WhiteKnight77 Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 DA says he will charge parents in teen crash after a 16 yo girl was racing her parents BMW with bad brakes and bald tires and caused the death of 2 people. I honestly hope the charges are set against the parents. If the parents wish to take it to trial, I do hope the jury sends a message to other parents about what their teens do in cars they own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie lingus Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 Greetings! I do not believe that you can hold parents responsible when at 16 it is lawful to hold a driver's license in most states. I do not like any laws that hold people accountable for the actions of others including their own children. We are all free moral agents regardless of age and responsible for our own behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XavierOnasis Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 She's a minor. She's in a vehicle that is titled to her parents. They have the burden of maintenance on the vehicle. Hell, I'm 19 and can barely afford to keep my car on the road. Bring the whole family up on charges. The daughter for reckless homicide, and the parents for raising an idiot. Had something like this occur locally. Friend of mine got killed, and driver gets nothing more than a reckless driving ticket. Three cheers for small-town politics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruin Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I'm with Lingus. It's the kids fault for driving like a dumb ass. On the flip side, it is the aprents car; which means that they should have to pay any charges for vehicle damage and maybe money to the other family. But prosecuting them is beyond stupid. Point the finger in the direction it needs to head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 I may have just missed it but I don't see anywhere in the article that it says the parents knew it had bad brakes (why the hell wouldn't they have fixed it since they prolly drive it too). And responsibility wise, IMHO, I don't think anybody should be held liable for somebody else's actions. No matter who you are you can't have complete control over somebody. If however, the parents did know it had bad breaks and left it then hell they should be charged and hopefully convicted. /extremist And since I don't like to pay for the meals of some of society's dumbest people, then heck hook 'em up to some electricity and toast 'em! /end extremist Say you are a parent and you leave to go out to the grocery store and your spouse goes to pick up her daughter from a play rehearsal. You decide leave your teen son home alone. He is 16 (has a license) has a bad driving record and you tell him not to take the car out. You are simply not capable of being in 2 places at once...the kid takes the car out and runs into a couple walking their dog on the sidewalk. In that scenario, the parents were being responsible as possible without having to go to extreme's. The parents have no control and its not fair to them that they are having charges brought up on them for what their hoolagan (cool word) son did. We are all free moral agents regardless of age and responsible for our own behavior. Nailed it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XavierOnasis Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 They may not have complete control, but they damn sure have legal control. Brakes bad enough to be cited as the cause of a crash aren't exactly a hidden problem. Neither are bald tires. As the article states it was the family car, the parents could not have not known. In your example, the parent should be brought up on charges. Willfully leaving car keys in the possession of a 16 yr old with a known poor-driving record, who then runs down the couple walking their dog, should be grounds for criminal negligence (sic) in the least. How is it not fair that they be brought up on charges? By their inaction, people died. Or maybe I'm just ######. As it pertains, I'll tell you why. Friend of mine's in a '91 Mustang GT with 5 other people. None are belted. Friend's in the back. This is in rural Indiana, so they were on back roads. A doobie was being passed around. Road they're on is pretty well maintained. Driver's doing a police-estimated 106, and hits a frost heave that's been patched. He crosses the center, and begins to fishtail. Brings it back to his lane, but the fishtail's getting worse. It loops the other way and they go through a 3-way intersection backwards, still circling. Mustang finally goes off the road, up a 3 ft embankment, and cartwheels in the air. Everyone's ejected. They land in a soybean field. Everyone's pretty much alright, and hobbling about except for my friend. She got airlifted 50 miles, and died of her injuries the next day. But wait.. There's more The next week is graduation. The driver and three friends show up to walk across the stage. Get pulled aside by the principal, to whom they admit smoking pot. Sent home. Another week goes by. Cops tag some racers. Take a guess who was in one of the cars. And drunk. No charges filed for anything. Driver's grandfather owns the local foundry, and big in local philanthropy. Of course that's just coincidental. Parents should have endangerment charges for providing a known reckless driver, a minor in their care, with a brand new car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnumkp Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 You can't blame the parents in this case. The girl was stupid to drive so far over the limit. I doubt it was the bald tires or bad brakes that caused the crash, just the fact a young girl was in an car with too much power for her (the same would be said if it was a boy). Oh and the fact she was racing, thats just plain dumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteKnight77 Posted July 10, 2003 Author Share Posted July 10, 2003 Most of you have good arguments, but remember, driving is a priviledge and not a right. There are also responsiblities that go along with it. One is a well maintained car. That car wasn't. Parents knew of it along with the fact their daughter was a problem driver. Last I looked parents are responsible for their offspring til they are 18. They should be held accountable for failing to ensure the safety of others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnumkp Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 At 12, let alone 16 you should know the difference between right and wrong. Yes the parents should be partially responsable for having a faulty car, but only has far as having an unfit road vehicle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specter Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 There is also the fact that the child is a minor, and as such, her parents are responsible for her. They could have kept her from the car, or, being her car, and their obligation to be responsible for her, they should have known the condition, and kept her from driving it. Thats what being responsible for your children means. My old man knew everything I did in that car, and always what shape it was in. ANd when I screwed up, I wasnt driving. But then, responsibility had a different definition then, I guess. You dont want the responsibility oor consequences that goes along with raising children, then dont have them. Otherwise, face the music. Either way, the parents are responsible. No, they didnt make her drive like an idiot, and couldnt control that. Ill let you have that one, although it doesnt wash in the least. But they knew about the car's condition, or should have. Letting a 16 year old girl out in an unsafe vehicle is the parents fault, even if only with bad tires. And chances are as bad as the tires are, they should have kept an eye on what their teen was driving. It has nothing to do with extremism, and everything to do with responsibility. Until your child is 18, guess what folks. They are your problem as well as your joy. Its your responsibility to teach them and guide them, care for them, and look out for their welfare, which also means know what they are driving. Extremism has nothing to do with it. Thats like saying the parents werent responsible for the 2 boys that shot up Columbine High School in Colorado. Horse S&*t!! Their kids are making bombs in their garage and hiding guns in the house and the parents didnt know it. That in itself is a crime, and they should have been tried for that alone. The boy had been found mentally deranged and turned down by the military. That should have told them something. I was across the street from where the first bomb that kid built went off. Shattered plate glass window all over me while I was integrating a server. You tell me how that kid built a bomb like that in his garage with no parents knowing it, and it was one of several. Anyway, my point is this. Parents are and should be held responsible for their kids, just like in the old days, until they are 18. Maybe if they were, we wouldnt have lost most of the last 2 generations like we have. Bottom line : You dont want the responsibility, choose not to have kids and get fixed. You want to have kids, until they are 18, their actions are yours, a reflection of what you have or have NOT taught them. They are your responsibility, and so are their actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 If the parent's knew about the brakes and balding tires (at least they should the tires) then yeah they are pretty damn responsible. Sorry about your friends XO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WytchDokta Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 It's the parents fault!! For letting their daughter drive the car when it had dodgy brakes and bald tyres.... It wasn't the daughter who made the tyres bald.... Anyways, this will now probably start a flame war, so this thread may need to be locked.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger Posted July 10, 2003 Share Posted July 10, 2003 It's the parents fault!! For letting their daughter drive the car when it had dodgy brakes and bald tyres.... Parents fault for the shape of the car and daughters fault for racing it seems. It wasn't the daughter who made the tyres bald....Whoever has been driving it, its their fault and she was driving it so kinda the whole family's fault. Anyways, this will now probably start a flame war, so this thread may need to be locked.... We can keep it civil and understand eachother's opinions I think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteKnight77 Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 Remember that the parents neighbors had warned them about their daughter racing through the neighborhood. A bit OT, but fits in this thread. Back when I started to become of age I wanted to get my learners permit. In Virginia you could get it at 15y and 8 months. I was informed along with everyone else, that I could not get my license until I could pay for the extra insurance on the car. Well at that age, you can't hold a job as a minor. Even after I turned 16 I wasn't able to pay for the insurance as I had no job. I finally got a job and took drivers ed and paid for the insurance and got my license. Everything was cool and I was able to drive the family car once in a while and to work. One night after getting into a bit of a fight with my then GF, I took off in the family car without permission (GTA if they wanted to push the issue) and headed to the GF's about 30 miles away. Once I get there, we talk for a bit then I talked her into going for a ride even after her mom said no. That there was kidnapping even though we were both underage. While cruising around in VA. Beach I get pullled over by the cops. They asked about the car and who I and my GF was while they called it in. The whole time I was sitting there, I wondered who had called, my folks or hers, I just thought my ass was grass and I was gonna go to jail that night. The good thing was, they were looking for a car 3 years older than the one I was driving. I am also glad they didn't notice that my GF was in her pajamas . After dropping her back off, I went home and returned my pops keys to his dresser. The next morning I was informed that I wasn't able to drive for a month and my parents asked for my license to keep me from driving any car. They knew that driving is a privledge and took it away when I messed up as they didn't want to be the ones under the gun if I had. That was in 1978 when that happened. I didn't even have to aske how they knew how I had the car, they knew unlike most parents nowadays. Goes to show how much some parents really do care while others don't. Go figure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insaneflyingmonkey Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 the reson for sueing parents was car wasn't safe (bald tires bad brakes) & they let her go out even though they knew she was a reckless driver. thats probably already been mention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkriley Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 I don't want to get into this one! I'm going back to the humor thread it's fun over there. Just Pic I found I don't really think it should be locked. But maybe next time one of you all lock a thread you can use this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuchillo* Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XavierOnasis Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Yup, that's funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connie lingus Posted July 15, 2003 Share Posted July 15, 2003 QUOTED FROM WK77 One night after getting into a bit of a fight with my then GF, I took off in the family car without permission (GTA if they wanted to push the issue) and headed to the GF's about 30 miles away. Greetings! 1978 eh? I could see that awful DA now trying to calculate the Statutes of Limitations... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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