Should a 17yo be punished for a speed...
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Should a 17yo be punished for a speed...
| Tue, 05-09-2006 - 1:48pm |
Should a 17yo be punished for a speeding ticket or is the fine enough punishment
- Additional Punishment
- Fine is enough of a Punishment
You will be able to change your vote.

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I don't agree with that at all, Rose. Consequences for adults and children are different and that's just part of the deal. It goes way beyond the single incident and paying a fine. If this is a habit and the consequences don't get the child where he or she lives, which is not always in the pocketbook and more often it's in their transportation, the habits will continue and some day somebody will get hurt.
In fact, most states have different classes of licenses for teen drivers than they do for adults, and different laws and consequences for violations as well. I think it would be a really big mistake not to make this kind of thing more of a learning experience than just pay the fine and you're done.
Oh Molly one more thing I forgot to respond to, about your son riding his bike to work. If it's only a couple of miles, what's the problem? It will be good for him. He'll get some exercise and have all that time to think about why he's not driving his car to work. I'll bet he rode his bike a lot further than that before he got his license and a car! If a month of that doesn't slow him down once he gets back behind the wheel, maybe the thought of having to do it again for even longer next time will!
And another benefit: he'll be saving lots of money on gas that he can put toward the fine for the ticket!
Thanks Rose. This too was my initial thought. When I received my two (total in my life) speeding tickets, I paid the fines and any increased premium. My son also knows if he receives another moving violation before he's 18, he will lose his license by the courts until he is 18 and will have huge fees to pay to reinstate. My husband is being a bit unreasonable about this.
Thanks again for your advice!
Molly
I'm still deciding on the punishment. I think two weeks of no car and having to ride his bike to work will work wonders, I hope. On top of that, he will have the fine of $126 to pay and he is still paying for his transmission repairs from a month ago. He will be a little strapped for cash. I may lock up his dirt bike to drive it in further.
By the way, he just turned 17 on 5/6, so he's been driving for almost one year so far.
Thanks again!
Molly
I got the impression that husband wants to pay the fine for the kid, tho I could be wrong.
If my 17 y/o got a speeding ticket, she would pay the fine herself and lose her car for a week, perhaps two, depending on the speed she was ticketed for.
It's easy to pay a fine, but the child must learn that speeding isn't just against the law, it's dangerous, especially in residential areas.
My dd was recently caught having a party at our house while we were away. She had a choice: Pay a fine and have it on her record or go to community service in the inner city for 3 days and have it expunged from her record. After she signed up for the community service (at our urging as well as the court's) she said to me, "Jeez, I should have just paid the fine and been done with it". Hmmm, I thought, I'm glad she's doing the community service even moreso now....maybe she will think twice next time someone yells, "Party at so and so's house!"
No, the opposite. My husband thinks he should lose his car for months. He tends to be a bit extreme sometimes.
I thought paying the fine with his own money and the fact that if he gets another ticket, he will lose his license until he's 18 would be enough. However, after listening to everyone on the boards I'm agreeing to two weeks no driving just to emphasize the importance of safe driving habits.
My son's grandpa, on his fathers side, would probably pay the fine just like your ex, but I don't think my son would ask him to pay.
Thanks!
Molly
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