I'll be right today dad.

DOC · 07-03-2007, 03:21 PM

As parents I'm sure we all we care for our kids as best we can to ensure that they find thier feet in the big world, as some may know our eldest daughter is at driving age and has undertaken driving lessons and has spent months driving around with my wife or myself.

Well last night the words came "I'll be right dad" you dont need to come with me anymore, so as a parent you know your time is up and you sit back and watch the the next gen take thier place.

So what happens is my daughter comes home shattered and in tears, yes she has stacked the new focus.

And now as parents you console your children, tell them everything is ok and people are important cars are not, they can be fixed.

My wife and I shared stories how when we were kids we had similar mishaps and it's part of the growing up experience.

Looking at the car it's a minor scrape down the back passenger side that will be easily sorted and probably more damaged pride than car.

Even as late as last night i went for a drive with her to re fuel, and we went for a run into the city, and i can say she is a very good driver and has never had a problem, so i ask what happened.

Well here it is, coming out of the car park on a bend, some ( yes i must say it ) Commonwhore driver came around the bend in the opposite direction doing a tokyo drift with the car in the centre of both sides, at speed

I asked my daughter why did you not just stop ? " I couln't it was an instand reaction to try and swerve or he would have cleaned me up.

In that she managed to just clip a parked car that was sitting out a bit far.

She has now gone back with my wife to leave her details for the owner of the clipped car " she said she tried to leave some details but had no paper or pen ", but we have said to her that she must do the right thing.

So where do you stand when you spend your money time and effort to teach the kids the correct way, only to have some brock racer take you out that is probably feeling a bit he man right now ? I'm not sure, but i do know we will continue to teach our children the right ways and as for the other guy if i can get some video footage from the car park, he might just find himself with a commodore shuved right up his a$$.

XRated · 07-03-2007, 03:34 PM

At least your daughter is okay Doc!

DODDO · 07-03-2007, 03:40 PM

Not being a parent myself, but a relatively young driver, and not as much experience as older people on the road, i can say it all comes down to time on the road.
Your driving skill level will increase with the more time you have on the road.
Correct me if im wrong, but this could have been a new situation for your daughter, so she acted in defensively within her level of experience.....if that makes sense. ie.(she thought this was the right thing to do at the right time and within her skill level). She may learn from this situation, so next time...if it ever happens, she may know what to do.

I hope your daughter is ok.

Cheers!!

Martyvan · 07-03-2007, 03:44 PM

Daughter is Ok, Car is fixable, and we can only hope that the 'other' driver ends up in a ditch or has his car confiscated for being a hoon just 1 too many times.....

EA2BA · 07-03-2007, 03:48 PM

She is fine, car can be fixed, live and learn, it was her first and I am sure it wont be her last idiot encountered on the roads, as long as she has not been left gun shy all is good.

Outbackjack · 07-03-2007, 04:19 PM

I know how you feel DOC. My daugter has been on the road for about 3 months now. She is 16, drivers a suzuki vitara, and so far so good. At least we live in a country town with lower traffic conjestion. I hope your daughter puts this behind her soon and the bogan hoon ends up wrapped around a pole someplace in a single car prang, and his next set of wheels are pushed along by his own hands!!

MotherNatureVer2 · 07-03-2007, 04:51 PM

It is surely a scary time as a parent. Im almost lucky .... the eldest is in Mt Isa... its more a catch 22 situation ..... I worry constantly about his saftey but at least he's not nagging me for a drive of the Sprint :P

My daughter is 15 and has already started the search for a car ........ I know she can handle a car in the paddock but as I keep on telling the kids it just isnt the same as being on the road with a heap of other idiots ........

Im glad you girl is OK matey & will be sure to make both of the kids read this just to prove that what I say is sometimes right ;)

kooky · 07-03-2007, 06:43 PM

Head to one of those commodore forums I'm sure the little twat is mouthing off about it......

zetec · 07-03-2007, 06:51 PM

All I can say is natural selection will take place and that ****er in the dunnydore will wrap himself around a pole soon enough, let's just pray to God he takes nobody with him... glad your daughter is OK.

347_XR8 · 07-03-2007, 07:02 PM

That sucks Doc. Glad to hear that she is ok.
I know I told my dad (who is also my boss) before i went out to a jpb today those fateful words of "I'll be right Dad".
Got up on a double storey roof to insepct it and find a good place to harness off...when i slipped. I didnt fall...but slide down the roof for a while.

Sometimes its good to be a worrying parent mate

XRQTR · 07-03-2007, 07:10 PM

Pete it sounds as though you have taught your young'n well (I'll give you the credit LOL), most inexperienced young drivers would just jam the brakes and get wiped out. Even though she hit the other car it will only serve to increase her observation skills in knowing what is around without actually having to look straight at it, kind of like a sixth sense.

As for any survaillance video, you will most likely have to make a report to Police and they will follow it up with the car park management, if you choose to use this as a defence for insurance purposes then i suggest you do this as soon as possible as the car park may erase tapes regularly.

5.0failane · 07-03-2007, 07:30 PM

Sounds like she deserves congratulating on keeping her nerve in that situation and you have obviously tought her well. My partner was in a similar situation when a comonwhore leaving tafe infront of his mates did the same thing but lost control went over the medium stip and hit her head on doing 70kph. She was luck only to be concussed and recieve a smashed ankle, and my 2yr old in the back got out of it with out a scratch. It is upsetting when no matter what you do your life is always in the hands of some to55er!

Jason[98.EL] · 07-03-2007, 07:38 PM

my hat comes off for you and your daughter Pete

just think about if she didn't have the right training and didn't take evasive action

it could have been 100 times worse than what it is

i just hope that when my little girl gets to that stage i can teach her the same traites

jason

AU2PWR · 07-03-2007, 08:13 PM

Good to see that she is alright

XRchic · 07-03-2007, 08:31 PM

Pete I am glad to hear she is fine. If she is the girl that I met, she is lovely and I hope she is ok. She seems like such a nice kid, so well behaved, polite, intelligent and sensible, so I would be very proud of yourself if I were you, given how she coped with it.

I think it is an unfortunate part of learning to drive sometimes, and part of growing up. When I was on my Ps, I wrote off a brand new car my parents bought me by not giving way properly on a busy road, I crashed my pizza delivery car into another pizza delivery car, I crashed another car my parents bought me into the back of the car in front of me on the way to work when it stopped dead (granny thought she saw a dog).

There were other minor incidents like doing a complete 360 on a wet road going too fast (didnt hit anything), and did a 180 and went backwards into a pole, denting the boot etc.

As for the Commie who hit her, well I would not be too quick to be toooooo harsh on him. He may have been quite young too, being a bit silly or showing off. While there is no real excuse for this, it also is common as is overconfidence. He has probably learned his lesson too, and I wouldnt assume he is on LS1 bragging about it and feeling like a man... probably far from it. I got hit once by a young guy being silly, and he did some serious damage to my car and copped it from his parents. He did feel genuinely sorry for what he had done and I think he really did learn something from it. Not all young blokes who drive Commies (or whatever), and who do something silly and have an accident are terrible people who are proud of causing damage... I could be wrong about this guy, but who knows?

Anyways, at least everyone is intact. Recently I have come to realise very much that a) life is more important than a car and b) even good people can do some very silly things.

Take care Pete.

normxb · 07-03-2007, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOC

As parents I'm sure we all we care for our kids as best we can to ensure that they find thier feet in the big world, .

I know exactly how you feel DOC , Daughter No1 has only weeks left before she's off her green "P's" . Her big adventure was to drive to Sydney for her holidays by herself , 3 1/2 hour drive from here , and we were worried All the time . Sigh of relief when she got home last Friday .

Daughter No2 has had her licence 6 months .

"I'll Be Right Dad" , yes , but being a parent you do worry , if you didn't you wouldn't be a good parent .

Mate , sounds like you've done a good job , with limited driving experience she averted what could have been something a lot worse . A slight bump is better than a big crash . She did well in the situation .

All you can do is teach and guide them to the best of your ability . Well done .

As long as she's Ok is the main thing , cars are only a Material possession .

Join the "worried parents club" Lol

Norm

adrianb · 07-03-2007, 10:11 PM

Glad the youngin is OK doc - most important!

I honestly reckon that its great that kids have to do all these supervised hours and stuff now to get their licence. Theres just no way of telling how you'll react when you lose control until it happens and unfortunately all too often theres no second chance.

What would be even better though is doing one of those defensive driving courses where they learn to brake in an emergency and in the wet and so on. When I'm teaching my kids to drive someday thats definitely what I'd be doing for them as soon as they're confident enough handling normal driving to do it.

DOC · 08-03-2007, 12:42 AM

Cheers all, i did not even expect a reply, but all is good, i just need to find a polish to remove dents, but some how i'm not sure it will buff out.

All is insured, all will be fixed, the next trick is getting the rider back on the horse.

Pete

Hunter · 08-03-2007, 12:53 AM

Heh, I remember when I had my first prang. And funnily enough, it was caused my idiots in a Commodore (but still my fault cause I hit someone else). Idiots were weaving all over a two lane, 60 km/h road. Idiots lived on a house on side of this road. Idiots think they can go from right hand lane to left hand lane without indicating and without giving the people in that lane a chance to react safely. People in front react, brake very hard, I react, but I'm too close for the braking ability of my vehicle at the time. Brakes lock, I ram the **** of another commodore (VR I think) at about 30 km/h and wrote it off

: I felt sorry for the guy cause he was from out of state and was planning to sell it. My car (a Gemini) actually came off quite alright - was driveable and no mechanical damage, just bent panels, bonnet, grille and headlights.

I remember calling my olds and going "Uhmmm, ahh, can you come to xxxxx?" "Why?" "Just come up" "Why?!?" "I had an accident. Everyones ok". "Oh... jeez, hang on I'll come up shortly".

Tow truck driver rocked up and told me the original bogandore drivers were well known to police for their driving ability (or lack thereof). I copped it sweet, paid the $950 excess (luckily it had comprehensive insurance when my aunt gave me the car). Then I had to buy a car (A FALCON!). 2 1/2 years on I'm still paying the Falcon off and regretting that bloody acco. I had money back then, now I have none! But its a blessing, rather than drive a HOLDON, I own a Ford now.

What did I learn? People are stupid and don't trust the person(s) in frnt of you. If you hit them up the ****, you don't have much chance of getting out of it.

:

Tuddy200 · 08-03-2007, 09:10 AM

For those that used the arguments about not being an experienced driver, i ask what has that got to do with it? If you are following the laws of the state then why do you need 20 years experience to dodge some idiot coming around the bend?

I could understand if it was a crash and yes maybe experience she could have done something different, but take it from me as a young driver myself, your not expecting someone flying around at you being idiots.

I'm glad your daughter is all good DOC, and she'll get back on the horse, i have hit a tree, and freeway concrete barriers (none for hoon or stupid driving either) and still driving. If it had of been me, i'd would have turned around sat on the guy's a$$ until he stopped or got his number plate.

normxb · 09-03-2007, 01:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G.J.Tuddy

For those that used the arguments about not being an experienced driver, i ask what has that got to do with it? If you are following the laws of the state then why do you need 20 years experience to dodge some idiot coming around the bend?

I could understand if it was a crash and yes maybe experience she could have done something different, but take it from me as a young driver myself, your not expecting someone flying around at you being idiots.

BECAUSE , a lot of inexperienced drivers would have panicked and stood on the brakes , I've seen it happen . Disastrous effect!

After driving for 37 years (20 yrs city/16yrs country) , I don't consider myself relatively experienced on the road till my mid 20's , even though I was racing cars at 20 .

I think everyone comes across different experiences when driving , doesn't matter how old you are . Don't forget , we didn't get to be an older driver without being a younger driver first .

DOC's daughter did well .

Quote:

Originally Posted by G.J.Tuddy

If it had of been me, i'd would have turned around sat on the guy's a$$ until he stopped or got his number plate.

Mmmm , I'd class that as slightly "inexperienced" or asking for trouble and I think it's called Road Rage .

Adrianb , Yep , good idea . But it's hard to get to advanced driving courses out here in the bush , so I used to take my daughters out on dirt back lanes and get them to brake suddenly Etc. so they felt what happens to a car in this situation . Also taught them smooth cornering , emergency braking without locking the wheels (no ABS) and most importantly "being aware" of what other cars are doing .

Just my .02c worth trying being a responsible parent .

I FluXx I · 09-03-2007, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 347_XR8

That sucks Doc. Glad to hear that she is ok.
I know I told my dad (who is also my boss) before i went out to a jpb today those fateful words of "I'll be right Dad".
Got up on a double storey roof to insepct it and find a good place to harness off...when i slipped. I didnt fall...but slide down the roof for a while.

Sometimes its good to be a worrying parent mate

lol. What do you do for work? My brother is my boss and I install foxtel. Where meant to use a harness but I rarely do because it takes to long to set it all up. Only once have I come really close to falling off a roof. I was on a tin roof and it started to rain. I sliped and slid all the way down the roof and almost fell off. I cut my hands up a bit on some tech screws which hurt a bit.

gtfpv · 09-03-2007, 04:01 AM

well DOC lucky you . your daughter has had an important lesson , and escaped injury free . LESSON = NOT ALL PEOPLE ARE GOOD PEOPLE , and unexpected things happen ;; now; as we all know she will have that little extra driving ability. and never have that nasty overconfidince when driving . glad to hear all is good . . if it makes her feel better show her this post . as i had an accident at 17 2weeks after driving on my own . i got confident again at 35 as it was a long while betweeen accidents, then 1 accident came along, i thought ; well thats the one that was coming, it's been 20 odd years, so i've had my miss fortune . ( wrong attitude) 1 week later another prang !!!!! i now have that very healthy respect for the road once again . rest assured DOC , you now can worry a little less . CHEERS

Schwinn · 09-03-2007, 12:11 PM

My Daughter's 9 months old....

Do I HAVE to let her get a car and licence???

Bill_R · 09-03-2007, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schwinn

My Daughter's 9 months old....

Do I HAVE to let her get a car and licence???

Nah. Just keep her at home in her cot for the next 25 years and you won't have a worry in the world. Forget boys, school, piercings, and all those other worrying things.

MotherNatureVer2 · 09-03-2007, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by normxb

[U

Adrianb[/U] , Yep , good idea . But it's hard to get to advanced driving courses out here in the bush , so I used to take my daughters out on dirt back lanes and get them to brake suddenly Etc. so they felt what happens to a car in this situation . Also taught them smooth cornering , emergency braking without locking the wheels (no ABS) and most importantly "being aware" of what other cars are doing .

Just my .02c worth trying being a responsible parent .

We think alike normxb ;)

Although my kids are younger and we have the paddocks for the kid to learn on. I always encourage the kids under supervision to give the cars a bit of stick so they can see what it does when they corner or brake. I know they do it when Im not around sometimes too .... but thats part of being a parent too .... you know when & where its been done :Reverend:

The only fear I have is when they actually have to go into the big wide world and have to share the roads ....... but thats when the education of the road really starts ........ I know it helps that they have vehicle control to start with though ;)