyspepsia and chest pain her father will have when he has to leave it at a body shop for a few weeks - or even worse, wrapped around a tree that has the markings of John Deere differentials on it.

Too funny. Perhaps she's the next Danika Patrick?

- - - Updated - - -

Love that kid.

Too bad he's adopted, eh? :tongue:
 
Funny story -- Years ago I left my brand new BMW (less than 200 miles on it) with my teenage son and headed out of the country on business for two weeks. When I got home, the car was in perfect shape sitting in the garage waiting for me, freshly washed. But strangely, it only had another 60 miles on it. In TWO weeks! With a TEENAGER. A BOY. Totally confused me.

When he got home, he told me what he'd done. Each day he pulled up to a luxury dealership in Boulder, CO (our home at the time). When the salespeople saw him, they assumed 'silver spoon' and threw him the keys to whatever he wanted to drive for the day. He drove Jags, Mercedes, Lexus', you name it -- and put no miles on my car.

Love that kid.

That's beyond clever. I don't think I ever would have thought of doing that.

The Model S definitely needs a valet and I guess a teenager mode though.
 
Funny story -- Years ago I left my brand new BMW (less than 200 miles on it) with my teenage son and headed out of the country on business for two weeks. When I got home, the car was in perfect shape sitting in the garage waiting for me, freshly washed. But strangely, it only had another 60 miles on it. In TWO weeks! With a TEENAGER. A BOY. Totally confused me.

When he got home, he told me what he'd done. Each day he pulled up to a luxury dealership in Boulder, CO (our home at the time). When the salespeople saw him, they assumed 'silver spoon' and threw him the keys to whatever he wanted to drive for the day. He drove Jags, Mercedes, Lexus', you name it -- and put no miles on my car.

Love that kid.
Haha. You taught him well. How many S test drives have you had, Bonnie? ;)
 
I'm hopeful that by the time my daughter is old enough to drive - 11 years from now - my MSP will be down to half its range and half its power. Then it'll be the perfect first car for her. :)

Some people may worry about long term battery degradation. Me? I'm banking on it!