If the kids are under 18, I sure as hell would HOPE that the parents can access their driving records. Better yet, how about nobody under the age of 18 can drive without a parent or responsible adult over 21?

Yeah, I don't have a problem with this.

Since their driving records directly effect the amount of money my insurance guy makes, damn right I deserve to see.

Klapatch's mother did not want another parent to make the same mistake. Her 18-year old son loved his motorcycle

The legislation, it does nothing.

Pinellas County Tax Collector Diane Nelson said.

Yet another reason why there's a tag.

We actually write our property tax checks to "Diane Nelson, Tax Collector". Not to the office, to the person.

Imagine trusting anyone in your local government with that and you'll know how I felt the first time I had to do that.

I have no idea why someone would want this law named after their kid.

"If only I knew my son was a law-breaking idiot! It's tragic how many speeding tickets he got and didn't learn from! IF ONLY I KNEW!"

/I mean, come on. Nine before 18?

I fully intend to put a recording device on my kids' vehicles to track speed, G's, etc. I'm hopeful by the time my kids are driving age my insurance company will give me a discount if I do that.

vgss: The legislation, it does nothing.

RTFA

He got 9 speeding tickets before the accident, and I assume at least some of those were before he was 18.

Did anybody else read that as 'helicopter pilots'?

Control_this, whenever I have kids I plan to do that too. I also plan to have remote access to the kids computers. Plus, the black mail capability in order to obtain discipline is most excellent.

Question:

Can you see your own record? I mean, I know that i can get my info from dmv, but if I actually had a criminal record, could i walk into the police station and ask to review it?

"His parents did not know this," Nelson said. "Perhaps maybe if this web site had been developed at that time, they would have been able to monitor that a little bit better."

The parents are trying to dodge their own stupidity and blame it on lack of monitoring.



I mean, really. It didn't cross their minds that he might drive fast on that thing on occasion?

Did anybody else read that as 'helicopter pilots'?

Lemonheaded, coward, terrorist pussy!

i_am_donnie_darko

Yes... you and all the other illiterate people on Fark

So, instead of promoting trust between children and parents, and opening a line of communication, they will instead create another intrusive barrier. The speeding asshat should tell his parents when he earned those tickets. I remember when I was 17 and I had to tell my parents that I got a speeding ticket for 56 in a 45, and I remember being piss scared about what they'd do. I was asked to explain what happened (I wanted to go fast and didn't think anyone was looking) and berated for breaking the law, and forced to pay for the ticket. You can't ask the government to keep tabs on your children if you are unable to do so. farking take some responsible action and deal with the problems at home!!!

??? How do 2 people conceieve and give birth to a helicopter?

Idon't understand. There was no way I could have afforded insurance and NINE SPEEDING TICKETS without mom and dad saying," Gee, our insurance has skyrocketed".

Who paid the bills? The kid?

carrot: Yea its pretty common atleast in Florida. I think it has to do with the way the tax collector laws are written. I wouldn't worry to much though

/The Black helicopters, they are after me.

Rabbit.cluster, amen.

I had one helicopter parent and one old-fashioned parent. The old-fashioned one, who preferred the "let's sit down and talk" method of discipline, knew everything bad I ever did. Never got mad, just "disappointed," which was worse in the long run. The helicopter parent was always spying on me, trying to "catch me in the act" or whatever, and I ended up just resenting them and pulling away. To this day I still don't trust them and want them to have limited involvement in my personal life. As for which one's method was more effective, it's no question - getting the approval of the parent treating me like an intelligent and mature human being was much more important than keeping a parental officer from treating me like a criminal.

File this law under: "Its *my* child but the State has to raise it for me."

The parents of this kid were flat-out irresponsible. Did they not get notice(s) about the nine speeding tickets their "cherubin" got? Did they do something about it (like, say, taking away his motorcycle)?

Or did the nine tickets TFA mentions happen AFTER the kid turned 18 (in which case the parents will be off the hook as far as I'm concerned)?

If I ever have a child they'll have to earn the right to get a driver's license, then earn the right to drive a car, then get a job so they can the hikes in *my* insurance rates.

Wow...she's gonna be totally bummed looking up his record and seeing he was killed in a motorcycle accident.

In all seriousness, most tragedies could have probably been avoided had the parents been more involved in their kids lives and developed good channels of communication with them.

While this system makes sense (i.e. a parent should *totally* be able to see heir childrens' records), it probably only be used by parents who are already very involved with their kids (such that it doesn't really make a difference).

carrot: We actually write our property tax checks to "Diane Nelson, Tax Collector". Not to the office, to the person.

This isn't uncommon. Seems kind of weird though. I make mine out to Betsy Price(Tarrant County,TX)

"Hmm, I'll give my son something designed to go very fast. I'm sure he won't want to show off and take it over the speed limit!" Making a new law won't excuse crappy parenting.

I knew a chick once who'd had her license taken away because she caused so many accidents -- including rear-ending a parked police cruiser. While she was in the process of getting her license back, her dad gave her another brand new car.

She was angry as HELL that he gave her a Camry. She wanted to sell it and get something that wasn't "an old lady car". Meanwhile, the rest of my friends who were sitting there, most of whom drove whatever crappy beater they could afford, just wanted to slap her.

I find it dubious that a parent can be COMPLETELY oblivious to their kid's speeding habits. They want to believe their kids obey the law, so they ignore obvious stuff. If my kid drove like that I'd give the brat a bike and a bus pass.

man unit: Idon't understand. There was no way I could have afforded insurance and NINE SPEEDING TICKETS without mom and dad saying," Gee, our insurance has skyrocketed".

Nine speeding tickets in 2 years? His license should have been suspended. Speeding tickets in Florida have a value of 3 or 4 points, depending if he was going less then 15 over the limit or more then 15 over the limit. Lets say that the tickets were 3 points a piece. That's 27 points right there.

This is from the Florida DMV:

12 points earned within 12 months results in a 30-day suspension.
18 points earned within 18 months results in a 3-month suspension.
24 points earned within 36 months results in a 12-month suspension.

So according to this, his license should have been suspended for a year, since he got more then 24 points in a 36 month period.

What about rogue helicopter pilot parents from North Carolina?

"Better yet, how about nobody under the age of 18 can drive without a parent or responsible adult over 21?"

yes, lets punish those bastard shiatheads and never learn to trust them.

Mistakes ----HAVE TO---- happen in life, people.

No one from my high school got into a wreck and died the 4 years I was there(there was 1 drinking related accident, but it was the end of the summer i graduated in), and I havent heard of one at all in the 8 years I've been gone, this includes those drivers under the age of 18 that apparently need to be monitored.

But aside from that, did you get your license at 18? Or were you trusted to be a mature person?

Why did they let their kid have a motorcycle if he clearly wasn't mature enough to handle it responsibly?

Much easier to just raise the driving age to 19.

It's a proven method in other countrys

ZOMG... the crotch rocket goes fast? Seriously, parents should be able to see their (under 18) kids records... but there is nothing to suggest that had the parents grounded him or whatever for the tickets he had prior to turning 18, that he would have had better judgement that day. Frankly, if your kid is 16, you're pretty late to the show if you're just now getting to teaching your kids about making judgement calls about basic safety issues and honesty. I'd hate to tell the parents this... but if their kid had a crotch rocket, 9 speeding tickets, hid them from the parents, and they had no clue... the system wasn't the problem.

Yeah I'm gonna have to go ahead and blame the idiot parents on this one.

I find it dubious that a parent can be COMPLETELY oblivious to their kid's speeding habits.

Mine weren't. My father just doesn't think speeding tickets are anything but a nuisance. Some you pay, some you fight, none of them you take seriously. He even helped my brother put some insanely overpowered engine into his Ford Festiva.

Number41

I mean, come on. Nine before 18?

Never would have happened in Jersey. One of the few things the legislature's gotten right is the three-step graduated license program. You turn sixteen, you go to driving school and then you can only drive with Mommy, Daddy, or an adult over 21. You turn 17, you're on your own, but only with one other minor in the car, and not between midnight and 5:00am. You turn 18, you get your full license. Any moving violations before the full license are examined to the nth degree, and repeat offenders can get their licenses yanked and suspended for a good few years after 18.

Friend of mine got off on speeding at age 17, then got nailed a month later for aggressive driving and didn't get his license til 19. Dumbass.

/not much else Jersey's done right. but hey, here we are.

...Helicopter parents? So named, I'm guessing, because they hover over their kids obsessively, I imagine.

Is it just me, or are you also glad when some asshat kills himself before reproducing? Why do we have to save everyone? Let them farking kill themselves when they are young instead of passing on their genes to future asshats.

Control_this and Waffen

My parents doing stuff like that is a substantial part of the reason I decided 1) I wanted nothing to do with them the moment I left for college and 2) I will never treat my children like criminals/prisoners.

// In my 20s
// estranged and never been happier

Looking at the picture of the kid on his R6 (R1?), it is obvious where the responsibilty lies.

I'm almost 30, and have been riding motorcycles for about 6 years. I still don't think I have the skills necessary to be safe or responsible on a high performance sports bike.

In the picture, that kid had NO gear, other than a flip-up helmet.

Letting your teenager ride a high performance sport bike is STUPID, and inviting tragedy. Letting your teenager ride a high performance sport bike without the proper gear is unfathomable.

ATGATT. All The Gear, All The Time. That means a full face helmet, armored jacket, armored pants, gloves, and boots. It's not a matter of IF you'll go down, but WHEN you'll go down. Throw in some MSF classes, a few track days, and a couple of years of experience.....then, and only then should you be on such a high performance machine.

That teenager most likely had the typical "can't happen to me" attitude. Shame on his parents for not being the responsible ones and saying "NO". Perhaps if they had done some research on motorcycle accidents and fatalites, they would have seen what a stupid decision they were letting their teenage son make. If they didn't use that information, how would his DMV records helped them to make a better one.

/lock the barn honey, the horses are gone.....

LineNoise Question:

Can you see your own record? I mean, I know that i can get my info from dmv, but if I actually had a criminal record, could i walk into the police station and ask to review it?

AFAIK, a criminal record is public information. How do you think the newspapers always know a crook's record after the latest arrest?

Why not just make a law in this idiot and his parents names and stop anyone under 18 from getting a drivers licence?
It is obvious he had no respect for the law and they did not notice that many tickets on his insurance... assuming he had any.
And did anyone notice that they did not say who or what caused the last accident that killed him... I would take bets he was speeding again.

CrazyHighGuy He was going 130 MPH when he had the accident. Maybe proper gear could have helped, but not without an attitude adjustment between the ears.

dustman81
So according to this, his license should have been suspended for a year, since he got more then 24 points in a 36 month period.

The assignment of points isn't mandatory. If the traffic court judge sees that you were doing 63 in a 55 on a clear day, he might be lenient.

Also, in the even that his license had been suspended, he may have qualified for a hardship license.

How do I know this? Well, it has something to do with the fact that I'm getting a kick out of these replies.

The Jeffrey Klapatch Foundation

Details of the accident, after pictures of the bike (YZF R1). Euugh. RIP.

Besides the minor issue of preventing the kid from potentially killing himself, in a legal system where he can do something that gets you sued for all you have, yeah, I'd want to be able to keep tabs on his driving too.

That said, you could probably already indirectly do what this bill is meant to accomplish by examining the kid's insurance. A) Can he even get it, and if not, why not? B) If he has it, is it costing $10,000 a year? If so, it's a good bet that his driving record isn't what you would call spotless. In either case, time to start grilling him about what he's been doing on the road.

FTFA: . Her 18-year old son loved his motorcycle, and even more, he loved speed. He received nine speeding tickets before the fatal motorcycle accident.

He's eighteen years old. Whether living under your roof or not, his speeding tickets and driving records are none of your farking business. Grill him all you want about it, he is under no obligation to tell you and since he is legally an adult, the state should not be allowed to release the information to you. If you're stupid enough to insure him and you notice your rates going up, drop the immature little shiat from your policy.

For children 17 and under, the tool is perfectly acceptable.

If you have to get help from the DMV to figure out what your kids are doing, it's too late. You cant do anything about it.

jwrebholz: ...Helicopter parents? So named, I'm guessing, because they hover over their kids obsessively, I imagine.

Correct.

Chirping_Cricket: He's eighteen years old. Whether living under your roof or not, his speeding tickets and driving records are none of your farking business. Grill him all you want about it, he is under no obligation to tell you and since he is legally an adult, the state should not be allowed to release the information to you. If you're stupid enough to insure him and you notice your rates going up, drop the immature little shiat from your policy.

Most insurers base their rates on who lives in the house with you, regardless if they are on your policy or not. Their theory is that if they live in your house, they have access to your vehicles.

Hmmm. How about not giving your teen son a crotch rocket or any bike for that matter? And if they say they will buy it themselves, then you say no you aren't. If you have succeeded as a parent, that will be the end of it.
/Bad parents are why I am scared to ever have kids.
//Will have to do a lot of screening to find a suitable baby momma.

I luckily beat out NJ's rule with my driver's license and got mine at 17. They changed it to 18 a few months after that. Plus, I got it on 9/12/01, so even the DMV doesn't close for the end of the world.

I didn't even had my license for a week and I was taking a co-worker home after work. I had my father's piece of crap car that I had not practice in. I turned on my lights and started driving when 30 seconds later, I get pulled over. Now I'm terrified since I'm getting a ticket immediately after getting my license.

Apparently, my headlights were out, and my father didn't know (especially since he got home before night time.) Luckily, my co-worker knew the cop (and it was an incredibly small-ass town) and they laughed off the ticket. No ticket, just a warning to be careful driving home.

When I got home, I was scared that I was in trouble. But my parents just laughed it off and no harm was done. My father was actually happy it happened to me because he would have gotten pulled over the next day and probably get a ticket.

/The only (knock on wood) time I got pulled over.
//22 and still no tickets
///Well, just parking tickets
////Lousy New Brunswick

God bless these little retards. I do all I can to encourage the teenage Fred Durst set to purcahse the latest high powered liter-class sportbikes and allow their ego to write fatal checks their skillset can't cash.

Buying lightly used post-crash salvage sportbike parts from a grieving family at pennies on the dollar to inexpensively fund my roadracing habit is righteous.

I'm doing my part to help chlorinate the genepool. Soylent Grzzeen, Yo.

-Mike-

The parents are trying to dodge their own stupidity and blame it on lack of monitoring.

I read that into her statement too, thinking "so, who is she going to sue?".

Not sure about how he took care of insurance but I was under my folk's policy until I moved out. One ticket and up went their rates. That's all it took for me to slow down. :P

Kids across from me both were given new cars for their birthdays (at 16). 2 days into his new car their son rear ended a dump truck. While he was waiting for his insurance company to get him another car he totaled the Taurus rental car they let him use. His folks wouldn't let him get another car so they allowed him to get a rice rocket. Laid it on the street in front of his house on the way home and hit a car.

Daughter was better, she had her license for a year before she totaled her Prelude. They took her car away also, esp since she had a hard time explaining why the 3 urban kids were in the car with her and why she was in the projects. Woops.

He's eighteen years old. Whether living under your roof or not, his speeding tickets and driving records are none of your farking business. Grill him all you want about it, he is under no obligation to tell you and since he is legally an adult, the state should not be allowed to release the information to you. If you're stupid enough to insure him and you notice your rates going up, drop the immature little shiat from your policy.

But there is the "as long as you're under my roof you're living by my rules". I wonder, legally, if he would have killed someone in a wreck could they have gone after his folks too....that would have screwed their policy.

If you have to get help from the DMV to figure out what your kids are doing, it's too late. You cant do anything about it.

Bingo, it sounds like these parents became interested in this cause once their son died.