Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give her
a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer driver, if
she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for street names
and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another thing
to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?

"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my manor.
wrote in message . ..
Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give
her a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer
driver, if she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for
street names and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another
thing to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?

This may sound harsh, but your wife should be chained to a wall in the
cellar and fed unheated, undiluted store brand cream of celery soup one
spoonful at a time until she agrees to forget this hideous idea.

1) Anyone who cannot learn to read a map or jot down driving directions with
a Flair pen (so it's fat & easy to read while driving) should not be allowed
out of the house.

2) You're right - the electronic device will be another distraction,
particularly in light of #3:

3) Speak to your insurance agent and ask which gender gets hit with higher
rates at her age. Mine says it's girls. Used to be boys when I was young.
Either something's changed, or young girls have always been worse, but the
insurance agency didn't notice this 35 years ago. Girls are awful drivers.
Your daughter doesn't need any help to be worse.

4) Every time you're being tailgated *really badly*, try and notice what
kind of driver it is. Young girls are the worst with this. The last thing
she needs is a toy in the car that'll keep her from noticing the license
plate she's about to eat for lunch.

Doug,
Well now that I have support for my veto, can I defer from celery soup
torture?

I am afraid my wife feel victim to the ad for Tom-Tom. I think she can
remember when she started to drive and did not know her way around town.
They make Tom-Tom seem like the computer from Star Trek, and my guess it is
not as user friendly as the Star Trek Computer.

Our other kids found Mapquest to be a god send, and I hope our youngest
enjoys the beauty and simplicity of Mapquest.

I am glad you didn't suggest I tie her to the TV and shot the TV. You are
mellowing in your old age.


"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...

"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my
manor. wrote in message
. ..
Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give
her a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer
driver, if she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for
street names and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another
thing to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?

This may sound harsh, but your wife should be chained to a wall in the
cellar and fed unheated, undiluted store brand cream of celery soup one
spoonful at a time until she agrees to forget this hideous idea.

1) Anyone who cannot learn to read a map or jot down driving directions
with a Flair pen (so it's fat & easy to read while driving) should not be
allowed out of the house.

2) You're right - the electronic device will be another distraction,
particularly in light of #3:

3) Speak to your insurance agent and ask which gender gets hit with higher
rates at her age. Mine says it's girls. Used to be boys when I was young.
Either something's changed, or young girls have always been worse, but the
insurance agency didn't notice this 35 years ago. Girls are awful drivers.
Your daughter doesn't need any help to be worse.

4) Every time you're being tailgated *really badly*, try and notice what
kind of driver it is. Young girls are the worst with this. The last thing
she needs is a toy in the car that'll keep her from noticing the license
plate she's about to eat for lunch.

"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my manor.
wrote in message . ..
Doug,
Well now that I have support for my veto, can I defer from celery soup
torture?

I'd question her first to be sure there are no remnants of her errant
belief. The idea needs to be crushed in the most Stalinesque way possible.


I am afraid my wife feel victim to the ad for Tom-Tom. I think she can
remember when she started to drive and did not know her way around town.
They make Tom-Tom seem like the computer from Star Trek, and my guess it
is not as user friendly as the Star Trek Computer.

Our other kids found Mapquest to be a god send, and I hope our youngest
enjoys the beauty and simplicity of Mapquest.

How about just buying her a nice map book of the area? Gas stations sell
them.

Doug,

As someone who started driving using fold up maps and has since converted to
Mapquest I find Mapquest far superior. It is on one page, versus a fold up
map where you have to refold the map to cover the area you want to travel.
You can change the scale and detail to fit your needs. You can easily
review your route before you leave, and it only requires minimum review
along the way. You don't have to worry about the fold up map getting torn
in the car, or being destroy by numerous folding and unfolding, trying to
fold the map correctly after your wife and daughters had incorrectly folded
the map numerous times. Or even trying to locate the map after the wife and
children have driven the car.

Now, if you EVER mention fold up maps again, you are either going down to
the basement or tied to the TV.

I personally would vote for the TV gag.



"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
...
"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my
manor. wrote in message
. ..
Doug,
Well now that I have support for my veto, can I defer from celery soup
torture?

I'd question her first to be sure there are no remnants of her errant
belief. The idea needs to be crushed in the most Stalinesque way possible.


I am afraid my wife feel victim to the ad for Tom-Tom. I think she can
remember when she started to drive and did not know her way around town.
They make Tom-Tom seem like the computer from Star Trek, and my guess it
is not as user friendly as the Star Trek Computer.

Our other kids found Mapquest to be a god send, and I hope our youngest
enjoys the beauty and simplicity of Mapquest.

How about just buying her a nice map book of the area? Gas stations sell
them.

"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my manor.
wrote in message ...
Doug,

As someone who started driving using fold up maps and has since converted
to Mapquest I find Mapquest far superior. It is on one page, versus a
fold up map where you have to refold the map to cover the area you want to
travel. You can change the scale and detail to fit your needs. You can
easily review your route before you leave, and it only requires minimum
review along the way. You don't have to worry about the fold up map
getting torn in the car, or being destroy by numerous folding and
unfolding, trying to fold the map correctly after your wife and daughters
had incorrectly folded the map numerous times. Or even trying to locate
the map after the wife and children have driven the car.

Now, if you EVER mention fold up maps again, you are either going down to
the basement or tied to the TV.

I personally would vote for the TV gag.

Aren't there map books of your city??? The one I have is rugged, and the
scale is perfect for driving around and quickly spotting where you are.

"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my manor.
wrote in message . ..
Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give
her a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer
driver, if she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for
street names and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another
thing to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?




I agree with all the advice Doug has offered.

We had a rule with our kids just after they got their license..........no
more than one friend in the car at any time. Statistics show that the
frequency of accidents increases when a new driver has more than one friend
in the car. The more kids in the car.........the more distractions.

Our other rule was no talking on the cell phone when driving.

Speaking of cell phones.....you may want to consider getting her one if she
does not already have one. If she has her own car a membership to AAA is
also a good idea.

Regarding insurance premiums for boys vs. girls..........our experience is
that the premium is *much* higher on boys than girls.

JimH,
We have always purchased the kids a cell phone when they turned 15. This
just happened to match up with when they started to date or go out with
friends who have a car. They think it is the best thing since sliced bread,
and my wife and I love being able to get in touch with them whenever we
want. The new family plans make it reasonable.


" JimH" wrote in message
...

"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my
manor. wrote in message
. ..
Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give
her a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer
driver, if she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for
street names and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another
thing to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?




I agree with all the advice Doug has offered.

We had a rule with our kids just after they got their license..........no
more than one friend in the car at any time. Statistics show that the
frequency of accidents increases when a new driver has more than one
friend in the car. The more kids in the car.........the more
distractions.

Our other rule was no talking on the cell phone when driving.

Speaking of cell phones.....you may want to consider getting her one if
she does not already have one. If she has her own car a membership to AAA
is also a good idea.

Regarding insurance premiums for boys vs. girls..........our experience is
that the premium is *much* higher on boys than girls.

JimH wrote:
"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my manor.
wrote in message . ..
Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give
her a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer
driver, if she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for
street names and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another
thing to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?




I agree with all the advice Doug has offered.

We had a rule with our kids just after they got their license..........no
more than one friend in the car at any time. Statistics show that the
frequency of accidents increases when a new driver has more than one friend
in the car. The more kids in the car.........the more distractions.

Our other rule was no talking on the cell phone when driving.

Speaking of cell phones.....you may want to consider getting her one if she
does not already have one. If she has her own car a membership to AAA is
also a good idea.

Regarding insurance premiums for boys vs. girls..........our experience is
that the premium is *much* higher on boys than girls.


Washington has a special license for young drivers. I may have a few of
the details fuzzy, but in general it works like this: If you get your
license at 16, you cannot drive with another
person under 21 in the car for the first several months. They may also
be some restriction about driving after dark- or at least in the wee
hours of the morning. After the proscribed time period elapses without
ticket, accident, or being caught with other kids in the car the
licensee "graduates" to a full fledged, unrestricted driver's license.
Makes all the sense in the world to me- they put they kids through
driver's ed and have them drive a circle around
the neighborhood cul-de-sac. It's a long way from those back road,
suburban experiences to the bumper-to-bumper at 70mph horn blaring, no
turn signalling, finger waving, high beam flashing reality of the
freeways these days. Kids, as well as the rest of us, need to
concentrate on the road. Hang up and drive.

It's interesting that some insurance companies are now charging more
for girls than for boys. Maybe in the era of hot rods and muscle cars
the boys tended to engage in more dangerous behavior, but in the era of
cell phones the girls are now so distracted they aren't driving as
carefully as they should?

GPS for a kid? Where in the sam heck are they going with the car that
they wouldn't have been able to walk, take a bus, or ride a bike last
year, (and without GPS), before they were a driver? :-)

Chuck,

Unfortunately, Mass Transit sucks in my area. There are very few sidewalks,
so riding a bike outside of the neighborhood is very rarely seen. The
parents run the kids up to the mall, to the movies, to friends and to
school functions etc. What surprised by my wife and myself with the other
kids, is that the kids had no idea how to get from point A to point B, even
though they had been driven there for years. It seems that their mind was
in another world. That might be why they never responded as we talked to
them.

When I give my wife my input on the idea of a Tom-Tom for the car, I am sure
she will ask her friends. I am also certain they will agree with the
consensus of rec.boats. It also shows what a great job Tom-Tom is doing
with marketing. My wife is not a techno guru, but she thought it was the
best thing since sliced bread.




wrote in message
oups.com...

JimH wrote:
"Lord Reginald Smithers" Ask me about my driveway leading up to my
manor.
wrote in message . ..
Our youngest daughter will be turning 16 in Jan. My wife wants to give
her a GPS unit for the car. My wife's logic is she would be a safer
driver, if she didn't knew where she was going, and was not looking for
street names and addresses.

It seems to me that another electronic toy in the car is just another
thing to distract her from watching the road.

Does anyone have any experience with GPS and teenagers?

and

Most importantly, does anyone have any experience buying a handheld
unit
that has both maps for city driving and nautical charts?




I agree with all the advice Doug has offered.

We had a rule with our kids just after they got their license..........no
more than one friend in the car at any time. Statistics show that the
frequency of accidents increases when a new driver has more than one
friend
in the car. The more kids in the car.........the more distractions.

Our other rule was no talking on the cell phone when driving.

Speaking of cell phones.....you may want to consider getting her one if
she
does not already have one. If she has her own car a membership to AAA is
also a good idea.

Regarding insurance premiums for boys vs. girls..........our experience
is
that the premium is *much* higher on boys than girls.


Washington has a special license for young drivers. I may have a few of
the details fuzzy, but in general it works like this: If you get your
license at 16, you cannot drive with another
person under 21 in the car for the first several months. They may also
be some restriction about driving after dark- or at least in the wee
hours of the morning. After the proscribed time period elapses without
ticket, accident, or being caught with other kids in the car the
licensee "graduates" to a full fledged, unrestricted driver's license.
Makes all the sense in the world to me- they put they kids through
driver's ed and have them drive a circle around
the neighborhood cul-de-sac. It's a long way from those back road,
suburban experiences to the bumper-to-bumper at 70mph horn blaring, no
turn signalling, finger waving, high beam flashing reality of the
freeways these days. Kids, as well as the rest of us, need to
concentrate on the road. Hang up and drive.

It's interesting that some insurance companies are now charging more
for girls than for boys. Maybe in the era of hot rods and muscle cars
the boys tended to engage in more dangerous behavior, but in the era of
cell phones the girls are now so distracted they aren't driving as
carefully as they should?

GPS for a kid? Where in the sam heck are they going with the car that
they wouldn't have been able to walk, take a bus, or ride a bike last
year, (and without GPS), before they were a driver? :-)