Sixteen Year Old Drivers

I am sad to report that just 3 months and 2 days after receiving his driver's license, Skyler had his first accident. :( Last week during his lunch break he rear-ended another car. Luckily they were only travelling 15 miles per hour so the damage was minimal and no one was hurt. Unfortunately, the bumper of the car he hit is cracked, and we suspect it will have to be replaced, which is going to cost him a pretty penny. The ticket for following too closely is another painful reminder of his error in judgment. Skyler is VERY lucky, however, that the police officer didn't cite him for having other kids in the car. Utah law doesn't allow for drivers to have other minors in their vehicle (outside of immediate family), until they have been licensed for over 6 months.  Kent and I had turned a blind eye to the fact that he was transporting his friends to and from lunch and other occasional engagements. Ooops. Lesson learned. Pretty sure that the four kids in his car were part of the problem when he was "following too closely." Our blind eye is now wide open and Skyler is being forced to follow the letter of the law. No kids in his car! Apparently this is really cramping his style. We're not too sympathetic.

All in all, we are pleased that our son is in general such a good kid, and this is a minor glitch in his record.  

Accidents happen, and hopefully a valuable lesson will be learned.

On a side note, it turns out that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I have been informed by Kent's parents and siblings that Kent was involved in multiple (as in greater than 5!) fender benders in his first couple years of driving. Oh boy! Hope that's not what we're in for with Skyler! Luckily, Kent finally learned his lesson, and hasn't even had a ticket in over 10 years. Better knock on wood, right?!