My son has crashed his car.

tomstickland

I find those middle lane cars that are too close together alarming. It's brain-dead driving. I'm sure that if they're travelling at 70.0000mph then they're safe though.

nemo183

frosty wrote:

Thanks everyone,I always thought my son was very sensible and would not be a boy racer,but when he is with his friends he changes into a different person.

I've one of my own, who is an RAF gliding instructor. In a glider, he's fine - in a car - really scary!

Although it's hard, try not to let any court notices get you down too much. At the end of the day, it's just insurance and money - no real harm done. Should it go to court, most times the bench will have seen it all before, and a frank admission of guilt, responsibility and remorse will go down well. Should your son actually get a summons, depending on the charge, he may or will have to attend court. In either case, I'd suggest attending. And in addition, I'd also fork out the cost of a barrister to put forward the mitigating circumstances. Whilst this is by no means essential, it shows the bench you are treating the matter seriously, and the legal advice will put your case in the best way.

If it does get to court, try and stay chilled about it - the case will probably be the least important of the day. Finally, post accident, the police may well wish to visit and take an additional statement. Say calm, only answer their questions as briefly and accurately as possible. Never, ever, lie. Never offer more information than they ask for. Make sure you take note of their names and numbers. Take a copy of any statement.

skintas_2

my brother passed his test at 17 he has written off 7 cars since then. couldnt afford to have a car for a few years......... he couldnt afford the insurance so he didnt have any, till he got arrested, and the car crushed...

UK007BullDog

My son is nearly 18 and looking to buy a car. He was dreaming of a BMW or Audi 2 ltr sport, souped up even more. He has had his licence for 1 year now and he does drive occasionally.

Thankfully he has now scaled down his car specs mainly due to the fact that he cannot afford the insurance. I wished that for under 21's the car insurance for anything more powerful than a 1.3 engine should be the way up in the 6 or 7 thousands pounds a year. He already has said that the insurance premiums have gone up substantially in the last couple of months. For me however not enough. I am very worried as I know how he behaved on the racetrack in a go-cart. Its just driving me nuts!

He needs me to be guarantor so I have a little bit of leverage as long as he goes via the car company to get financing. However he thinks he is smart by now suggesting to get a loan from the bank so that he can buy any car he wants, which would remove my "leverage and influence". So I am ignoring his bank loan ideas.

Troubleatmill_2

UK007BullDog wrote:

He needs me to be guarantor so I have a little bit of leverage as long as he goes via the car company to get financing. However he thinks he is smart by now suggesting to get a loan from the bank so that he can buy any car he wants, which would remove my "leverage and influence". So I am ignoring his bank loan ideas.

I would suggest that your Son would be much "smarter" if he got a job and got the loan himself.
He would be more likely to treat the car better.
And if if he prangs it - he is responsible for the rest of the payments.

Being a guarantor is a really really bad idea. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole.

Best
Troubleatmill

Stevenj214

The only time I had to claim on my insurance, I cancelled it a few days later. There was no mention of paying the rest of the premium, in fact I was actually refunded the rest of the month that i'd already paid.

I was with Norwich Union.

So give his insurers a call and ask.

tomstickland

You can still crash a 1.3. My old 1.3 Astra regularly managed 115 indicated on the motorway, so it was capable of doing 80mph down an A road all the time. There is no simple answer other than having to take personal responsibility.

roger56

iceicebaby wrote:

men ... more mature ??? erm ???

Im speechless?

..female...speechless....Is this a first.....:D

roger56

...but seriously

maybe young drivers / new drivers / drivers with >6 points or repeat offences should only be allowed to drive a car with a governor to limit the speed to say 60/70mph.....with modern cars containing ECUs this should not be a difficult optional setting.

In addition, make penalties for not complying / removing the speed limiting device very harsh, eg destroy car and large fine.

roswell

I cant see anywhere that says the ops son is a boy racer, i can guarentee that ever male and female in the land will have exceded the speed limit at some point but just because the Op says he lost control doesnt mean that thsi was due to excessive speed, he could have hit diesel or ice or oil, he may have had one of those moments we all have where we loose concentration for a second, Im 25 and have to admit when i first started driving i loved the freedom and speed came with confidence, the problem isnt young drivers it the lack of off road tuition on skid pans etc

The skills we need for driving cant be taught with out experiance, there are many things that you only pick up when you are driving eg the ability to control a skid / the ability to spot that driver you know is going to pull out infornt of you, the skills to react quickly and safely to objects falling off skip wagons and the completely irational ability to throw all the skill you have out the window and chuck the anchors out the back door when the unexpected happens.