[Grovenet] Driving Help Needed

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Allen wrote:

"...This particular child of ours doesn't argue or defy us as a rebellious
act.  His arguing is all about expressing his thoughts and opinions while
trying to find the truth. Like many teenagers, he thinks he's much, much
older and wiser than 16.."

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A terrible mistake made by many adults and teens alike is to think it's not
terribly important to follow rules just because someone "said so", but that
is exactly what competent adults in the most important jobs do every day.
It's how a nuclear physicist, a medical doctor or any competent professional
has to learn how to behave. The more life is at risk, the more careful they
have to follow protocol: do things according to established procedures "just
because it's the way it's done!" 

Changes are made, but changes have to be approached very carefully and only
with a thorough analysis.

Very few things in the lives of most of us are more life-threatening than
the simple act of getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. That's why
stop signs are "STOP!" signs, even though the driver may be convinced at the
moment it's okay to drift on through, or a 35 MPH sign means "NO MORE THAN
35 MPH AND OFTEN SLOWER!!" even though the driver may be convinced that's
not important right now. They may be right that the signs and rules are
unimportant at that time and in that place, or they may be wrong. When
they're wrong, there's loss, injury, and sometimes death.

It's also important to understand that the rules don't remove the chance for
loss, injury or death. They simply reduce those chances, whether it's
someone driving a car or a surgeon cutting a patient.

The difference between automobile drivers and aircraft pilots, surgeons,
nuclear engineers and the like is that we don't demand drivers show the
emotional ability to follow the rules - the essential driving protocols - at
all times, and we seldom take them off of the road when they don't, even if
they maim someone, although we often think a surgeon should never operate
again if he makes a mistake or an airline pilot should not be allowed to fly
again just because he did it once while drunk.

What your son did was to make an ad-hoc decision to try something different
with a suitable peer review. That's not permitted in any serious endeavor.

Ron D'Eau Claire