Model Student Veers Off Track in Driving Habits

Q. My wonderful daughter is almost 17, does well in school, takes care of her room, is a strong athlete and is working as a lifeguard this summer.

Driving, however, is a problem. When her very bad judgment caused the first accident, we revised the rules. We told her whom she could see, where and when she could drive, and we forbade drinking, too.

Now she has had a second accident and seems to have totaled her car, probably because she put it in a vulnerable position and wasn't driving defensively. We will fight this second ticket in court, but if she loses, the DMV will suspend her license for 90 days.

I'm not sure what to do right now. She can get rides with her friends; she will keep driving with me, her stepdad and her dad so she doesn't forget how to drive; and her driving instructor will give her more lessons. Although he says she's a good driver, he thinks she needs to be more patient in traffic and I agree.

I could also give her another car, either now or after her license is reinstated. But should I?

I don't think she will be drinking again , but I'm not sure what other compromising situations will occur. Her friends have improved, but I'm afraid she'll run into other people who might have a bad influence on her. She's probably confident enough to say no to them now, but I'm not 100 percent sure that she would.

What should we do?

A.It's what you shouldn't do that matters.

Don't buy a car for your daughter. She isn't ready to drive on her own yet, and if she does, she might endanger herself or someone else.

Just look at her record. She keeps her room clean, she's good in school and in sports, and she has a responsible job, but: She has had two accidents in her first year of driving, with alcohol involved in one of them; she's impatient when she drives in traffic; and she has friends (or her friends have friends) whose behavior is quite worrisome to you.

Driving often requires more maturity than many teens have, and there are two grim statistics to prove it.

1) Teen drivers have four times as many accidents as older drivers.