The idea of letting your teen loose on the roads is unthinkable. At 16, they aren’t ready to be behind the wheel and take on traffic. They are too young and immature to hold a license. According to most parents, they are better off learning to drive later on in life. They are one hundred percent better off without a vehicle for the first year.
This is a contributed post and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Meet The Harris Family.
So, the fact that the post advocates teenage drivers is a little off-piste. But, there is a good reason for coming out of left field. In fact, there are four and you can find them all underneath. Please, read on before making up your mind.
Independence
At the moment, they rely on their parents for everything. Mom, I need a ride to school. Mom, can you pick me up from soccer practice at 7? Mom, what’s for dinner? Okay, learning to drive isn’t an answer to the last question but it solves the other two. After all, they are free to get themselves from A to B without mom or dad in the car. As long as they are responsible enough, the kids can drive to practice, to school, and everywhere else that is close-by. Plus, the designated driver can help out the others, too, freeing up more “me” time for a certain someone.
Safety
Keeping them safe is the exact reason you want to steer them away from a car. In the USA, the stats don’t make for pleasant reading. There are up to 6 million fatalities each year on the roads, and the majority of them include motorists under the age of 21. Think about the alternative, though. Imagine if they decided to get a motorcycle instead. The law offices of Emroch & Kilduff deal with enough settlements each year to know that a chopper is a dangerous piece of kit. As the saying goes, it’s better the devil you know than the one you don’t understand.
World View
The first thing they’ll do when they get a license and have access to a car is to plan a road trip. There is nothing like traveling the world, and young minds are obsessed. Imagine the partying, the freedom and the overall experience. Parents do, which is why they kill the plan in its tracks. You may want to hold on before outlawing their vacation plans because traveling has its benefits. For one thing, they’ll have the time of their life and you don’t want to get in the way and be the bad guy. Secondly, it’ll open their eyes to the world and encourage them to grow up.
Career
The way the industry is going autonomous cars will be the vehicles of the future. Still, this is one reason to own a license. Driving is a skill and may be more lucrative when there are code glitches. Being able to drive a stick shift may help their career. In the present, this is the case because employers want candidates who are independent.
