I’ve never known if there is science behind the assumption that lack of exposure increases the desire, or if it’s just a commonly held belief.
I don’t know what good it would do to be mad, but let me put it this way. Where I live, 33 mph over the limit exceeds a critical threshold where it’s treated the same as racing or stunt driving and would result in: (1) a charge of reckless driving, (2) a $10,000 fine, (3) immediate license suspension, and (4) impoundment of the vehicle for (I think) 7 days. It’s typically teenagers who get caught by these rules, which apparently your husband is, in spirit if not in physical age. In reality a reasonable police officer would probably knock down the reported speed because it was just a little over the critical threshold, but there would still be a stiff fine and demerit points.
There’s a reason for those potential consequences, and it stems from just how bad an idea this was.
There’s no “should” for emotions. You just have them.
If it was my husband? I would be absolutely furious.What he did was illegal, child endangerment and a horrible horrible example.
Why do you think male teenagers are the demographic with the highest car insurance rates? Because they do stupid-ass things like this and get themselves and innocent passengers and other drivers killed. Your husband just gave your son his big shiny A-OK To Be A Dangerous Asshole license.
If I was married to him he’d be sleeping in the garage.
I also don’t know if there’s any science behind the assumption that driving 90-100 mph is particularly dangerous in and of itself, despite many people here being absolutely certain that it is.
Heck, at 6:00 am in the morning and driving away from the city, I drive between 80 and 90 MPH on the Tri-State going to work, so I really can’t criticize. LOL
What does “in and of itself” mean in this context?
There’s all kinds of science – stopping distance, reaction times, maneuverability – that argues that excessive speed is more dangerous by some margin; the only question is, whether it’s a significant margin. And that depends on many things including the design of the roadway and the capabilities of the car and the driver. Among the other important things it depends on is the expectations of other drivers, so that driving at a significantly different speed than the general traffic flow, particularly when the speed is much faster (because of those other issues), is going to be more dangerous. It’s one of the reasons that highways like the German autobahn are not as dangerous as a lunatic on a North American highway going at a similar speed.
There was an accident in the area recently where some asshole was driving at a speed like that and collided with a concrete pillar. The car literally disintegrated into several pieces of unrecognizable wreckage with the bodies inextricably tangled with them. It’s not clear how survivable the accident may have been at the speed limit, though it may have been avoidable by recovering control or not losing control in the first place. Having parts of your body pried out of the wreckage with tweezers sounds a lot worse than a huge fine, license suspension, and vehicle impoundment. So, while I admit to frequently speeding over the limit, and feel safe in doing so since I’ve never had an accident in more decades of driving than I care to count, I keep it reasonable – low enough that I almost never get pulled over, or on the very rare occasions when I do, the officer knocks it down to practically nothing. I haven’t had demerit points on my record since I was a kid.
My concern exactly. I have two kids, now 19 and 22. Kids are very impressionable at 13, and they watch their parents very carefully even if you don’t realize it.
I will not debate whether 103 MPH is safe, but it is certainly illegal. People who think they are hotshot drivers can find out very suddenly that they are not as good as they think they are, and people die. If your husband wants to drive fast safely and legally then he can take his car to a track.
In Virginia, 80+ is automatic reckless driving, which is a criminal offense. You don’t want that on your record.
I hit 80+ sometimes without even realizing it in my Kia on I-95, mainly because everybody else is going fast too. Cars these days are pretty smooth and I’m sure a Camaro SS wasn’t even breaking a sweat.
The last time I was scared in a car was when I was a teenager and a guy at our church decided to “impress” us kids by going 150+ down the freeway in his beemer.
My dad had a Mercedes 300SL. I loved that car. One of my favorite memories is him hitting 100 with me on an empty highway. That was 50 years ago, and the only speeding ticket I’ve ever gotten was at a speed trap in rural Arkansas.
There are speed traps in Arkansas that don’t give tickets. They are called Whitetail Deer. They have no mercy. They care little if you live or die.
And, they are out to get me. I have had several confrontations with them. One nearly killed me, for sure. I am a careful, slowish driver because of them and log trucks. Not to mention drunk drivers.
He may end up spending all his money, but he’ll be still alive!
Absolutely!
Dad taking son for a speed trip is no problem, almost a required father-son bonding ritual. By your description of it he applied very reasonable restraint and safety while doing so (speeding, yes. But much less than the car could have, and in an environment where such speeding is about as safe as it can be)
But he is not supposed to tell Mom about it. He is supposed to say “We went for a pleasant scenic drive”
You should be upset that your husband is displaying inadequate skill at required social obfuscation.
What did the Notorious RBG (Supreme Court Justice Ginsberg) say about the longevity of her marriage? “It helps to be a little deaf” I think?
One of the realities of life.
I’m glad at least one of you got it.
This one apparently wasn’t. Or isn’t any more, anyway.
Tell him next time he wants to have fun behind the wheel with his teenage son, to check out karting. That’s what it’s for, take it to the track.
My dad took us fishing. I’m quite sure he never drove 100 mph in his life.
I don’t see the allure for reckless driving. If it’s a man thing, as I said upthread, it’s a mystery to this man. Can anyone imagine a mother taking a daughter (or even a son) on a high speed joy ride for “bonding?” If I was the OP, I’d be seriously thinking about a divorce.
I don’t get the argument that it was okay because it was a sports car, and sports cars can go even faster. I doubt most people’s objection to significant speeding is “Hmm, the car may be mechanically unsound.”
When I worry about someone going too fast, it’s a worry about the driver’s judgment and reflexes, about unforeseen things like deer or debris, about traffic and traffic cops.
Nearly everyone thinks they are a great driver. I bet the OP’s husband thinks he’s wonderful. But for me, being a good driver is about restraint, judgment, and responsibility. Being a great driver requires even more of these qualities.
I think this is an important point: the 13 year-old son will be driving in the not-too-distant future, and the message that’s being sent by the father is, “It’s okay to engage in blatantly illegal - not to mention potentially dangerous - behavior. Just don’t get caught.”
The bigger problem is, while the father in this case took precautions to make speeding safer, and while he has more experience driving, the son will almost certainly try to get a few bursts of speed in, but he will be much less experienced when he does. It’s not so much the dangers of that particular spin, but rather the dangerous precedent that may have been established in an impressionable teenager’s mind.
In that sense, it’s extremely dangerous and irresponsible behavior on the part of the OP’s husband, I’m sorry to say.