Kids Driving Long Distance

I did not let my kids drive long distances and spend the night unattended while in high school. They are minors and I am the legal guardian. I did drive them to such events and not attend the event, waited in the car and drove them home. They had a good time at the event and I knew who they were with and they were safe. We made the transition as they started college and were an 'adult' of 18 years of age.

We are going through the same situation. Has your daughter driven with you for several hours at a time? If not, I guess I would start by taking some "road trips" with her...allowing her to drive. Then, gradually let her go somewhere on her own that is about an hour away.

We are really going to intensify the driving this summer!!

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this is like a teething walking or speech question there is no set age. Depends on the kid. When mine first started highway driving it was when he was going to school out of town. 45 minutes there and back. and same when he moved out of town about an hour trip. depends on thier skill level. and all highway driving at first was with an adult in the vehicle even though he had his liscense.

he has not drove in big towns but he lived in a town the traffic was compareable to a big town. if we drive in a big town we make him pay attention to what we are doing as far as how we change lanes which lane to stay in and what to do if he gets lost. We have never denied letting him drive in a big town he just hasn't wanted to yet. listen to your gut and go from there.
they all do it at a diffrent age. depends on the kid.

During my senior year and just after in high school I was allowed to drive 8 hours to our summer home. I waas also the driver to an amusement park about an hour and a half away.
At 17 my son drove our third car 5 hours between us to our new home here in NC and as a senior has driven through DC, NYC, Baltimore, and Phillly.
Is she trutworthy? Does she tend to get distracted easily? Does she eat, drink, play with her iPod, etc while driving? Are her friends good kids? These are questions you have to ask yourself?
At 18 they are allowed by law to live on their own and join the military. My husband was making 16 hour drives by himself to get home for leave from his first duty station. I know it's hard but we have to let go sometime.
If you let her drive to Disney have her take turns every hour ot two with a driving buddy. Have her call at designated time intervals so you know how she is doing and if she doesn't tell her you will call the cops.

I would say those are great ideas! Let's rent a van, and I will be the cheauffer! My son came up with the idea of driving to Michigan to see friends (a 12 hour trip) at 17. I said , "sorry honey, I love you too much to let you take that kind of a trip by yourself. You will have to wait to do that kind of driving till after you are out of high school." We put him on a plane and had his friend's parents pick him up instead. My limit for my kids is about an hour and a half away and no overnight road trips without an adult. If anything bad happened, you would never forgive yourself...

I suppose it depends how old they are like 18. You could have offered to go with! Good luck...the more you let them do for themselves, the more they want to do! Is it your car or hers and who pays you or her! They all have to grow up sometime! The more they experience at home the more confidence they have when they leave home! My daughter is twenty one...call me crazy I drive her to work! In her car! She has a local job and one about an hour and a half away! I always do the driving! I care! Safety first! My daughter lives on her own and pays all her bills. She never drove my car without me! My Dad never let his children drive any of his cars! My mom did till got our own! I would buy my daughter a ticket to Disneyland...most adults can not drive that far! Besides so much can go wrong with a car on long distance trips! So think about! One ticket she is there and back! You know when she arrives and departs! Peace of mind! She has a whole lifetime to drive! Besides that adds on two extra days! Happy parenting! From a well seasoned parent.

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One day at a time with lots of prayer! Patience! And always ask them why you should say yes! What are the benefits! It is a learning process for both! Know when to let go and when to hang on tight. No more rope then they can hang them self with! Always remember sometimes they want you to say no! They feel safe and loved! And there is always maybe or maybe later! One day soon she won't even have to ask...pray she still does though...Parenting is really a life job...that we decide when to resign...Enjoy the process...it is a great journey! Once again the well seasoned parent. Enjoy your day!

I remember driving about an hour away when I was first 17 cause that is when I applied to a college that was an hour away. Then later in the year I drove 4 hours away to go to an amusement park and stay over night with friends. we had just graduated a few weeks earlier. I did not turn 18 till I was just about to start college.

Page,
Is your daughter past the restriction age of driving with other kids in the car? Look ionto that and make sure she is allowed to travel that far with other teens.
If it is ok, just remind her to not under any circumstance be distraced and to take breaks in the drive to rest. The kids we have, become young adults and experience is how they learn how to handle life. They just have us around to guide them in thier path as much as possible.
Relax , say a prayer and have her contact you at every stopping point along the way.

hehe.....I still remember that time as a teenager and am not looking forward to dealing with teenage boys and driving, though no girls. My oldest is 4yo and I'm already of the mind that unless they bought their own car, are paying their own insurance rates and are paying for the whole trip on their own, they can't go outside of town unless mom or dad is with them. I think that kids need to understand what driving really means and that means the WHOLE thing (including the $$ responsibility behind it).

I was reading somewhere that depending on how long your child has had their license, they can not ride with anyone under 20 yo unless accompanied by a licensed driver 25 yo or older and are not allowed to drive between 11pm and 5am. So that law might enable you to say NO right away anyway =)

You are the parent and it's up to you. Maybe you can go with them to the concert next time if planned in advance???

But the financial responsibility of owning a car often curbs where they want to go and how reckless they drive in order to maintain reasonably priced insurance.

Good luck!!!!

My almost 18 year old has been driving on his own since he was sixteen, and I guess my only advice is to give your child lots of time to drive within the area, making the trips a little longer until you do feel better. After driving about one year, I let my child drive w/friends down from SF to Santa Cruz (can be a difficult drive in parts), and even though I was nervous until they came back, I pushed myself to trust his good sense and my trust in his good driving. I sometimes get nervous about him driving in the neighborhood still - so maybe we don't get totally comfortable, but just take steps towards trusting them and letting go a little at a time.

Bigger trips - he and his friends took a plane to San Diego a few times (better than driving) and stayed w/adults at the other end.

My daughter is 16 and just started driving, but I would not allow her at a concert without adult supervision. As for staying in a hotel; most hotels will not allow you to rent a room without being at least 25 years of age. It comes down to insurance and liabilities. I suppose this can be true for the auto insurance, too. It is your responsibility, if anything happened to your daughter and her friends. I know my children don't always like my answers, but until they are adults I am standing firm. I can remember terrible things that happened to many of my friends when we were in High School. I would never be able to live with myself if someone was injured or worse. Good luck on your decision.

I do not have a teen yet but I do remember being one. My parents did not allow me to drive very far until it became a neccesity my senior year of high school. My father began having seizures and lost his driver's liscense so I began to drive him from Petaluma to the Larkspur ferry terminal and pcik him up in the evenings, I also ended up driving my younger sister to 6th grade camp in Cazadero. The summer after my senior year I drove my sister's and I from Petaluma to Idaho. However this was decided because my father could not drive and I was not allowed to drive out of town with more than one friend in the car. And the longer trips to Cazadero and Idaho were with family only.

On another note driving in an unfamiliar area can be a bit underving for a driver of any age or experience. My husband is in the military so we are often driving in an unfamiliar palce and it is not uncommon for us to be temporarily confused abotu our location. We've both truned the wrong way on a one-way street at some point while trying to find a place or gotten off a freeway in a not too nice neighborhood. I've also had some close calls in bad weather while trying to read direction signs trying to figure out where I am. I think the Disneyland trip is a little too much for teenage girls to handle on thier own no matter how confidant they are. Perhaps if it's feasable you could take a trip down there too and drive with them and then be close-by but not WITH them.

I was allowed to drive long distances once I turned 18. I had been driving for 3 years by then. I don't think any sooner than that is necessary. Once I graduated high school, my friend and I drove from the Sacramento area to San Diego several times to visit another friend who was going to school there. I say keep the long distance traveling no more than a few hours away until she graduates, but once she graduates, you really can't stop her. Especially if she goes away to college.

You have gotten some great advice about driving, so I won't address that. I do know that the Taylor Swift concert is sold out in Fresno, so unless your daughter and her friends already have their tickets, they won't be able to get in. If they do have tickets already, I wonder if they had thought about how they had planned to make the trip. Teens and their minor details!! :)

Definitely depends on how old they are. My parents let me and my friends drive 6hrs from Atlanta to FL but we were also going to be staying at our summer house but I was also in my senior year of h.s. and 18. I would never be allowed to go stay in a hotel overnight when I was still in h.s. with just a couple girlfriends.

The first thing I think you need to do is check the current CA state laws regarding teens driving. I don't have kids that age anymore, but have heard something about a law that says a teen can't drive with other teens in a car for a certain time after they get their license, unless an adult is along... not sure what the law entails, but I'd check that out.

Having said that, I totally think it depends on how you feel your daughter and her friends would handle such a trip. If you feel she and they are reasonably responsible, then it shouldn't be a huge issue. I know exactly how you feel, though, because our daughter and a friend wanted to travel to Colorado to visit another friend in college there when they were 18. I was reluctant, but my husband said let them go. We did and it turned out fine. (She still remarks when we talk about that trip that they only skidded on ice once on the freeway, but came to a stop OK and were fine.) From here to Fresno is nothing compared to that trip.

I didn't drive more than an hour from the house until I went away to collage which was 4 hours away. As a parent, I would not allow my kid to go to a concert out of town and as for the senior trip, I'm pretty sure the school will not let her drive herself. Most school activities require that they provide the transportation.