Teenage Girls With Cars Are More Lethal Than the Atomic Bomb

[carbonmotion]

My 17 year old niece, Nina, was picking me up from the airport in her brand new Ford Mustang GT500. We drive fifteen minutes out side of the airport and she blows a stop sign, slamming some poor bastard at 45 miles per hour right in passenger side door. Nina goes out to talk to some middle aged guy in his bent Nissan. They argue about who's fault it is (clearly hers). She calls her boyfriend to get him to convince the guy that he's at fault (high school football player). She hands middle aged guy the cell phone and quickly the conversation is reduced to profanities. The guy gets his cell phone out to call the cops to settle this. Nina, jumps back in to the car and races away. I was watching up to this point, but now I feel like I have to participate. When we're about a block away, I tell her to stop the car. I drive back, profusely apologized to the middle aged man and we exchange insurance information.

I don't remember being this irresponsible when I was her age. I wonder if its just a case of bad parenting or if its something more.

 

[mr.stinki]

I think i'll have to go with door Number 1...

 

[killmoms]

Remind me to never fly into IAD at the same time as you.

 

[ArmyKnight12]

Jeez, that's pretty bad. You should have driven even though it was her car. I personally think the driving age should be raised to age 18. Sixteen is too early and most of the kids are very immature and take too many risks on the road (ie drag racing, excessive speeding, drinking while driving). Kids don't realize that this isn't a video game. Anyway, I think you did the right thing by driving back. Hope everything turns out ok.

 

[sammich]

Jeez, that's pretty bad. You should have driven even though it was her car. I personally think the driving age should be raised to age 18. Sixteen is too early and most of the kids are very immature and take too many risks on the road (ie drag racing, excessive speeding, drinking while driving). Kids don't realize that this isn't a video game. Anyway, I think you did the right thing by driving back. Hope everything turns out ok.

Totally agree. Down here is Australia, we aren't allowed to drive 'high performance' cars until we get our full licence (Learners at 16yo (min 1yr) -> Provisional 1 (1yr) -> P2 (2yr) -> Full). So we need to have driven for 4 years until we can drive anything with a turbo (minus diesels), or V8's.

Wow, a brand new GT500, absolutely, wow <drools>.

 

[killmoms]

Wow, a brand new GT500, absolutely, wow <drools>.

God. This is the part that gets my goat. Teenagers should never be given brand new cars, ever. Teenagers should never be GIVEN cars, PERIOD. If a car is that important to them, they can work for it, and pay for a used car themselves. They'll still be more careful and take better care of it, because they had to put the time into earning it.

 

[ryannel2003]

I think handing any teenager the keys to a brand new Mustang is a problem in the first place... I was lucky to have a $10k budget on my car, and as soon as I got it was job hunting. There was no joy ride for me.

 

[abijnk]

...her brand new Ford Mustang GT500...

...I wonder if its just a case of bad parenting or if its something more.

The truth shall set you free!!!!!

Sounds like a case of too much money and not enough sense to me. Honestly, what were they thinking??? And by they I mean the parents. Hard to blame the kids when the parents are so obviously out in left field...

And on a side note, its not just teenage girls...

 

[Prof.]

She hit and ran??? Dayum!

 

[dukebound85]

I think handing any teenager the keys to a brand new Mustang is a problem in the first place... I was lucky to have a $10k budget on my car, and as soon as I got it was job hunting. There was no joy ride for me.

10k is a nice amount to just be given for a car i think lol

regardless, if i were a parent, the car would be sold once isurance fixed it and she would have to but her own and deal with the rise in insurance

 

[marykay9507]

The truth shall set you free!!!!!

Sounds like a case of too much money and not enough sense to me. Honestly, what were they thinking??? And by they I mean the parents. Hard to blame the kids when the parents are so obviously out in left field...

And on a side note, its not just teenage girls...

It is definitely not just teenagers either-- I am so sick of people paying more attention to their phone, drinks, etc (basically anything BUT the road) when they are driving-- the kids in my area are extremely spoiled and when you drive past the high school, all you see are Mustangs, BMWs, and large SUV's which they can barely see over the wheel-- very very dangerous, but at least the cops in my town are vigilant about being near the "main drag" n front of the high school when the kids get out to prevent them from racing.

 

[ryannel2003]

10k is a nice amount to just be given for a car i think lol

regardless, if i were a parent, the car would be sold once isurance fixed it and she would have to but her own and deal with the rise in insurance

Oh I completely agree. My parents were originally going to do it at $5k, and even then I would have been happy.

 

[quagmire]

Surprised no one has no one has brought this up, but WHAT IS A 17 YEAR OLD TEEN( male or female) DOING IN A GT500!?!?!?! Buying them a GT is bad enough, but a 500 HP car? Wait, does she live in Potomac?

 

[ryannel2003]

Surprised no one has no one has brought this up, but WHAT IS A 17 YEAR OLD TEEN( male or female) DOING IN A GT500!?!?!?! Buying them a GT is bad enough, but a 500 HP motor. Wait, does she live in Potomac?

It's not as bad as the 18 year old that had a BMW M5 and then killed himself and 4 friends going 160mph and wrapping it around a tree.

 

[juanm]

I don't remember being this irresponsible when I was her age. I wonder if its just a case of bad parenting or if its something more.

Yeah, the short answer is that she's spoiled, but in my opinion it's deeper than that. You don't give such car (400+hp!) to some –obviously dumb– kid who doesn't know how to drive (running stops signs) and who's not mature enough to even admit it was her fault.

You obviously did the right thing (although I'd have slapped her before driving back ).

 

[quagmire]

It's not as bad as the 18 year old that had a BMW M5 and then killed himself and 4 friends going 160mph and wrapping it around a tree.

While she didn't kill anyone, both the M5 and GT500 both weigh about the same, both have 500 HP( GT500 has the torque advantage) and does 0-60 in <5 seconds. It is just as bad, but luckily she didn't end up killing them.

 

[ryannel2003]

While she didn't kill anyone, both the M5 and GT500 both weigh about the same, both have 500 HP( GT500 has the torque advantage) and does 0-60 in <5 seconds. It is just as bad, but luckily she didn't end up killing them.

Yeah true, never thought of that. What does an '08 M5 cost, i'm too lazy to look it up? No kid needs a GT500, let alone a M5.

 

[quagmire]

Teens shouldn't have anything with more then 252 HP( I only add the two HP because my Aura has 252 HP ). They need a car that has enough power to pass and get them out of a sticky situation, but won't cause a situation.

 

[swmr]

How many of those posts are actually from teenagers. Most of you made generalizations that are not fair. I have plenty of friends who are fantastic drivers, and I have plenty more that I would never let drive me around. Teens can be different, and the type of car they are in has no effect on it. If anything, my friends with nicer cars try harder to not crash them. As far as power, I have a '99 Acura 3.2TL w/ V6 engine that was FREE from my grandparents. 225 HP with 216 foot pounds of torque. Yet I still follow speed limits, stop at stop signs, and I am accident free.

Hopefully your niece has learned a lesson. I was in a serious car accident where we wrapped around a tree. No drinking or drugs, no poor decisions, just a blown out tire and we lost control. Fortunately, all three of us lived. It was a 80's Wrangler with no airbags and it was a miracle that we did not roll that thing over. The driver of that car is still a good friend of mine and he is one of the best drivers I know.

Also, age is not a factor. In CT you cannot get a permit until 16 and a license six months later at the earliest. Most people are 17 before they get it. It comes down to practice and hours on the road, skills with driving, and overall maturity. If you start early enough, a fourteen-year-old could learn to be a better driver than any of the people who belong to these forums. However plenty of my friends still wreck their cars because they are just immature and stupid on the road. I have not lost anybody I know personally, but CT has recently lost 7 high school kids to teen driving...

I guess the point I am trying to make is that the generalizations some of you have made do not apply to all teenage drivers. Your niece obviously made a really bad mistake, and I am in no way trying to defend her, but not all drivers in high school are as bad your her. Who knows, maybe she just missed the stop sign that one time and had a bad day? (Yea right...)

Teens shouldn't have anything with more then 252 HP( I only add the two HP because my Aura has 252 HP ). They need a car that has enough power to pass and get them out of a sticky situation, but won't cause a situation.

That is ALOT of horsepower...

maybe if you meant 152? lol in like a honda straight 4 cylinder? As I said above, I have 225 horse in an Acura 3.2 TL and my car will certainly pass when I need it to.

 

[apsterling]

I'd gladly take a '90 or later Civic. That's all I want/need when I get a car in a few years.

That said, I was nearly run over three times today on my bicycle, once this morning (I was wearing a bright blue shirt, too) when an SUV pulled out and didn't see me. I managed to stop 5 or so feet short. Second was also on the way to school, in the parking lot, I wasn't watching both ways and almost got tapped by a minivan.

Worst one was this afternoon. Some guy was watching a car crash scene and didn't see the light had turned red. I saw, and the guy on the road next to me (thinking I was heading in to the road) honked at me and the light-runner as a warning. Three police saw the guy, too. (Needless to say a patrol car took off after him)

Gotta love teen drivers!

 

[quagmire]

That is ALOT of horsepower...

maybe if you meant 152? lol in like a honda straight 4 cylinder? As I said above, I have 225 horse in an Acura 3.2 TL and my car will certainly pass when I need it to.

Well the Aura is a Mid Size family sedan. Not exactly designed for speed, but the 252 HP out of the 3.6 V6 is nice. I like the fact I only have to rev to 2000-2500 RPM to get decent acceleration from a stop and not 3000 RPM in 4 bangers. I also like that the 251 lb of torque is made down low( 3200 RPM) so again I don't have to rev high like 4 bangers require. 252 HP in a family sedan won't create a situation, but anything more will start to cause trouble.

 

[abijnk]

Teens shouldn't have anything with more then 252 HP( I only add the two HP because my Aura has 252 HP ). They need a car that has enough power to pass and get them out of a sticky situation, but won't cause a situation.

If I can get around fine in my Hyundai Elantra 1.8L I-4 on the 405 in Los Angeles California, anyone saying they need more to get out of a "sticky situation" is pulling your leg so hard they should be arrested for assault.

 

[chrmjenkins]

With all due respect, I think the author needs to talk to his sister/brother about their child. No parent should allow a 17 year old to own that kind of car.

1. If it is handed to them, they have no sense of personal accomplishment or responsibility.

2. Buying them a car that gets that poor gas mileage is setting them up to be poor citizens. No one should get the idea that it's cool to drive something that gets 13 mpg just because their friends will be jealous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

 

[quagmire]

With all due respect, I think the author needs to talk to his sister/brother about their child. No parent should allow a 17 year old to own that kind of car.

1. If it is handed to them, they have no sense of personal accomplishment or responsibility.

2. Buying them a car that gets that poor gas mileage is setting them up to be poor citizens. No one should get the idea that it's cool to drive something that gets 13 mpg just because their friends will be jealous.

Absolutely ridiculous.

2 is absolutely ridiculous. The rare teen driving a sports car like that is nothing compared to the teens driving all these SUV's. 2 is that a car like that will get them killed and it almost did in this case( and did with the M5).

 

[ryannel2003]

My car has 135hp, and yet I still manage to speed a little bit. It really depends on the driver though in some situations. I drive my grandpas Impala SS sometimes and do not act like an idiot. It really comes down to how you handle yourself, and some teens can not do that.