Am I being unreasonable in thinking letting a inexperienced 19yr old driver loose in a Boxter is irresponsible? Result car destroyed and passenger a trip to A+E.

Driver showing off put it into a tree, thank god for airbags and good design.

is the car relevant?

i drove like a **** in a nova when I was that age.

Says more about the individual driver than his age, I think. Pretty amazed he could get insurance, though.

/me Drove like an idiot in her dad’s Diesel (pre turbo days) Ford Escort across the moors above Otley way too often…

Rachel

At 19 whats it to do with the parent- the driver is an adult. Or was it the parents car?

I’d like to see power restrictions for cars for new drivers same as for motorcyles tho

Yes, you can smash up any car

My brother fired a Rover 100 about 40 feet through the air into a field at about that age. God knows what I’d have done had I access to a car, I could be deadly in a trabant.

given the stats for crashes of males in particular in that age group then yes its irresponsible. Danger to themselves and others. I doubt the car matters that much but why put temptation in front of the young who are most likely to exercise poor judgment and almost certain to have a skill confidence interface?
Not seen them for a while – used to teach this to young adults – 33% of male drivers under 21 write off a car in a crash in the first 2 years iirc.

Not an age thing rachel just a stats thing

Parents car, insured under a trader policy, gender is irrelevant.

I could be deadly in a trabant.

You too?

Years ago I was in a Ford dealership getting spares for my knackered old Fiesta and there was a young guy in there kicking off because his brand new Sierra Sapphire Cosworth (purchased from them) had broken down but they told him he was too young to be allowed one of their courtesy cars. LOL!

Cars don’t crash. Drivers do. He may have been driving fine for two years at that age, tbf.

But irresponsible if the lad isn’t made to take full financial responsibility.

Also irresponsible for not teaching him that if he’d saved longer and harder he could have had a 911.

At 19 whats it to do with the parent

I do love to get advice from those without kids and who dont drive on what should be the best thing to do with my driving kids

Anymore advice for us ?

Said with friendship but sometimes a thread really does not need your input.

I guess it depends on the previous of the 19 year old – my wife was allowed to drive her dad’s Saab Aero 95 (easily as quick as some Porsches) at that age as she was (and remains) entirely sensible. But her brother wasn’t allowed near any of their cars at the same age….

is the car relevant?

Of course the car is relevant. You can certainly drive like an ass in any car, but if the car is particularly responsive/fast then you are going to be liable to drive it at the edge of its abilities.

Pushing a Toyota Yaris is stupid and dangerous, but pushing a Porsche Boxster is extra stupid and dangerous – commensurate with the car’s own capacity.

but if the car is particularly responsive/fast then you are going to be liable to drive it at the edge of its abilities.

i think its far more likely at the age of 19 that your going to be driving a shit car past the edge of its abilities and yours.

Parents car, insured under a trader policy,

Just spotted that. As a former claims manager I’d be all over that, checking ownership, employment and policy terms, with a view to getting family/personal use heavily restricted.

I’d hope the Police are all over it as well. Used to see horrendous abuse of trader policies, and I know extended family in the trade still do.

33% of male drivers under 21 write off a car in a crash in the first 2 years iirc.

I did. Opel Manta, bought and insured with my own money. It’s not about the car or who paid for it, it’s about the driver’s ability to exercise good judgement.

Might be as powerful in terms of the engine, but a front wheel drive car massively biased to understeer isn’t really the same as mid engined sports car. 😆

the parents provide the rope, it’s up to the ‘child’ to decide what to do with it…….the longer the rope however, the more likely disaster ensues! 😀

Junkyard – hence I put “or was it the parents car?” at 19 I had left home for 3 years and was no longer under my parents control.

a front wheel drive car massively biased to understeer isn’t really the same as mid engined sports car.

Just changes which tree they hit, not whether they hit a tree.

Rachel

I’d hope the Police are all over it as well. Used to see horrendous abuse of trader policies, and I know extended family in the trade still do.

The 19 year old may work in the family business and he may have been working….

Might be as powerful in terms of the engine, but a front wheel drive car massively biased to understeer isn’t really the same as mid engined sports car.

Perhaps, but I was merely making a point about the irresponsibility (or not) of allowing a particular 19 year old drive such a car. I am sure the father in law would have allowed her to drive his Porsche had he owned one. He did have a Westfield that would leave almost any Porsche for dead (at least to about 70 mph anyway because of the way it was geared). She wasn’t allowed in that. LOL

a front wheel drive car massively biased to understeer isn’t really the same as mid engined sports car.

Just changes whether they hit the tree head on or sideways/ backwards.

19 I had left home for 3 years and was no longer under my parents control.

walked or shoved 😉

Me too actually.

The 19 year old may work in the family business and he may have been working.

true most jobs require a boxster for a 19 year old to do their duties and its really unlikely they were trying to avoid insurance premiums

true most jobs require a boxster for a 19 year old to do their duties and its really unlikely they were trying to avoid insurance premiums

He could have a business selling cars.
He could have a business valeting premium cars.
He could have a business hiring out specialist cars.
He could have a business doing track days.

Etc.

Now go drive them both quickly on a cold damp road and tell me that again 😆

The car is irrelevant.

He wont make the same mistake again

motor trade insurance policies are often tpft, and even if they are comprehensive they have a huge excess to avoid claims for little carpark scrapes etc. I suspect the parents have learned their lesson this time too (if in fact they did let him out, and they’re not just covering for him so he doesn’t get a twoc charge)

@johndoh its possible and we can all make up scenarios that are plausible However i would be surprised if this scenario exists for any other reason that he is the son of the business and policy owner.

I think you will struggle to find another unrelated 19 year old employee anywhere* where there is a similar arrangement.

* F1 😉

Working in insurance also, motor trader policies are by far the most abused policies going, i know of quite a few insurers that no longer accept motor trade work. Far to easy for one person to take out a single policy that allows them and family to drive pretty much any car, an easy way for them to drive cars such as the Porsche. Its only when they have an accident and you ask them for proof of Motor trade activity you find them once sold a single Fiesta for £100 cash in hand!

If he is tpft, let’s hope it wasn’t a customers car.

He wont make the same mistake again

One would hope.

When I was a lad the chap over the road was a Porsche addict. His tally was over ten written off before he “finally got the hang of them” and bought a lightweight RSR…

Exactly. Nobody under 70 should be allowed to drive a car with more than 35 bhp.

What were his mum and dad thinking?

When I was at school in the mid/late 80’s the parents of some kids were trying to out-do each other on 18th birthday presents. A couple of kids ( and they were still very much kids ) got RS Escorts.

One wonders what goes through a parents mind when their need to show off takes precedence over keeping their children from being maimed. One was.

Young people lack the maturity and experience to handle fast cars, they can get you into far more trouble much quicker than an average car. Giving a child a Porsche to play with is incredibly poor parenting.

Kid at my school got a red Renault 5 gt turbo for his 17 birthday and was insured for the day on his dad’s Bentley.

Not long after he broke his leg crashing into the armco at spa.

Young[b]most[/b] people lack the maturity and experience to handle fast cars, they can get you into far more trouble much quicker than an average car.

fixed that for you…

Is this about that old Tom Cruise film?

At age 20 I crashed a 1300cc Escort into a tree and had a trip to A&E. Must be the parents’ fault – because at about the same age my Dad crashed his Dad’s Cresta into a tree. It’s hereditary. And you learn. I’ve not done anything like that again.

When I was at school, there was a lad who failed his car test but got his bike licence, his M&D bought him a brand new CBR600. Don’t think he crashed it but even at the time it seemed incredibly reckless, let alone with the hindsight of being older.

I think it’s fairly irresponsible. Rachel was bang on suggesting that the longer the rope, the more chance there is they’ll hang themselves with it.

Getting rid of the metaphors, whilst you can kill yourself and others at 50mph, you’re more likely to do so at 150mph and if the temptation’s there, younger kids are more likely to try it.

I drove at 120mph last summer. Empty, dry motorway and wanted to see my sick (D&V, no heart-wrenching excuse) son. Being older, I’d thought about the maximum speed, other people etc as well as a few years experience telling me that faster would have been more stupid. If I’d had such a fast car at 19 I’m fairly sure I’d have found frequent reasons to get somewhere quickly.