What is it with parents who let their kids drive, but won't let them take the responsibility that goes along with it? It's not uncommon for me to do a traffic stop or work an accident involving a juvenile, and have mom and/or dad show up to defend their kid. Some incidents that come to mind:
I worked a crash where a girl had pulled out in front of an oncoming car and got broadsided. She was OK, but the other driver sustained a broken foot. I gave the girl a ticket for not yielding to the other car. Dad showed up, and proceeded to question my logic for citing his daughter. He insisted it was the other driver's fault, because he should have been able to stop before hitting his daughter. This clown and his daughter actually took the citation to court. They lost.
I worked a crash where a boy was traveling at a very high rate of speed (estimated 70 mph) in a residential area (posted 25 mph zone) and flipped his car. It slid on its roof for some distance, and took out a fire hydrant and some trees. Miraculously, neither the boy, his passenger, nor any pedestrian was hurt. Mom and dad showed up and were shocked that I would cite their son for reckless driving. According to them, there was no evidence of such a violation.
I pulled over a girl for driving with a suspended license. Dad showed up and demanded that his daughter be allowed to drive the car home, because it was too inconvenient for somebody with a valid license to come and get it. I told dad that if she drove the car one inch, they were both going to jail for hindering my investigation. They finally got in dad's car and left in a huff.
Parents: If you're going to let your kids drive, they should understand that mommy and daddy can't fix it when they break the law and get caught. And you just reinforce their actions when you try.
2 comments:
Oh Officer...this applies to just about every aspect of life these days.
I could go on and on about how differently things were handled when I was a kid, and when my kids were kids, but I'm sure you know.
I am appalled :O
Whatever happened to teaching kids responsibility? Heck, when my 6yo put his fingers all over the seafood display case, I asked for window cleaner so he could wash the glass. That lesson stuck well.
If any of my kids managed an infraction that warranted a suspended license they would never drive a vehicle I owned ever again. No way would I be making excuses for them.
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