What Would You Do If Your Son Got A Ticket For 80+ In A 25 MPH Zone?

[DodgeViper01]

I got a phone call a few days ago regarding an issue at a Florida Community College. Apparantly a student was driving his SRT and got nailed at 80+ in a 25 MPH School Zone. I know this is going to start the "a kid shouldn't have the car", etc. but what I wanted to know is, what would you do to your child if they came home is a ticket for 50+ over in a 25 MPH Zone? I honestly do not know what I would do as a parent if I had a child do something like this.

 

[Scratch]

Mine would be done driving for awhile...possibly look into a educational program on driving safety, as an option.
My 17 year old daughter thinks I'm kidding when I remind her about driving, which she drives good, but her cell phone and texting I feel could be an issue. She has been given fair notice, I only hopes she listens and fully understands the seriousness.

 

[rcl4668]

In my household, this woulds result in serious consequences, including but not limited to loss of driving privileges for an extended period (thinking maybe a year)? Also, haven't checked my state's statutes but a violation this severe may result in mandatory suspension of driving privileges until a certain age such as 18.

/Rich

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Is it really that difficult for parents to discipline their own kid?

You sell the Viper and buy him a minivan, that is if you absolutely have to buy him a vehicle at all. Case closed. Over.

But I suppose if a parent was dumb enough to buy their kid a Viper then it is possible the kid wouldn't have the genes to someday thank the ol' man for the "minivan" wisdom.

 

[Tusc]

Speaking from the same "I'm not a parent" (at least so far as I know) perspective, if it were my son or daughter and presumably a car I had bought them, they would be punished. They obviously need access to a car for school and work, but if... after all my education and explanation about responsibility and safety... they were caught going 80+ in a 25... it would represent to me that they must be freely disregarding those teachings, and often, to be caught... the SRT would end up home, disabled, and under a tarp until next Summer. A few months is a small price to pay if it means that perhaps this son or daughter won't end up killing or injuring themselves OR OTHERS by going 100 miles per hour down what sounded like a campus road where other kids will be out walking.

Here, sonny.... enjoy your grandmother's old Caprice.

Edit: I thought he meant the SRT 4-****** platform, not a Viper. If this was a Viper and he's hot-rodding around campus like a pompous ass, I don't think he yet has crossed the threshold of maturity from taking everything for granted to appreciating the value of what he has. In THAT case, car = gone. But to my reasoning, it is not because of the ticket itself - we all speed a little - but the circumstances and what is says about where his head is... or is not.

 

[rcl4668]

Is it really that difficult for parents to discipline their own kid?

You sell the Viper and buy him a minivan, that is if you absolutely have to buy him a vehicle at all. Case closed. Over.

But I suppose if a parent was dumb enough to buy their kid a Viper then it is possible the kid wouldn't have the genes to someday thank the ol' man for the "minivan" wisdom.

Chuck -- agree completely; no way I would give a 16-18 year old (or even a new college age student) something as powerful as a Viper. You might as well give the kid a gun with a few bullets in the barrel and tell them to go play russian roullette.

In the interests of full disclosure, I speak not only as a parent but as a kid who received a fairly nice sports car during high school as a reward from my parents. I was elated but that car also made me feel invincible when I was anything but. While I did not wind up having any catastrophic accidents or speeding violations with the car ("just" the occasional garden variety 80 in a 55), I had some close calls and did some incredibly unwise things.

/Rich

 

[AFL in NJ]

My father kept me VERY humble by making me beg to drive his '79 Dodge Diplomat (4 door) with a slant six engine (slow and gutless) and the headliner was falling and would rest in my hair as I drove. There wasn't much point driving this car fast, except to avoid the shame of being seen in it. If I was a parent and had the scenario you describe happen I would buy the ugliest, most hideous car I could find and ensure it couldn't out-accelerate a turtle and put a really good set of brakes on it....that way they'd be safe, but learn the lesson that you can't grossly disregard basic road safety.

Regards,
Aaron

 

[rcl4668]

My father kept me VERY humble by making me beg to drive his '79 Dodge Diplomat (4 door) with a slant six engine (slow and gutless) and the headliner was falling and would rest in my hair as I drove. There wasn't much point driving this car fast, except to avoid the shame of being seen in it. If I was a parent and had the scenario you describe happen I would buy the ugliest, most hideous car I could find and ensure it couldn't out-accelerate a turtle and put a really good set of brakes on it....that way they'd be safe, but learn the lesson that you can't grossly disregard basic road safety.

Regards,
Aaron

Great story. Before my "reward" car in high school I had to serve time in my dad's 1976 wood-paneled Plymouth Volare (Vooooollaaarreee) station wagon. Also gutless even though it was optioned with the venerable 318 cid V-8. But a Dodge Diplomat? I think that actually qualifies as child abuse in some states.

/Rich

 

[Flyntgr]

Simple answer: "Daddy'd take his V Bird away." I didn't let my girls drive mine until they were 30 years old, except the baby girl, who CAN drive a car thru the S's at speed, squealing out loud while doing it. They have all survived the experience.

 

[Scratch]

Chuck -- agree completely; no way I would give a 16-18 year old (or even a new college age student) something as powerful as a Viper.

I never even figured in the performance car aspect, that wouldn't happen. Mine want Beemers for peer status...so when they are allowed to drive again, I'd let them know, if they'd wash the cavalier, it won't look so bad

 

[Mike Dolan]

I can relate to that parent. When my daughter was 17 and had just started driving she got a ticket for 115+ mph.

As you might imagine, there were repercussions that lasted a while.

My wife and I were 500 miles away at the time, so she was really lucky she wasn't thrown in the slammer.

As parents we often assume our kids have judgement similar to a young adult, but that is often a rash assumption. The only thing that moderated my reaction was remembering similar stunts I had pulled at that age.

Mike Dolan

 

[FE 065]

You know they've got those GPS devices that will record where the car's been and how fast it's been going. I think you can monitor it all from a computer. That alone would keep a kid within speed limit..

-------------------------------
For sale:
Chrome ACR wheels & New SVS short shifter

 

[viperdude118]

You know they've got those GPS devices that will record where the car's been and how fast it's been going. I think you can monitor it all from a computer. That alone would keep a kid within speed limit..

-------------------------------
For sale:
Chrome ACR wheels & New SVS short shifter

That's like saying security cameras in banks are going to keep people from robbing them. They know the cameras are there, they do it anyway. You must not have kids!

 

[SweetRed04]

First, if the Viper was his, it would be sold.

Second, in IA he would be walking courtesy of the state.

Third, he would need to be walking or taking the bus to school.

I also think the kid should have never been put into such a situation having a Viper. Even if the kid were an actor and made his own money, I think that any responsible parent would keep this type of car away from their kid for his own safety.

I'm 51 and barely mature enough to drive my Viper responsibly!!

 

[dave6666]

In Texas, over 25 mph over the posted speed is considered reckless driving. Many counties in Texas are what they call arresting counties on reckless driving. In other words, that person or juvi or child would have gotten arrested. Go to jail, no options.

And yes I live in one of them there counties. And no, my child would never have driving privileges again in my jurisdiction. Never.

 

[AFL in NJ]

Dear Rich,

We used to go to baseball in one of my teammate's car, it was a pale-sickly yellow Volare wagon and we'd all pile in. Some of my greatest memories involved "squished hams", "moon-ing", etc. to families in their cars on the way to and from those baseball games. That Volare could barely get up moderate hills with us in it. Yep, the '79 Diplomat was sooooooooooooooooooo humbling, it detonated horribly above 3000 rpm and I prayed one day it would blow and it NEVER did!! I got stopped 22 times by the police in 2 years of driving (ages 16-18) and whenever I left my cruddy neighborhood in that car and it was the same everytime, searched for alcohol and drugs, then the officers would look at me all disappointed that I really was living this way and not selling drugs to get out or drinking my woes away. LMAO

Rich, that car must have been something, those early decal wood paneling appliques were so prone to bubbling and peeling, which made it so worse!

Regards,
Aaron

Great story. Before my "reward" car in high school I had to serve time in my dad's 1976 wood-paneled Plymouth Volare (Vooooollaaarreee) station wagon. Also gutless even though it was optioned with the venerable 318 cid V-8. But a Dodge Diplomat? I think that actually qualifies as child abuse in some states.

/Rich

 

[rcl4668]

Dear Rich,

We used to go to baseball in one of my teammate's car, it was a pale-sickly yellow Volare wagon and we'd all pile in. Some of my greatest memories involved "squished hams", "moon-ing", etc. to families in their cars on the way to and from those baseball games. That Volare could barely get up moderate hills with us in it. Yep, the '79 Diplomat was sooooooooooooooooooo humbling, it detonated horribly above 3000 rpm and I prayed one day it would blow and it NEVER did!! I got stopped 22 times by the police in 2 years of driving (ages 16-18) and whenever I left my cruddy neighborhood in that car and it was the same everytime, searched for alcohol and drugs, then the officers would look at me all disappointed that I really was living this way and not selling drugs to get out or drinking my woes away. LMAO

Rich, that car must have been something, those early decal wood paneling appliques were so prone to bubbling and peeling, which made it so worse!

Regards,
Aaron

Aaron --

Ahh, the high school memories: The only advantage of the Volare was that it could haul "stuff" which in high school meant three things: friends, girls and beer. The storage capacity of that car was approximately 12-15 teenagers or 6-7 kegs. It's amazing that although the car was a total pig and was the ugliest thing on four wheels, I have the most amazing memories of that car (both while in motion and parked).

Every time I see one one on the road which in increasingly rare, I smile.

/Rich

 

[XXX BLK]

I got a phone call a few days ago regarding an issue at a Florida Community College. Apparantly a student was driving his SRT and got nailed at 80+ in a 25 MPH School Zone. I know this is going to start the "a kid shouldn't have the car", etc. but what I wanted to know is, what would you do to your child if they came home is a ticket for 50+ over in a 25 MPH Zone? I honestly do not know what I would do as a parent if I had a child do something like this.

Beat him upside the head untill the white meat show and then throw him the keys to see how fast he can drive himself to the hospital for help. *** BLK

 

[DodgeViper01]

Dear Rich,

We used to go to baseball in one of my teammate's car, it was a pale-sickly yellow Volare wagon and we'd all pile in. Some of my greatest memories involved "squished hams", "moon-ing", etc. to families in their cars on the way to and from those baseball games. That Volare could barely get up moderate hills with us in it. Yep, the '79 Diplomat was sooooooooooooooooooo humbling, it detonated horribly above 3000 rpm and I prayed one day it would blow and it NEVER did!! I got stopped 22 times by the police in 2 years of driving (ages 16-18) and whenever I left my cruddy neighborhood in that car and it was the same everytime, searched for alcohol and drugs, then the officers would look at me all disappointed that I really was living this way and not selling drugs to get out or drinking my woes away. LMAO

Rich, that car must have been something, those early decal wood paneling appliques were so prone to bubbling and peeling, which made it so worse!

Regards,
Aaron

Wow Aaron. 22 times? That is quite a few pullovers. By that time they should know you on a first name basis.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Beat him upside the head untill the white meat show and then throw him the keys to see how fast he can drive himself to the hospital for help. *** BLK

Adrian, you never let me down. haha.

 

[96-RT10 Supercharged]

I'm not as harsh as many other owners here as far as what I'd do. I know as a kid I got many tickets of that nature. It's unfortunately the nature of both the age and the car. Personally I think I'd ldo a few things.

1 - Insist on a Driver's ed type program. But not like most. A racing school / auto-x type program. Personally I learned more about what I CAN'T do from racing then what I can do. I know that my car as a specific limit to it's abilities, and it's not that hard to reach.

2 - I'd have set consequences for tickets. Specially ones that require manditory "points", etc, which it sounds like this one will. 30 days w/o the car would be my first offence. 60 days the next, and so on.

3 - I also tend to agree with putting a GPS signal in the car to record speeds. But don't over use it. You know he;s going to speed, but if you see 120+ mph on a side street. I would go to number 2. Driving suspension increments.

In all reality it's hard to discipline a kid, no matter what anyone says. I have an 18 yr old daughter and 6 yr old son. You want to do the best for them and give them what they want, but there is a fine line. If you're to ******* restriction kids tend to rebel by getting what you took from them and being far WORSE with it. Sort of the "I'll show him " attitude, which can be FAR worse then you getting them the knowledge and skills. Racing driving schools I think are VERY important, so they learn their own limits. Learn how much you CAN'T control a car at 100+ on a track with no walls and spin into the dirt, because you more then likely won't survive learning it on the streets.

They have to learn to respect what they have. In general I may give them the car, but they have to pay for insurance on their own. Which is not cheap. So they at least have to have some kind of responsibility to their own property. You only value what you pay for something. If something has no cost it's much harder to value it.

After readingin everyone's harsh postings, I am amazed that other Viper guys DIDN'T drive fast and reckless when they were "kids". I'm not saying it's right, but even in a Monza you can do 100mph. It's better to learn the skills then to try and deny the driver permenantly. It simply won't happen. They will get behind the wheel of another car in no time.

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

To give a KID a 510hp sports car is just asking for him to kill himself or somebody else. IMO

 

[XXX BLK]

Keith, ask Hulk Hogan I'm sure he will give you great advice. *** BLK

 

[DodgeViper01]

Keith, ask Hulk Hogan I'm sure he will give you great advice. *** BLK

haha. Ouch, I think he someone is going to need ice for that burn.

 

[Bobpantax]

When my son was sixteen, now he is a doctor, I had him sign a contract prior to providing him with a Ford Ranger "Splash" pickup truck. The contract had conditions that had to be fulfilled in order for him to maintain his truck driving privileges. The two principal conditions concerned driving behavior and grades. There was no right of appeal for a failure to fulfill a condition. During the next few years, there were a number of occasions, not many, when the terms of the contract were not met. In each case, I took the keys away from him and explained to him that his word is who he is; and, that there are consequences for not fulfilling the terms of an agreement. The duration of the keys revocation varied depending on the incident. During those times, he walked or was picked up by a friend. He was not happy about it, but he learned a valuable lesson. Love and limits works. Love without limits not only ruins a child but too often results in the injury and/or death of a child. JM2C

 

[black mamba1]

Kids will be kids and we were once kids too. You guys know how easy it is to go 80 in a 25 in a Viper,it can happen almost w/out warning. I am not excusing the kid, but kids will make mistakes, but they shouldnt be castrated for it.

1. Take the Viper for 6 months.
2. Suspend all driving privileges for 90 days.
3. Make him pay for the fine w/ a p/t job or w/ chores

Give the kid the benefit of the doubt, especially if you are a good parent, most likely he/she will be a good kid. You dont want to crush his self esteem and confidence by over-reacting.

We send 18 yr olds off to Iraq to kill people. Doing 80 in a 25 is nothing compared to what many of our brave young kids are doing for us overseas.
just my .02 cents...

Ok, time for me to ruin my credibility here...I was showing off my car to a business associate in the town I live in. I was doing over a hundred in a 40 in my town, got pulled over by a cop that knows the same people I do business with. He simply gave me a warning...(he happens to love Vipers!)
OK, I am 41. Many of us in here have done stupid things....I will never do that again...but you guys know how it is....

 

[Andrew/USPWR]

When my son was sixteen, now he is a doctor, I had him sign a contract prior to providing him with a Ford Ranger "Splash" pickup truck. The contract had conditions that had to be fulfilled in order for him to maintain his truck driving privileges. The two principal conditions concerned driving behavior and grades. There was no right of appeal for a failure to fulfill a condition. During the next few years, there were a number of occasions, not many, when the terms of the contract were not met. In each case, I took the keys away from him and explained to him that his word is who he is; and, that there are consequences for not fulfilling the terms of an agreement. The duration of the keys revocation varied depending on the incident. During those times, he walked or was picked up by a friend. He was not happy about it, but he learned a valuable lesson. Love and limits works. Love without limits not only ruins a child but too often results in the injury and/or death of a child. JM2C

tough love

I drove a lot of crapy car in my life and although my Dad own many vettes they were his. I'm 44 and my GTS in 2003 was my first sport car.

 

[jimmy6383]

Umm.....I'm hoping I don't lose all credibility on this site when I say this but o well...I'm one of those kids, I just turned 18 in August and my dad bought me an 04' SRT-10 for graduation. I know, I know too young, but I can honestly say I respect the car!!! It scares the hell out of me! It took the first several weeks for me to even feel semi comfortable behind the wheel. And to be honest I learned to drive a stick on the car too. Also, I have and will continue to turn down any "street races". I don't want to be another statistic, but rather just another Viper LOVER. I am obsessed! And just felt the need to say that not all teens are stupid. I know that's not what you guys were saying.

Good news...my dad told me he's trading in our 04' and we're getting an 08'!

Just thought I would share a different perspective.

 

[PatentLaw]

1) Get a good lawyer and try to have the ticket minimized to the best of your ability. This is the first and logical step. You take control over your kids life, not the state.
2) Whether the kid was driving a Viper or a Yugo, it really does not matter. It was still unsafe. The object is to not have him/her drive at that speed. Driving rights should be limited (if not by the state, then by the parents).
3) Until the child has enough brains to comprehend what is going on, no keys. A dead kid is worse than an angry one.

Plain, simple, to the point. Same thing happened about a 1/4 mile from where I grew up in Central NJ the other week. Kids on a country road opened it up. They hit a hill with a severe drop off at 125 mph.

That was the end of them.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

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