To not let 15 year old drive my children around?

[Shabooboogaloo]

Just back from half term with family in USA.
Where they live 15 year olds can drive (!) due to crap local transport.
15 year old DN has been driving to school, around town etc for 6+ months and was apparently excited to get to take my kids (10 and 12) out in the car to the local coffee place a few miles away. On their own.

Now - if they were walking I would have let the 3 get on with it, go out together but there was NO WAY I was letting them go out in a SUV in a city on their own.

Had a quiet word with the mom to that effect. Everyone thought I was the ultimate buzzkill and a bit insulting to the 15 year old. my offer to go with them was shot down. The trip didn’t happen.

YABU - fun police! It would have been fine and the 15 year old would have been able to handle it sensibly.

YANBU - 15 is too young to be responsible for young passengers, too young to be in the roads alone in fact.

‘Actually potentially safer to drive there with wider roads, easier parking etc.’

I have to say that I’m not sure I agree! Interstate sure, but in towns and cities I find the 4/5/6 lanes extremely intimidating and the volume of traffic insane.

the US has 4 times more road deaths than the UK per capita so I'd agree that their roads are clearly not safe. The highest amount of deaths is 15-24 year olds. The graph makes it appear that more older people are killed but all the other age groups span 20 years rather than 10. Historical Car Crash Deaths by Age Group - Injury Facts (nsc.org)

No way! I'm not a fan of teens driving other people around - they simply don't have the maturity/experience for it to be safe. I have a lot of familiarity with that age group and they're children!

Personally I would accept that if the kid is legal driving age and has a licence and insurance then it's probably fine. Especially if I knew the parents. Driving in the US is quite different as the roads, cars etc are so much bigger. He'll be driving automatic and must be familiar with that car and the local area. If the local amenities are several miles away it won't be practical to walk everywhere. I guess you suggest pushbikes...but I'd imagine they would lose their allure pretty swiftly when given the option of an SUV.

Omg, of course not! I wouldn't let a 15-year old babysit let alone drive my child around 😱

I'd raise the minimum legal driving age here to at least 18 - teenagers have notoriously poor judgement and are prone to showing off.

My car was once hit whilst parked on the street outside our house by a newly-passed 17-year-old lad, who was driving around with 4 mates as passengers. We heard the screech as he - driving far too fast up our suburban road - had to brake because a car was oncoming and he was unable to avoid hurtling into the back of my car.

No! I wouldn't trust anyone until they're 25! stats show anyone under 25 with friends are a clear hazard. I say this with experience - of me being a very show-offy teenager.

I'm often the buzzkill with inlaws family, it really sucks when they all gang up against you. Stay firm!

This further cements my thinking that I have zero desire to ever visit the USA. We may share a language but in terms of culture, its like a different planet.

it does vary from state to state but it is huge generalization to say the test and getting the license is easy, I live in CA and while you can get a permit at 15 1/2 after studying for a written yet (you are required to take an online class as well as just studying) you then have to wait 6 months till getting an actual license and are also required to have a certain number of professional lessons. A 15 yo can’t just drive around a car park and get a license! The road death numbers are reflective of the fact that more teens drive in the US than the UK, and a much higher percentage of the population drive on a regular basis, British people love to use that as a negative because there isn’t good public transit but that is mainly geography based because the country is much bigger and more spread out. Hardly a reason to never want to visit a whole country!

YABU. Do you know how much a young driver has to do in the USA do get their driving license. Before they're even allowed in car they have to go through safety training, they have to prove they're competent. Then they have to put in a set number of hours with an instructor, before sitting another test that allows them to go forward and drive for another set number of hours with a named family member (who also has to prove competency) before they can even consider taking a test. And even then they need to do a number of solo hours before they're allowed passengers without the previously named family member. Also the USA has the lowest rate of young driver accidents anywhere in the world, because even getting a parking ticket would mean they lose their licence until they're 18!

It's a lot stricter than it is here in UK, where you can take your theory test before your 17th birthday and take your test on your 17th birthday without any previous on road experience (a friend's son has just done this)

Your kids, your rules. Our kids have only ever been in the car with myself, my DP & my parents. We don’t even use the school
transport we could use.

Guess you have to make your own judgement on their competence.

Surely the issue is though you don't let kids go in a car with anyone you consider to be an unsafe or reckless driver, irrespective of their age.

‘can take your theory test before your 17th birthday and take your test on your 17th birthday without any previous on road experience (a friend's son has just done this)’

well fair play to anyone who can pass the U.K. driving test without having driven on a road - that’s extraordinary! The number of adults I know who didn’t pass first time …
The UK pass rate is under 50% so half of all people fail - regardless of age.

I think you’ll find that you’re in the minority there. Driving in California the level of road rage and speeding was genuinely quite scary. I lost count of the amount of near misses we had, DD was even almost hit as a pedestrian crossing the road.

The death rate via crashes per 100,000 vehicles is more than double of what it is in the UK. The UK driving test is also far more in depth + advanced - there’s a reason that a lot of Americans struggle to pass when they first come over here.

The first time pass rate for all ages is 52.6% in a manual car 38.9% in an automatic.

That’s absolute bollocks, @Pangolin101

They can apply for their provisional licence before they turn 17 and that’s it. Unless he qualifies for PIP then there is no way that he took the theory test at 16. They have to wait until their 17th birthday. You also cannot book a driving test until you’ve passed your theory so unless your friend’s DS is a miracle worker and managed to pass and find a test cancellation slot within the same day that did not happen. In most areas there’s a 3+ month wait to get a slot. As for passing without any road experience, that is absolute BS and did not happen.

According to Gov.org the pass rate is 48.8 this year to, 48.4 last year, 48.9 for 2021/22 but why quibble over a couple of % the main gist is - HALF of people fail but some 17!year old apparently passed without even driving on roads…

Happy to take that, I did say that it was my experience. I haven't driven in California, so can't comment. Over the last 30 years, it has only been in and around New York state.

‘It's better than here from my experience.’

I too disagree - I have a theory that it’s because all the cars ( the majority) are automatic so it’s easy to swerve in and out of lanes with not thinking about gear changes to slow you down. That and the false security wider roads and BIG BIG cars give drivers.
And don’t even get me started on the DUIs! Driving under the influence just doesn’t carry the same stigma in the USA - you should see the size of some of the car parks attached to bars.

Only on Mumsnet 🤣

i think you made the right call-i know theyre different over tere but i still think its too young to ferry oter kids about

my friend in florida just took her test and said she didnt leave te car park-thats worrying to me

Ludicrous to let a 15 yo drive at all, and still worse to consider sending little kids out with them.

If nothing else, thing of the responsibility that puts on the 15 yo - responsible for a machine capable of killing (which a car is) and for the safety of younger children on the road with all and sundry in charge of similar.

Ive no doubt my 15 yo could physically drive and control a car if given the chance, but she shouldn’t be given that responsibility- even though she’s super responsible it’s not fair on such a young teen.

I started to learn at 15 in the states and got my license on my 16th birthday. Used to drive friends and to school. Was never an issue. I wasn’t more distracted at that age than in my 30’s or 40’s. I can’t see the issue

There’s not a single state in the USA that doesn’t have restrictions on the driving license of teens - no one gets a full unrestricted license at 15.

Some states are actually a lot stricter with their teen drivers than the UK.

https://driversed.com/trending/which-states-have-driver-licensing-restrictions-teens

OP - it’s not outing to reveal the state you are in. Plus even if most kids drive there still will be buses for the state school high schools.

Test for adults is very different from teen drivers.