<VV> R.E. First Car

Ken Wildman k-wildman@onu.edu
Sat, 01 Jan 2005 06:26:29 -0500


At 11:36 PM 12/31/2004, sam pam and fam wrote:
>If she wants a Corvair , great. If not , don't push it. If she wants anything
>old, you did a great job raising her.  If you are already planning on spending
>2-3000 on a car, you can make a corvair safe and reliable ,but not fancy ,for
>the same amount. In the mid 70s my sister got a 65 Galaxie 500 vert for her
>first car. She still has it. My niece ( her daughter ) got her first car three
>years ago and it is a 71 Super Beetle. With time and money, it not only is
>very special to her but was a great family project. It even made her High
>School year book. Something unique can be a definate plus to a young person.
>As for me I had a 53 GMC for my first. As far as safety goes, my sister
>wrecked  our moms 65 Olds three times on her learning permit. No injuries, in
>the early 80s she was driving a 59 Belair for five years, wrecked it a total
>of 5 times and never got hurt, mid 80s was driving a 64 Dart, and wrecked it 3
>times, again, never hurt. I know what your thinking, she was accident prone.
>Except her 65 and her current car she wrecked everything she ever drove at
>least once, and believe it or not , none of them were her fault.


OK.  I don't believe it. <very big grin>

You've listed 11 accidents.  There are two parts to driving.  First is 
basic control of the vehicle, starting, stopping, turning, etc.  Second, 
and most important is a defensive attitude which involves staying far 
enough behind, or away from other vehicles, so that you can avoid *their* 
mistakes.  Driving takes concentration on the task at hand.  It's nice to 
defend your sister, but her driving (?) record is sub-par.  Sorry if this 
sounds harsh, but I'm a real believer in defensive driving.  It doesn't 
make you accident-proof, but it sure improves your odds.



Ken