Please help my nerves.

[Gertie2u]

Do you have experience with a teen having a car accident and being at fault?

Short version: 17 year old, ticketed for failure to yield, going to court in Texas.

Sunday, so we can't very well call anywhere for expert advice. Teen is scared to death, spouse and I never had an accident, so we have no idea. I tried search engines, but everything is about speeding tickets, DUI, leaving the scene, or accident while breaking some other Texas law applying to teens. In Texas, there is a period when someone under 18 newly licensed can't be out after dark except to work, medical aid, or school functions and can't have a pile of friends in the car with them.None of these apply as teen is past this restriction, and anyway, it was daytime, and no one else in car.

Any suggestions, advice, links to helpful websites appreciated. I think we might even take wild speculation of a positive sort here now. We _think_ she'll have to pay a fine, take defensive driving, and still have the ticket on her state report.

Insurance knows anyway due to us having to tell them to expect the other driver's call for claims coverage.

[3timesoccermom]

If it's anything like when my middle daughter had an accident at 16 - her fault, she was ticketed and had to go to court - it was no big deal.

She'd had her driver's license exactly one month and was in the left lane. The car to her right was following a school bus and suddenly swerved right in front of my daughter and she bumped him, which made him bump the car in front of him. The car she bumped was a very beat up, old, rusted Ford Fiesta. The one HE hit was a (new) Jaguar. Thankfully everybody was ok because she was carrying a friend with her.

We went to "court" which is just a room in a building here in our po-dunk town, not a "courthouse." The judge called each person up individually - I went with her (there were LOTS of teens). He asked a couple of questions -don't even remember what they were - we paid the ticket and left. I think she received deferred adjudication; I'm not even sure on that but she hasn't had any other accidents (away from home anyway, that I KNOW of) but here she has knocked over our mailbox, bumped the door of Hubs' truck AND crunched the front lower corner of our house in. sigh . . . .

[Gertie2u]

Haha yeah know the feeling. This child is a special child, at least when it comes to driving. She's for some reason scared of it. I guess I don't want her to be all eager speed racer or anything, but there is such a thing as a tad too timid as well. Thank you for the reply, 3timesoccermom.

[3timesoccermom]

Try not to worry - especially if it was a minor accident - I think it will be over pretty quickly. Let me know how it turns out for yall!

P.S. Feel free to call me Renee if you like.

P.S. How's your shoulder? Miss you on What's for Dinner but I sure wouldn't be cooking if I had your painful ailment.

[blossomed]

This is more a don't be too scared. One reason i think teens are forced to go to court is to make sure that they understand the severity of any accident.

But in the my parents had to deal with it, 20 years ago when I was a wee lass of 17, driving my parents station wagon, I backed right into a car. Insurance went up, I was on private property so no ticket, but in all it made me a much better driver.

Someone gave me advice once - look twice move once. I still use it today especially when changing lanes.

Hope they take it easy on DD and she takes it all to heart!

[sns4063]

Wow, they make teens go to court now? I had no idea. When I was 17, I was in a wreck (failure to control speed), but I only had to go to defensive driving. Hmmm. I'm really not looking forward to my kids driving-luckily I still have 9 years!