5 ms·

I think you may be underestimating just how bad a five year old may be at driving

kube-system 6y ago
I believe the majority of incidents where young kids "drive" end very quickly as minor parking lot or driveway accidents. The above comment might not actually be too far off the mark.
- Wowfunhappy 6y ago
  ...semi-aside, a young kid driving in a driveway would be perfectly legal, right? Private property and all that?
  - userbinator 6y ago
    IANAL but I believe so. When I was very young, long before a license, but probably closer to 10 than 5, my parents taught me to drive the tractor around the field. I think others here will have had similar experiences as well.
  - dhosek 6y ago
    I remember meeting farm kids who were offspring of one of my mom's college classmates who routinely drove around the farm back in the 70s.
    - Pfhreak 6y ago
      This is still routine today. Most of the farm kids I know were driving early, some before 10.
      - deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
    - karatestomp 6y ago
      Still normal as soon as they can reach the pedals. If they're on a farm they're probably also riding on (or driving) small tractors and four-wheelers, and maybe riding horses, all of which are a hell of a lot more dangerous than towing a trailer of square bales a quarter mile over a private dirt road in the old '94 Ford, from the field to the barn, probably not going over 15mph because you'll rattle your bones out of your skin and the windows out of their frames if you go faster. Hell driving on a farm is probably safer than wandering around the more developed parts playing. There are lots of ways to get hurt on the kinds of structures, equipment, and junk in the more developed areas of a farm, and there's the livestock, if there is any, which can also be very dangerous.
    - yellowapple 6y ago
      That's how I first learned to drive, doing laps around the front pasture in my mom's S-10.
asudosandwich 6y ago
Yeah young children are pretty bad drivers, I can attest to that. Sometime around age 4 I swiped my dad’s car keys from the kitchen table (I recall I had to climb a chair to reach the top of the table). I think I wanted to mimic how adults operated cars. Luckily, I didn’t make it far. When I finally got it into gear I crashed into the viaduct paralleling our house blocking the road until another motorist found me. My parents didn’t spank us often but I sure caught hell for that stunt and my allowance was garnished for a very long time!
- JshWright 6y ago
  You had an allowance at age 4?
  - dhosek 6y ago
    Son, now that you're in high school, it's time you start getting an allowance. However, remember that incident with the car ten years ago? It's time to start paying it off.
  - Pfhreak 6y ago
    Our kid, who is 5, gets an allowance. It's nominal, but it teaches her to save/spend/share money and it's a good way to teach numbers and basic math. So far, she's managed to set aside enough to get a dinosaur lego set she really, really wanted and also gone on some carousel rides and bought candy once or twice. It's been a benefit for everyone, I think.
    - winrid 6y ago
      Teaching to save a % of your income early on is awesome! Good parenting.
      - Pfhreak 6y ago
        Thanks! There's a product called a moon jar that we have found some success with and gave us the idea.
OrgNet 6y ago
you are underestimating kids... given a proper sized car where they can reach the controls, they do pretty good. My kid has been driving a 12V electric car from age two.
- abiogenesis 6y ago
  Not many 5 year olds are tall enough to see the road and push the gas pedal at the same time though. The article states that this specific boy looked like he was 8 or 9.
  - OrgNet 6y ago
    no, but maybe his parents setup the car to accommodate...
- zengargoyle 6y ago
  Yeah, not even only farm kids driving tractors. I was riding a motorcycle in first grade and not long after came the era of go-karts (my dad and friends build the local go-kart track). When dad broke his right arm, I learned to shift left-handed from the passenger seat. There was always a bunch of stuff like going to get the car out of the garage and up to the front door that you just let the kids do.

I believe the majority of incidents where young kids "drive" end very quickly as minor parking lot or driveway accidents. The above comment might not actually be too far off the mark.

Wowfunhappy 6y ago
...semi-aside, a young kid driving in a driveway would be perfectly legal, right? Private property and all that?
- userbinator 6y ago
  IANAL but I believe so. When I was very young, long before a license, but probably closer to 10 than 5, my parents taught me to drive the tractor around the field. I think others here will have had similar experiences as well.
- dhosek 6y ago
  I remember meeting farm kids who were offspring of one of my mom's college classmates who routinely drove around the farm back in the 70s.
  - Pfhreak 6y ago
    This is still routine today. Most of the farm kids I know were driving early, some before 10.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
  - karatestomp 6y ago
    Still normal as soon as they can reach the pedals. If they're on a farm they're probably also riding on (or driving) small tractors and four-wheelers, and maybe riding horses, all of which are a hell of a lot more dangerous than towing a trailer of square bales a quarter mile over a private dirt road in the old '94 Ford, from the field to the barn, probably not going over 15mph because you'll rattle your bones out of your skin and the windows out of their frames if you go faster. Hell driving on a farm is probably safer than wandering around the more developed parts playing. There are lots of ways to get hurt on the kinds of structures, equipment, and junk in the more developed areas of a farm, and there's the livestock, if there is any, which can also be very dangerous.
  - yellowapple 6y ago
    That's how I first learned to drive, doing laps around the front pasture in my mom's S-10.

asudosandwich 6y ago

Yeah young children are pretty bad drivers, I can attest to that. Sometime around age 4 I swiped my dad’s car keys from the kitchen table (I recall I had to climb a chair to reach the top of the table). I think I wanted to mimic how adults operated cars. Luckily, I didn’t make it far. When I finally got it into gear I crashed into the viaduct paralleling our house blocking the road until another motorist found me. My parents didn’t spank us often but I sure caught hell for that stunt and my allowance was garnished for a very long time!

JshWright 6y ago
You had an allowance at age 4?
- dhosek 6y ago
  Son, now that you're in high school, it's time you start getting an allowance. However, remember that incident with the car ten years ago? It's time to start paying it off.
- Pfhreak 6y ago
  Our kid, who is 5, gets an allowance. It's nominal, but it teaches her to save/spend/share money and it's a good way to teach numbers and basic math. So far, she's managed to set aside enough to get a dinosaur lego set she really, really wanted and also gone on some carousel rides and bought candy once or twice. It's been a benefit for everyone, I think.
  - winrid 6y ago
    Teaching to save a % of your income early on is awesome! Good parenting.
    - Pfhreak 6y ago
      Thanks! There's a product called a moon jar that we have found some success with and gave us the idea.

OrgNet 6y ago

you are underestimating kids... given a proper sized car where they can reach the controls, they do pretty good. My kid has been driving a 12V electric car from age two.

abiogenesis 6y ago
Not many 5 year olds are tall enough to see the road and push the gas pedal at the same time though. The article states that this specific boy looked like he was 8 or 9.
- OrgNet 6y ago
  no, but maybe his parents setup the car to accommodate...
zengargoyle 6y ago
Yeah, not even only farm kids driving tractors. I was riding a motorcycle in first grade and not long after came the era of go-karts (my dad and friends build the local go-kart track). When dad broke his right arm, I learned to shift left-handed from the passenger seat. There was always a bunch of stuff like going to get the car out of the garage and up to the front door that you just let the kids do.