Recreational & Family - Ohhhh, teens really are reckless

I was riding with my son last night... we both had helmets, lights front and rear. We came to a stop sign, and wanted to turn left. A car came up on the other side of the intersection, at about the same time as us.

So my son runs the stop sign :eek: , and starts his left turn! In the dark, with no way to tell if the car had really seen us! (could not see driver's face) I was stunned, and yelled, "DON'T GO!" He slammed on the brakes as if shot. When his foot touched the pavement, and my foot touched the pavement, the car took the body language and proceeded forward normally through the intersection.

He's a smart kid, and a good rider... but he's only 14. His judgement and understanding can vary from excellent to not worth $hit. That's 14 for ya.

We're going to have more discussions about left turns in the near future.

TEENAGERS... sometimes I can't wait until he goes to college.

What about the teens behind the wheel of a multi-thousand pound vehicle?

:eek:



What about the teens behind the wheel of a multi-thousand pound vehicle?

What about the teens behind the wheel of a multi-thousand pound vehicle?


One of those just about hit me tonight. Granted I was in the correct turn lane. Not really close to the line. Back slightly from the edge of the turn lane. Wearing a bright red helmet. Rather obvious.

He just came in too hot and got yelled at by me for the effort.
:D

He's a smart kid, and a good rider... but he's only 14. His judgement and understanding can vary from excellent to not worth $hit. This might be so, but I fail to see how the situation you describe has to anything to do with judgement and understanding. Surely he understands the notion of stopping at a stop sign? So it's not about understanding, it's about ignoring what he knows and being careless, no?..

I guess you could nitpick apart anything. Maybe his understanding of the consequences was lacking. Maybe his understanding of the rules of the road was lacking. Any number of things in the event could have understanding applied to them. Does he really know? Does he really understand? But does he care would make the topic moot.

Several studies have shown that the various competing growth processes in teenagers has a significant impact on the brain's ability to make rational decisions. In a way, just being a teenager is a valid excuse for making poor decisions. - Of course that doesn't make it hurt any less when the car hits you. . . . the good news is that this chemical imbalance is curable, just continue to apply stern warnings for five to ten more years. . . My 11-yr old daughter has suddenly become oblivious to her surroundings, yesterday on the way to school, she missed the curb cut-out and bounced full force over the curb. Her explaination? "I was looking at the puddle I was driving through." And she wants to start riding to school alone. Good luck with yours.

There's understanding something intellectually, and there's understanding that you have to take the responsiblity to do something with that intellectual understanding.

In teenagers, getting the two to connect is unbelievably challenging. I guess you don't have them.

I remind mine every day to pick up something / do something / whatever. I ask him, "Who's supposed to do this?" "I am." "So, why's it not done?" "I dunno."

"So, stop sign means stop. Did you know that, son?" "Yes." "So why didn't you stop?" "I dunno."



This might be so, but I fail to see how the situation you describe has to anything to do with judgement and understanding. Surely he understands the notion of stopping at a stop sign? So it's not about understanding, it's about ignoring what he knows and being careless, no?..

Last fall my son, 14, ran up my ass at a stop light. We were turning right from a busy 4 lane onto another busy 4 lane, and the light was red. I responded with "WTF?" and he gave me a blank look before answering.

"I didn't know we were going to stop."

I asked him if he had ever seen me fail to stop for a red light. No. I asked him if we have ever rolled a stop sign when there were ANY cars present. No.

This was about 2 weeks after replacing his right shifter because he had turned inside his sister from behind, crashing both of them.

They can rationalize, but they don't seem to be able to think quickly.

This might be so, but I fail to see how the situation you describe has to anything to do with judgement and understanding. Surely he understands the notion of stopping at a stop sign? So it's not about understanding, it's about ignoring what he knows and being careless, no?..

He needs educating. Line him up:

http://canoe.ceat.okstate.edu/images/Reginals%202005/Race%20Day%20and%20Awards/can%20you%20say%20paddle.JPG

I know the problem only too well. Now granted, my daughter is only 10, but we took our bikes down to Virginia earlier in the month to do some trail riding in and around some Civil War battlefields. One trail dumped us off on a twisty state road, and we had to use the approximately one foot of shoulder about 3/4 of a mile to get to the next trail. I just couldn't get her to listen and act with me as a team. She'd move down the road when I told her to get off the pavement, lock up when I told her it was safe to proceed. I sweated every minute of the experience.

Part of being a parent, I guess.....

Steve

Just think, Tom... four more years... and you get all of that garage space back for more bikes !


PW



Last fall my son, 14, ran up my ass at a stop light. We were turning right from a busy 4 lane onto another busy 4 lane, and the light was red. I responded with "WTF?" and he gave me a blank look before answering.

"I didn't know we were going to stop."

I asked him if he had ever seen me fail to stop for a red light. No. I asked him if we have ever rolled a stop sign when there were ANY cars present. No.

This was about 2 weeks after replacing his right shifter because he had turned inside his sister from behind, crashing both of them.

They can rationalize, but they don't seem to be able to think quickly.

Yes .. the fun years of asking "why?" and getting "I dunno" can make one crazy.

I remind mine every day to pick up something / do something / whatever. I ask him, "Who's supposed to do this?" "I am." "So, why's it not done?" "I dunno." Gee, that's an easy one. "I don't wanna do it and I don't wanna talk about it" is the true answer here, but he probably thinks it's not a very wise one. :)

There are people much older than 14 who still run stop lights. If you asked them why, the answer would probably be along the lines of "F*** you and go to hell!" But then of course they aren't your children. :D

None of this is to deny that teenagers' brains aren't fully formed. I think the frontal lobes (the part of the brain that is heavily involved in making rational decisions) are still growing...

....until age 25, which explains why the field engineers we hire straight out of college (age 22) keep rolling our large, expensive instrumentation vehicles over into ditches!




I think the frontal lobes (the part of the brain that is heavily involved in making rational decisions) are still growing...

Ya, ya, the teen years. How did we ever make it through them. Sadly, not all of us did. Stupidity does claim some along the way. I can think of a number of friends who never made it to their twenties because of some preventable accident or another - mostly irresponsible behavior with cars or motorcycles, some from drinking or drugs. There are a lot of perils out there and kids just don't always have the tools to keep them safe. That's why they are kids.