My 16 year old wants a moped - I really don’t want him to have one

[JustlookingNotbuying]

Ds is 16 and wants a moped.
He has applied for a few apprenticeships but they are a good 15+ miles away. We are semi rural wand don’t have a particularly great public transport system. The apprenticeships he has applied for are all quite rural too and it would take him 2+ hours on 3 buses (each way) and cost quite a bit.
He is 17 at the beginning of October and we have paid for an intensive driving course so hopefully will be driving a car sometime soon(ish) but obviously he needs to be able to get to his new job and a moped does seem like the only real answer.
I just hate the thought of him on a moped. He is a very sensible lad but it’s other drivers which scare me. Especially as dh’s friend accidentally killed a young girl on a moped a few years ago, I still can’t ever get that out of my mind.
Would you allow your dc to have or has used a moped?

I rode a moped for years and was fortunate not to have any near misses, even on a busy main road. But I was hi-vized to the max and always very cautious when pulling out of junctions etc. However, i wouldn't ride it if there was even a hint of ice or snow - it was bloody lethal. Great for zipping out and about in fine weather but I was nervous if the road conditions were poor.

At 16 and on rural roads i would be nervous too I'm afraid and would be pinning my hopes on passing the driving test. Car accidents happen, of course, and young inexperienced drivers are vulnerable, but you are even more vulnerable on two wheels.

If he would only be on the moped for a few months then can you get him some motorbike lessons in the meantime?

No, I wouldn't. When my ds started his apprenticeship he was 16 and wanted the same, (he wasn't 17th until Feb) I agreed to drive him, despite it being out of my way, until he was old enough to learn in a car.
So for about 6 months, then he took the wheel with me as a passenger which gave him practice and experience, luckily he passed first time and has driven himself since then.
I understand that your ds wants a moped but same as you I had family ripped apart by motorbikes and I would not enable my son to drive one.

Me and my brothers all had mopeds when we turned 16, we lived 3 miles from the nearest poorly attended bus stop so it was a good way for us to get independence.

I think it was a great. I kept using mine till I was 19 despite having my car licence when I turned 17.

Had a couple of minor accidents but nothing serious and they were due to my really poor balance skills rather than other road users. Built up 3 yrs no claims discount before having to pay my first lot of car insurance, was used to budgeting for insurance, tax and petrol, had a lot of experience navigating roads but in a way that was limited to 30 mph and required me to be very aware of my surroundings and other road users.