Teenage driving (low Audi content)

[Luis Marques <marques@rtis.ray.com>]

This is king of long, but I think it is worth sharing on the List.

I have to agree with Dave Eaton on this one.  An underpowered, strong,
heavy, and crash worthy RWD car is the way to go with a novice driver. 
I personally learned to drive in a Volvo 245 swedish brick.  It didn't
have a lot of power, had a top speed of maybe 90mph, had a soft
suspension, wasn't very popular with the other kids in school, but it
was da** strong.  In fact, I am probably alive in perfect health because
of that car.  

You see, nothing can replace experience behind the wheel.  After about
six months with my license, I considered myself a good driver.  Knew
about weight transfer and car control and braking and all that.  Even
how to apply the pedals in the wet on a RWD car and how to react when I
did loose it.  But one day (before anybody had bothered to tell me that
green doesn't mean "go", but rather that the other guy is 'supposed' to
stop and yield), I was hit square on the driver's door by a ~'67
Wrambler (sp?) with a heavy american chrome bumper attached to a heavy
american steel ladder frame doing about 30 mph.  I was doing about
40mph.  I had the green light.  He failed to yield to a red light and
uncoming traffic while making a left turn.  I had done everything by the
book.  Still, I failed to recognize the danger of the car running the
red light.  Only experience can teach you that.  You can be certain that
from that day on I was a lot more carefull when approaching any kind of
intersection.

The driver's door was pushed in so much that you could see the floor
carpet from the outside, under the door.  The steel reinforcing bar was
crearly vissible.  The seat was pinned between the transmission tunnel
and the door.  The dash flexed in the middle and all the little switches
were hanging out by their cables.  The B-pillar even partially ripped
off the roof and bottom.  I only suffered a small cut on one ear from
striking the bolt that holds the seat belt loop in the b-pillar (whose
plastic cap was missing).  I opened the passenger's door and walked away
from the accidient.  Had I been in any other (insert your favorite
american or Japanese make here), I most likely would have been killed.

Other people screw up too, not just teenage drivers.  Untill they
develop the wisdom, skills, and reflexes, the only thing that will keep
them alive in a situation like this is a tank.  Sure, it may not be the
most inspiring car to drive or the fastest, or the most cool, but they
will learn and they will be alive.  Once they develop the skills and
know their own limits, and the cars, AND those imposed by surrounding
trafic and other things beyound their control, then they will be ready
for a more cool, sporting car with higher limits.  I remeber that at
first I wasn't trilled about driving a Volvo station wagon to school,
but after the accident I was glad my father didn't give in to my
requests for a cooler car.

If I had a teenage son (or daugther) today, I would gladly give them
another swedish brickmobile for them to learn (trash, beat up, crash,
etc) and then replace it with something else european after a year.  You
don't have to go very far for statistics.  It's not a question of if
they are going to be involved in an accident, but when.  And it won't
neccesarily be their fault.  That's my 0.02's on the subject.

Luis Marques
'87 4kcsq
'79 Volvo 245 (RIP)