gene1

What would the GPS have done aside from letting the parents know what part of the woods the front of the car had landed?

How about not buying your kids an M5? I'm sorry, but this tragedy could have been avoided with a little comon sense on the part of the parents. I have children, and I can barely imagine what these poor people are going through, but come on!

"Happy 18th birthday son! here's 500hp car. I know you'll be responsible and never wonder what it can really do... oh yeah, and stay off the empty air strip."

Frankly, I would have been on that airstrip myself.

The result of this will be a grieving mothers coalition being formed to loby congress to legislate the available power on cars.
The government must protect us!

Rudy

In fairness, I think Cabrio330's point was that a GPS device would have informed the parents of previous speeding tendencies, etc. so they could have addressed the kid's behavior earlier (assuming that the first speeding attempt didn't kill him -- which in this case, did not.)

I still agree that an inexperienced and immature kid should not have been given access to a 500HP M5 -- unless the M5 had some sort of parental controls as I suggested before...

steve_gus

such a situation wouldnt have been controlled in the UK with parental controls as at 18 you are old enough to be a legal adult, and drink.

There has been talk of adopting USA type inexperienced driver controls such as curfews, not driving with other kids in the car, etc. Doesnt the state of Florida have these controls, or had he gone past the limitation period?

The main limiting factor in the UK is driver insurance. My 520d for a 48 year old, no accident or conviction is ?330 - approx $670. To add my 19 year old son, clear license and record, full license for 2 1/2 years takes the insurance to ?8000 (Approx $16500!!!!!!!!!)

I see on forums many mentions of 16 year olds driving miata sports, and other lareg engine cars - dont you have similar expensive insurance issues in the states or are all these people 'moneyed up'

Rudy

I don't understand what you're saying -- just because my child turns 18 and is considered an adult does not mean I have to turn off the parental controls on my M5, regardless of what country I live in...

hinckley

If you can afford to buy your son an M5, I'm sure that you can afford the insurance.

But to be fair, it's really not known whether the car was the kid's or his father's. The kid claimed it was his. He was obviously driving it. But it was registered under his father's name.

In any event, I think it's hard to criticize anyone going through a loss like this. None of us know the true circumstances. We only know the very, very tragic results. RIP.

Rudy

I agree that the cost of insurance probably isn't an issue -- if it is, then you shouldn't be buying an M5.

Although it was confirmed that the car was registered in the father's name, I don't see why that makes much of a difference here. If the father bought the car for the kid, that was a mistake. If the father gave the keys to the kid to use "his" car, that was also a mistake. If the kid took the keys without the father's knowledge, that's unfortunate. In all cases, having the parental controls built into the car would have possibly prevented such a tragedy...

steve_gus

my point is, Josh inferred in his posts on the other site that it was HIS M5. And, in my local law, if Josh was my son, I would have had no ability to implement a parental restriction. 18 is an adult here.

What you might allow your adult or otherwise son to do with YOUR car would be in your domain as you are lending YOUR car on conditions for the loan of that car. If he breaks them, he doesnt get it a second time.

If my son speeds in his car, i cant ground him..... he is 19 and its his car - the law would define that as false imprisonment. As it is, he has a car suitable for his experience and hes far more sensible than i am.

Where I live, Josh could have done what he did without any legal parental control. Just as he could have done on his 21st birthday in Florida

gene1

Many people in the states register their grown children's cars in their own name for insurance savings.

Rudy

I understand a bit better now. I'm basing my opinion on the fact that the car was registered in the father's name and it's more than likely not a car that an 18 year old kid could own outright. If my 18 year old could afford an M5 and bought it or leased it in his name, then sure, there's not much I'd be able to do except try to talk to him about being responsible behind the wheel (and maybe even pay for some advance driving schools...) If the more likely scenario was that the father either let the kid drive his car or gave it to him as a "gift" but kept it registered in his name, then I think he would have had every right to engage the parental controls -- even if the kid was an adult. It may be a tough call but my position would be "I don't care if you're over 18 -- if you want this car, it's not going to be fully "unleashable" until you demonstrate the maturity and responsibility that comes with experience behind the wheel." If he had a problem with that, I'd let him know that he could pick a different car.

It's very similar to the "as long as you live under my roof, you have to obey my rules -- regardless of your age" deal that many parents tell their "adult" children...

CoolTones

So Sad.
What an unfortunate incident. My thoughts and prayers are with the families.