Archive for the ‘Driving’ Category

DOOOOOOOOOOOM I say!

It started when Peppermist decided she wanted to go on the band trip in February. I knew then that I’d need to get her at least a State ID for the trip, and of course SHE was certain that meant I would let her take her Drivers Permit test. The boy, of course, said no way – since I hadn’t let HIM get HIS until just before his 16th birthday, because I just wasn’t ready and he was already mad that she got her cell phone a year before he did. (….inorite?)

ANYWAY, I quickly ran into a problem – I’d put the kids Social Security cards in a safe place so that I wouldn’t lose them. And…promptly forgot where the hell that place was. Whoops. No problem, I knew where their birth certificates were, so it’d be simple to get them the cards right?

Wrong.

You see, apparently, to get a replacement SS card, you need a picture ID. And, as stated, I couldn’t get her a picture ID without a SS card. And her School ID wouldn’t count, because it doesn’t have her birthday on it. OH ISN’T THIS FUN? FINALLY, after getting the runaround for months, they said they’d accept a copy of their shot records, as long as it was stamped by the Health Center making it semi-official.

So, papers in hand, I get them all signed up, I’m told it’ll take two weeks for them to get here, which is plenty of time to get a State ID, so everything’s cool, right? RIGHT! So they arrive in the mail…. The Boy’s, the Pup’s… and that’s it.

The one. card. i. needed. and it. didn’t. come!

NOW I started to panic, but I gave it another week just to be sure, and FINALLY Peppermist’s card showed up. Which brings us to today…

You see, she leaves on Tuesday, and because I’m all about procrastinating (tomorrow…) and she had no school today, I took her over to the DMV to get her State ID. On the way there, I told her “If you think you can pass, I’ll let you take the test to.” KNOWING that she’d only read the book twice, and not for some time. She assured me she could, and that she’d thumb through the book while we waited.

Fine.
(NONONONONONONONONO)
Whatever.

So our number is called, and it turns out that the lady who we were dealing with, not only was the one who passed The Boy when he took his driver’s test, but ALSO happens to be a chaperon on the upcoming band trip! SCORE! I HAVE A SPY! We joked around a bit, and she went to take the test, and 15 minutes later?

She passed. In fact, she only missed 2, which is better than the Boy did (much to her delight). Which means?

I now have ANOTHER teenage driver in my house.

Hold me.

TGIF – because if it weren’t for it being Friday I’d be all ready to give up!

You see, my darling baby boy (Yeah, the one that’s a foot taller than me – what’s your point?) came home the other day flinging things and searching under and growling and muttering under his breath. It seems that when he was at the local superstore, he changed in the bathroom out of his work clothes – and apparently left his wallet sitting on the sink.

…

He realizes this a full 24 hours later, chaos ensues, and lo and behold -no wallet. So, we hit the bank right away to cancel his bank card, and then checked the lost and found and with the desk, and no one had turned it in. He had receipts and stuff in there that were pretty important, but mostly it was his bank card and his license. Which meant he couldn’t drive out to his buddies house that night, because with HIS luck, he’d get stopped. Not good. Unhappy boy.

So I calmed him down, and today, we head to the DMV when he got home from school. He woke me up (I tend to sleep in the mornings after they go to school – specially after being unable to sleep the night before, actually getting UP and starting a pot o’beans n ham at 5:30 am!) – and then nagged and rushed until I headed out the door to the DMV – his favorite place in the whole world.

Not.

I fill out the paperwork, and settle in to wait. It was less than 10 minutes, so I was like SCORE – we’re gonna get out of here fast! And then she asked for an alternative ID for my son and I realize… it’s still sitting on my desk.

Oy.
Supermom FAIL.

So I call Auntie, she says she’ll grab it and bring it to us, but she had to finish what she was doing, and then she picked up Peppermist and the dog, and then the dog got out, and then she finally got to the DMV and the dog got out AGAIN and we had to chase him down, and then! Finally! an hour after we started to do something simple…

Success! Replacement License procured!

Only for me to have to tell him he can’t have the car overnight because his little sister has a Swim Meet tomorrow and I need the car. Some days, I just can’t win.

At least we still have ham’n'beans still a slow cookin – and it smells FANTASTIC. Redemption approaches…

So, my son, while he was still driving my car a couple days ago (His truck is fixed now, WHEEE! Well, mostly. It was making an odd noise when the Boy left for work… anyway) I got this GIDDY call from my sister.

Her: I’m TELLIN!
Me:…tellin what? (damn, what did I do?
Her: Did your son call you?
Me: …. nooooooooo (oh shit, what did HE do now…)
Her: he just called Uncle to pull him out of the DITCH!
Me: ….in MY CAR?

So yes. The boy had gone around the corner, and in his typical fashion (I imagine) was “drifting” (though I’ve TOLD him that drifting is done on PAVEMENT not snow – what they do is SLIDING) and put himself in the ditch. At least, that’s what I assumed. I also figured that he wouldn’t call and fess up, because his daddy? NEVER would have.

He surprised me.

Boy: So… has your car been in the ditch yet?
Me: Not while I’VE been driving it..
Boy: CRAP. Auntie tattled, didn’t she.
Me; Oh yes she did.

Now, the boy’s story is this: He was minding his own business, driving down the middle of the road and SUDDENLY AND HE DOESN’T KNOW HOW OR WHY he was in the ditch, and unable to get out, even with my 4×4.

Umhm. He still sticking to the story too. Uncle pulled him out, he got to work on time, and I forgot about it really, until Auntie and I went shopping together today and I went and picked her up. And she pointed out the tire tracks. Now, I’m not gonna continue to tell the boy that _I_ think he was “drifting” and slid too far, because he knows. However, I WILL give you the following evidence and let you decide yourself.

Observe:

Now, sure. SOME of those tracks are from the Truck that pulled him out. HOWEVER, please note the width of the road:

Ummmmmmmmhmmmmmm.
I rest my case.

You, my darling son, can tell me whatever ya like – but you been BUSTED.

So, it’s been two weeks – and you know what that means, right? Yup. But first – I have to get something out of my system… you ready?

HE PASSED HE PASSED HE PASSED HE PASSED!!!

We just returned from the DMV, where the boy took his driver’s test for the second time. He spent the past two weeks telling me “I don’t care. That way, I am not disappointed.” He didn’t even really get behind the wheel again until a couple days ago when he and Papa (or Gramps as the Boy calls him) spent all day together, driving everywhere, and getting more familiar with Soldotna – where we don’t usually drive, and the woman took him last time (as they usually do – more traffic, lane changes, challenging, etc.).

This time, he had a different tester, and I got a good vibe off of her from the beginning. I saw him pass the parallel parking first, and then took off… and turned toward KENAI – which is where we live and drive 95% of the time!

The Boy: When she said take a right, I knew I had it. I KNOW these streets!

They were gone for almost 30 full minutes, and then sat in the car and talked while I tapped my fingers and wished I could see his expression. Then they came to the door – and he GRINNED and I knew then he had done it.

I refrained from happy dancing IN the DMV though, just as he refrained from grabbing me in a hug super tight in front of strangers, and contented himself with grabbing my hand and squeezing it nice and tight instead. I got the hug later.

And happy danced. It looked a LITTLE like that picture up top as the news spread.

Congratulations, baby boy. I’m SO PROUD OF YOU! I totally knew you could do it!

Right now, he’s over at Auntie’s in his first solo drive to put another new part on his truck, before he TAKES HIMSELF TO WORK in a couple hours. And tomorrow? He is doing a dump run for me. And the day after that? Taking his sister to school for me.

Of course, you know what this means, right? Now that I got one all licensed – I gotta start all over with Peppermist.

…HOLD ME.

PS – the splint. He took it off for the duration of the test. Doc told him “Well, I can’t TELL you to take it off, because you could do further damage, but I’m not sure they’ll let you test with it on.” So he took it off – put it back on in the car right after we had license in hand. He didn’t need any advil though – riding the adrenalin high instead.

“Bet you’re happy now, huh?”

That was the first thing he said when we got to the privacy of the car. Talk about a knife to the heart… because 1. it was completely untrue, and 2. I can’t stand it when my kids are upset.

He knows better, of course, he’s just upset. You see, today was the big day – and he didn’t pass his driver’s test. Rumor has it he got the toughest instructor, and afterwards as we deconstructed what she’d said, it came down to a few things, but it included the fact that she simply did not communicate very well. The worst part for me though, was that she made him WAIT for 15 minutes when we got back before telling him he didn’t pass.

We know what to work on though, and she did have a glowing compliment for his defensive driving skills (He avoided an accident – one SHE didn’t see coming… though she auto failed him for something she thought “might” have caused one himself by pulling onto the highway with what she judged to be not enough room. Even after she’d marked him down for hesitating too long the turn before that. Sigh.)

So, in two weeks we try again, and as soon as hes done being mad about it, we’ll get to practicing once more. Now he knows the general route they’ll take him out on, how they phrase things (like “take the outer turn lane” – uh, is that LEFT or RIGHT lady?!) and the few things he needs to work on.

Like using the blinker before parallel parking. Which was TOTALLY my bad – because uh, we don’t parallel park around here at ALL. So I couldn’t remember, ya know? But now we know. And next time, it’ll be all system’s go.

Gives him another 2 weeks to fix up The Beast to drivable status, anyway.

(…but oh. This Mama’s heart hurts for him…)

No, no no. Not the “Omgewgrosspopthatbeforeittakesovertheworld” kind, but the cartoon kind!

That still sounds bad.

Anyway – the comic strip Zits, is finally letting one of it’s characters come of age! The ever lovely Marissa let me know earlier this month that all through August we can watch the star character, Jeremy Duncan, turn 16 and get his driver’s license. As we’ve been talking on that very subject here, it seemed a perfect place to spread the word (Though my apologies to Marissa, as it took me so long due to the change of venue from 451!).

Here’s a little bit more about the comic:

Zits Star FINALLY Gets a Driver’s License

New York, NY July 22, 2009 – At last! After 12 angst-filled years of being 15 years old, Jeremy Duncan is finally having a birthday, turning 16 and completing one of a teenager’s greatest rites of passage – taking his road test. Will he pass or fail? Will he finally drive his parents over the edge with his driving? Only time will tell.

In a special series that begins Mon., Aug. 3, fans of Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman’s popular Zits comic strip will be able to follow their favorite teen as he comes of age in the newspaper comics, both in print and in King Features’ new Comics Kingdom online portal. To see the series, please visit one of more than 40 Comics Kingdom partner news sites, including the New York Daily News, Denver Post, San Antonio Express-News, Toronto Star, Las Vegas Review Journal, Santa Fe New Mexican, Spokesman Review, Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Tulsa World.

When asked why they decided to tamper with the age of their strip’s star after 12 highly successful years in syndication, Scott and Borgman responded, “About the meanest thing you could do is freeze someone at 15. After a dozen years our consciences have gotten the better of us. It’s time to let the kid drive.”

Distributed by King Features to more than 1,600 newspapers in 45 countries and 15 languages, Zits features the daily adventures of the quintessential teenager With his loving parents, Walt and Connie Duncan, his best friend, Hector, and his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Sara Toomey, by his side, the perpetually slouching and disheveled Jeremy treads the murky waters of adolescence in oversized sneakers.

Zits is the brainchild of Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Jim Borgman, and award-winning cartoonist-writer Jerry Scott, who also co-creates the popular “Baby Blues” strip. Zits established itself early when it launched in July 1997 in more than 200 newspapers – one of the largest start-ups in comics history.

And my son thought I made HIM wait a long time for his license!

Did Jeremy pass? Find out here! And thanks Marissa for letting us know!

So he’ll soon be driving on his own – and you know what that means…

Heart attack for mom. But also, it means that my insurance rates are about to get all sorts of jacked up. Nana understands, and she sent me this article about how to cut the cost of insuring your teen.

Me, I think we should just lock them in their rooms and not let them go anywhere, but well, folks tend to frown on such things. I can’t understand WHY…

The article is full of tips to help us parents deal with the insurance woes – as well as some frightening statistics:

Unfortunately, inexperience combined with lack of judgment helps explain why young drivers are more likely to crash and to die:

* Car crashes are still the leading killer of people age 15 to 20.

* Young drivers are three times as likely to die in a crash as those aged 25 to 64.

* The younger the driver, the more accidents: The crash rate for 16-year-olds per million miles driven is nearly three times as high as for 19-year-olds, and nearly six times as high as drivers aged 20 to 24.

So now, I don’t feel quite so bad that my son still isn’t licensed at 17.5 years old. But my time (and ability to sleep) is running out. He’s a senior in high school starting Monday, and he has The Beast, which he – oddly enough – expects to be able to drive on his own at some point. Sheesh. Talk about high expectations!

Here are some of the suggestions to help keep down the cost:

1. Find out how your insurer assigns drivers to cars.
This is different with each insurer, and often they’ll assign the driver who’s most expensive (the Teenager) to the car that’s most expensive. Allstate does that, in order to help cover the risks of young drivers. This can double or even triple your premium, especially if you have new cars.

Suddenly I’m very glad we both have cars that are 16 and 37 years old, respectively. I’m also glad that I get to assign the drivers to our vehicles, it’s not done for me. Check it out through – and remember that it is usually cheaper still to put your teen on your policy rather than getting them their own. Don’t be scared to ask for a quote for all approaches though!

2. Keep those grades up!
Though driving ability is not based on your grades, some insurers will still give a discount to students who maintain a B average or better – Better students are seem as more responsible or something.

I’m screwed on this one. Moving on.

3. Take Driver’s Ed.
This is an AWESOME tip. It eases the mind of the parent knowing that they’ve been taught by a professional – so take this break if you can get it.

I made the choice to teach my kid – AND let my dad teach him. He taught me, and I do pretty good. That and I couldn’t afford the Driver’s Ed (it’s not offered through our schools), so. If you have the option, take it!

4. Jack up your deductibles.
common sense – higher deductibles, lower premium. It is scary though, but we all know it’s smarter to use the insurance for big disasters rather then covering small stuff out of pocket.

Besides – that dent gives your car CHARACTER. Right?

5. Take your college student off the policy.
Only if he’s not driving while at collage, of course.

6. Don’t buy new cars.
Sure, you want all the fancy new safety features for your kids, but the fact remains – new cars = more insurance. If you are serious about containing you overall costs – don’t buy a new car for yourself or your kid.

I got this one DOWN. And I only have the minimum required insurance on my vehicles. It’s the only way I can afford the insurance at all, to be honest.

7. Consider not reporting fender-benders.
Ok, so the insurance company HATES this idea – but really, is the scratch in your fender THAT big a deal? It’s overall a better idea to pay for it out of pocket, and keep mum. Or make your TEEN pay for it. They’ll think twice that way!

Those are all short term ways- but here’s some cost-cutting life-saving tips too.

Insist on more supervised driving.
Some states now require 50 hours of supervised driving, and have adopted a ‘graduated license requirement’. Alaska is one of those states. your first license is “Provisional” for 6 months, and you have to be alone in the car (unless it’s a sibling or an older licensed driver). While I would have complained about this requirement when I got MY license? I love the idea now that I’m a mom of a driving teen.

Restrict nighttime driving.
As I’m “nightblind” myself, this is a great idea in my opinion. Problem is – this works really well during our Summers, as we’re the land of the Midnight Sun. However, in the wintertime? Well, the kid will be driving in the dark.

Limit Passengers
Fatality risks rise with the number of people in the car, especially if the passengers are male. This is where my love of that provisional license comes in once again.

Limit other distractions
No cell phone, ease up on the bass on your stereo (or simply love that The Beast doesn’t even HAVE one) etc.

Zero Tolerance.
Here’s where my mantra comes in – TALK TO YOUR KIDS. They want this responsibility. You want them to be responsible. So get together with them, and discuss your individual rules for allowing them to live drive. Make sure that they know the consequences for going against the guidelines that you have agreed on. If necessary, make them sign a contract.

I can’t say it enough – TALK TO YOUR KIDS. There is nothing that beats that first, legal, solo drive. It’s a coming of age all it’s own, and we want it to be good for them, like it was for us. Tell them your war stories, tell them the good, the bad, the ugly, and let them voice their wants and concerns until you are both on the same page.

Then stick to it.

And put 911 on speed dial…

You know what they say – boys never grow up. They just get bigger toys.

Today I have a very happy boy! You see, a few months ago, I had the chance for a new/used jeep, and the boy helped me buy it by taking the old jeep off my hands. He didn’t want the old jeep, but was content to have it there (should he ever get his license!) and ready for when he wanted it.

But it wasn’t what he wanted. Not really.

I thought he was lookin for something similar to his friends – we have two el caminos, a charger, a van and an old hand me down cadilac that all find their way to be parked in my driveway now and again. So I was thinking – a nice (probably muscle) car.

The Boy was thinking something different. He was thinking he needs a TRUCK.

He had his heart set on one, and he spent all summer looking while he worked steadily to make sure he had enough money. Then, this past week, one of his co-workers made an offer on the jeep, and he sold it for the same exact price he’d bought it from me, and then he turned right around today, and bought his hearts desire.

Meet The Beast.

It’s a 1972 Chevy 4×4. The floorboard is crumbled by the drivers side door, but the heater works. The back tail lights need to be rewired, but it starts every single time. There is a transmission fluid leak, but that’s a simple fix. There’s some other wiring work that needs done, but there’s the shine in his eyes as he laid down on the hood and patted it… and – I kid you not – whispered… “My BABY.”

Needless to say, he’s wanting to hit the DMV tomorrow, get the title/registration taken care of and into my name, get it on the insurance…

…and make the appointment to take his driver’s test.

I’m DOOMED.

Sigh. It’s true. The ONLY difference between men and boys is the size of their toys… is it too late to go back to Tonka trucks??

I have one teenager who’s THIS close to getting his license, and another that’s already nagging for her learner’s permit, despite the fact I made her brother wait longer than his friends before getting his. So clearly, driving is a regular topic of conversation around these parts. And it’s terrifying. I mean, I’ve ridden in the passenger seat with my son behind the wheel for the past year, and it’s TERRIFYING. I’m a little bit of a control freak (stop laughing) and it’s hard for me to give that tendency up and make sure the Boy is relaxed and paying attention and doing what he needs to do: learning.

But we’ve survived so far – in a beat up old 95 jeep, that he was sweet enough to buy from me yesterday so that I could get a 93 jeep that’s in much better condition to haul his siblings around. Yes, I sold my son the crappy car that he’ll tear up anyway, to get myself a better one. Sue me. Point is, he’s ready and raring to go – the minute the roads are clear, he’s road test and independent driving bound…

Heaven help us all.

Or maybe, just Ford. Have you heard about MyKey? It’s a pretty nifty little device that Ford’s about to launch in the newest 2010 Ford Focus and other models. What it does is allow the parent to set some limits on their teen driver. It warns them when they’re low on fuel, when they’ve forgotten their seatbelt. It also can be programed to have a “top speed” that your teen can drive, with warning chimes at certain levels. It can even limit the volume of the radio.

Check it out:

If you have more questions, Ford will be having a question and answer forum Tuesday, Feb 24th, at noon EST. You can join in and ask your questions here: Talk to the Experts.

Would I actually use something like this with my kids? I’m not sure. I’m on the fence on it – but since I’m not in the position of getting him a brand new car anyway, I can postpone such a decision. Whether you choose to use MyKey for your kids or not, as with every subject here, I encourage you to TALK to your kids first. They won’t rail against the limitations as much if they know they’re there, why they are there, and understand where your coming from with the installation. Sure, they might not like it, and I expect that some smarty pants kid hacker will find a way around it sooner rather then later, but still. Talk to your kids.

Then tell them to turn that noise down, already! Srsly! Kids these days. They call THAT music? Why, back in my day…

…and I’m presuming you were kids, teenagers, etc. since we didn’t actually catch you IN the act – we do know that you’re short, as you managed to pull the seat way forward. Heh. And since we’re unsure just which batch of neighborhood teenagers that you belong too (other then not MY group, because they OH SO WOULDN’T because they know better – but we’d be having serious words right now instead of writing to YOU if they did….) I thought I’d write an open letter to you, and all the other joyriders of the world.

First things first. Thank you for bringing the car back – or most of the way back.

Weren’t expecting that, were ya? Sure, the cops had been out looking for a couple hours, and you probably were the ones that got stuck in the ditch down the way where my sister saw fresh dig out marks, but at least you DID bring it most of the way back. With a dead battery since you left the lights on, and empty tank (I know, it only had 1/4 tank in it anyway. Sorry bout that.) So as it’s my only form of transportation, I do want to thank you for being considerate enough to take it back.

However, this does not forgive or forget the fact that you were assholes enough to steal it out of my driveway to begin with. I mean, SRSLY guys! From my DRIVEWAY? Sure, my dog who barks at everything, didn’t bark. And I’ve left my keys IN my car for the past 12 years. And you couldn’t have known I’d need to go pick up my girls a couple hours after the last time I came home. And you really couldn’t have realized that I would call the cops – after all, my late husband would never have called them, as he figured being a card carrying NRA member and lover of all things sharp and pointy, he could solve most things on his own.

But I am not he, and he is no longer with us.

Its just… mind-boggling. MY car? It’s a ‘95 for heavens sake, an completely falling apart at the seams! The CV joint is going out (that would be the thumping you heard on the right front tire..), the heater is an external button attached to the dash with a zip tie with two settings – on and off (also known as HOT AS HELL and OMGFRIGID!). The front seat has a broken bolt and probably would fly out of the car in an accident, the ignition switch is going out… so on and so forth. Of ALL the cars on this street, you pick MINE? SRSLY?

Seriously, guys (or gals) did you really think this thing through? Is this the first time you’ve done this? I mean, parts of my keychain went missing just a couple days ago, and now that I think about it, I HAVE been going through more gas then usual.. not that I’m accusing you (ok, I am), just sayin’.

And then there’s this. Everyone in the neighborhood knows that I’ve a group of teenagers living here off an on. Everyone knows that I’m the ‘Cool Mom’ and that I would give you the shirt off my back, twice, if you needed it. Everyone knows that I’d take you for a ride if you needed to go somewhere, and if you’re one of mine or their friends, if you needed a car that badly, I would have HANDED YOU THE KEYS. All you would have had to do is ask. Instead, what you did was disrespectful, and seriously uncool.

I think you were compelled to bring it back for one of two reasons – you thought you wouldn’t get caught as maybe you’ve done it before or your simply that stupid, OR it was simply my good karma trampling all over yours – which means I’d watch my back if I were you.. because somethings gonna bite you. Soon. Either way, the car is here now, and the keys are in my possession.

I regret that now I’m going to have to start locking things up, and I feel there’s a bit of innocence lost in that. I don’t care for it much, and I don’t appreciate you stealing my Small Town Feeling away from me like you have. Next time, guys. Just ask. If you need something, just ASK.

Sincerely,
The Cool Mom.

PS. You left your flashlight in the front seat of the car with the keys when you bailed. Officer Jay would be happy to return it to you if you just call the Police Station.

PPS. My son is his Daddy’s boy, through and through. Just sayin’.