[Tod]

along with the "along with age, comes experience" thing. i'm only 21, and i've had my liscence for just over 5 years. in that short time i've driven and estimated 90-100K miles in that time (give or take a few thousand heh). out of school i worked with my father and we'd average about a half hour to an hour drive to work every day about (60-70 miles a day). now that's roughly 2 hours of driving 5 days a week (+ the weekends driving all over town). you learn quickly and you pretty much see first hand many times a month just how STUPID people (not just teenagers) can be. sometimes on the freeway sometimes on a regular road. things like changing 3 lanes at a time in busy traffic, passing people on a double yellow line OVER a hill, putting on makeup, playing with their little dogs in the front seat, yelling at their kids in the back of the minivan; everything you could imagine. i've also witnessed a few crashes and it's just not something i wanna risk by being stupid at the wheel. adults as well as teenagers can be brain-dead in their car/truck/SUV/van. i may have been stopped for speeding a number of times but i've never been in any kind of accident that was my fault, and i've avoided a few as well.

thing is, it takes common sense and a reasonable attitude to be a good driver. not just good driving skills. you need to respect the automobile and know what you are able to do in certain situations. i think it's all about your knowledge of the car and your attitude.