im thinking about taking a road trip this summer by myself.

SPEEDY MCCREADY

Flagg wrote:

First of all, I don't think 16 year olds should be driving at all. I think 18 should be the legal driving age.

Aside from that, no way would I let my son (when he is 16) do that. Too young, not enough experience driving or in life in general. Not enough experience to know what to do in an emergency. Hell you can't even check into a hotel room, or use a credit card.

My fist road trip without my parents I was 18 and had my crew at the time with me, four of us. So whoever said roadtripping with your friends is more fun was right on.

All that being said, I wish I could take a lang ass road trip by myself right now.

i was thinking the same thing...

where is the 16 year old going to stay once he gets 350 miles away????

mrvedderson

dont let people scare you, i was a transient when i was 15, freeing of the mind is ALWAYS a good thing, lets you look at the world from a different point of view, lets you see things as they are AS A WHOLE, you will get plenty of inspiring words from complete strangers, but you cant let people instill their own fears into you, and driving is the easiest part of it, you can take your time and do whatever resting you may need,

Phantom Pain

mrvedderson wrote:

dont let people scare you, i was a transient when i was 15, freeing of the mind is ALWAYS a good thing, lets you look at the world from a different point of view, lets you see things as they are AS A WHOLE, you will get plenty of inspiring words from complete strangers, but you cant let people instill their own fears into you, and driving is the easiest part of it, you can take your time and do whatever resting you may need,

Freeing your Mind ? At 16 ? I don't remember many problems in life at 16 where I had to free my mind..the only thing I worried about was when summer vacation started

I understand kids have pressures but come on...he's not taking a mind freeing trip to India to find himself..he's probably looking to get some bootay

I think 16 is way too young to be on your own and like another poster said 16 imo is too young to drive let alone by yourself for a roadtrip

Good points about the Hotel also..he can't even get a room if the car breaks down somewhere

There are too many sickos out there to take this trip by yourself

mrvedderson

and again i say, u shouldnt pass ur fears on to him

SPEEDY MCCREADY

mrvedderson wrote:

and again i say, u shouldnt pass ur fears on to him

i dont think it is fear....

i look at it more as common sense...........

mrvedderson

common sense is a weak excuse for a fear

Phantom Pain

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

mrvedderson wrote:

and again i say, u shouldnt pass ur fears on to him

i dont think it is fear....

i look at it more as common sense...........

Exactly !

He asked for suggestions and comments and thats what we are doing

I think if my 16 year old came to me with this question I would definitely have to say NO

SPEEDY MCCREADY

mrvedderson wrote:

common sense is a weak excuse for a fear

letting a 16 year old take a 350 mile roadtrip by himself....

is a weak excuse for being a good parent..............

SPEEDY MCCREADY

Phantom Pain wrote:

SPEEDY MCCREADY wrote:

mrvedderson wrote:

and again i say, u shouldnt pass ur fears on to him

i dont think it is fear....

i look at it more as common sense...........

Exactly !

He asked for suggestions and comments and thats what we are doing

I think if my 16 year old came to me with this question I would definitely have to say NO

if my 16 year old asked to borrow my car so he could take a 350 mile roadtrip by himself.....

first i would laugh my ass off....
then i would say NO....
then i would tell him to go clean his room and take out the garbage.....
then i would tell him to clean his room again because he probably just shoved everything under the bed.....
then i would tell him to go finish his homework........

Phantom Pain

mrvedderson wrote:

common sense is a weak excuse for a fear

Its called looking out for your child and protecting them until they're an adult

So in your scenario of life you just let kids be kids and do what they want ?

Flagg

mrvedderson wrote:

common sense is a weak excuse for a fear

Well, he asked for suggestions and now he is getting them from all sides. He can make his own mind up now.

QuarterToTen

you can't teach experience. and the majority of 16 year olds simply don't have enough life experience
to handle situations that may arise while traveling solo, they just don't.

it would be irresponsible of any parent to simply hand the car keys and a Shell card
to a 16 year old child and tell them to 'be careful' and send them off on their way.

decides2dream

personally, i just don't think it's the wisest thing at such an age. i don't have children but i think it would be highly unlikely that if i did, mature or not, i would not allow it. probably not even with friends, but definitely not solo. but hey, if your parents ay it's OK....well then, obviously it's their call to make and they know you far better than any of us...so i wish you luck on your journey, enjoy it and keep safe!


make sure you have a good plan....GPS AND maps with your route.....check the car out thoroughly before embarking on your journey, make sure you have jumper cables, charged phone, recharges, water/snacks for you, etc... and just be smart about your choices. even as a male, you are young and solo....so do please be cautious, but surely...enjoy it all!


then again.....at age 16 my parents let me go on a road trip to live aid with my sister, then 21 - what a blast!.....and at 17, my HS graduation gift was a plane ticket to bermuda to visit my then BF, a decade older than me! :shock: hahaha....thinking back, it's amazing.....b/c i had the most conservative of parents, what were they thinking?! hahaha. obviously they loved and trusted me. so yea...........it's all individual..........good luck!

youngster

When I was 16.5 and just got my license, I had to convince my dad to let me drive to high school......3 miles away. 350 miles! He would have laughed at me then removed the spark plugs from my car.

mickeyrat

Well , as I see it , we live in a different time now. Things happen sooooo much quicker. Both good and bad.


From what I've seen from DTL10 on HERE , seems like a pretty level headed young ADULT. Holds his own on here without showing his age.Unlike some others who are a tad bit older. His parents know him best. Certainly better than ANY of us do. So final say rests with them. And all who commented , thanks for letting us know how you would decide for your own kids.


OP was pretty vauge about purpose of trip , where he's staying , etc.... Just gonna roadtrip.


As for my opinion? Colby , research route , contingency plans in case , AAA AWESOME suggestion , costs you might expect. Service car BEFORE you leave (oil change and such). And SERIOUSLY stop as often as necessary . NO DRUGS on or in your person , certainly stay away from alcohol. NO hitchhikers. Cell phone to check in , use in case...

supersonicyears

Maybe if you were 17 going on 18, had been driving awhile but 16???
If you were going with an older friend maybe but 16 by yourself...............I say no not yet.
I hate to be negative but I hope your parents decide not to let you go, at least not for now.
Things have changed in this world a lot. There are too many things that can happen. You could have a great experience but....

why not have someone go with you?

If you do decide to go please let us all know when so we can all worry together and update us when you get back.

PatrickBateman

I used to make a 2 hour trek every weekend to Mass to see my "girlfriend" when I was turning 17. Half into the drive, there was a storm and a tree branch fell, bounced off my hood and cracked my windshield pretty bad. What did I do? yup, I kept on driving. Then to top it off , I stayed too late (sunday night) and her father offered me some money to fill up the gas tank. I said I should be all set, but thanks. I ran out of gas at 10pm about 7 miles from home with no gas stations nearby. I remember jogging most of the way and getting in t-r-o-u-b-l-e.
...hey, I was in love:)

CHANGEinWAVES

PatrickBateman wrote:

I
...hey, I was in love:)

i'm thinking this is the situation here

Phantom Pain

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

PatrickBateman wrote:

I
...hey, I was in love:)

i'm thinking this is the situation here

You didnt know I was gonna drop it like that !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDC-CqvNpWs

CHANGEinWAVES

Phantom Pain wrote:

CHANGEinWAVES wrote:

PatrickBateman wrote:

I
...hey, I was in love:)

i'm thinking this is the situation here

You didnt know I was gonna drop it like that !


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDC-CqvNpWs

should i say.... I KNOW this is the situation here :P