It should have Rolled.

It could only be someone from a small state like Maryland where your state's road system is smaller than some people's drive ways west of the Mississippi.

Out here in the open areas of the world it is common for speed limits to be 70 mph or higher on the freeway. It is NORMAL for us to train teenagers how to drive on the freeway after they have been driving on side roads and show the ability to drive on them. We train them with us in the car so that they are not learning how to drive on their own.

Nobody from any small state should be making any traffic laws or judgments for anyone outside your state. You don't have the experience or knowledge to know what roads, freeways, and speed limits are like out here.

 

?
I've been wondering how to read, react and respond to such a statement.

Does the size of the state have anything to do with any of this conversation? I live in a county with more farmland than residential development, yet the population approaches that of all of Wyoming. Does that mean anything for driving? I can reach unsafe speeds in 60 feet or one mile; I can drive out in the open areas on divided highways or in twisty, up-and-down roads; I can (could) reach 100MPH in no time; I drive the speed limit or, when conditions require, slower. Any of this can be done inside or outside of my county -- in any state in the land, I believe.

Do you believe it is somehow different in the rest of the country? Our state requires many hours of driving with a parent or parents, limits the hours a newly-permitted driver (or licensed driver) may be on the road, limits the number of teenagers in a car, and also allows anyone with a license to drive on any road. I think we are not alone in such requirements. I also think we try to train our new drivers as well as anyone -- even if we aren't driving in the wild west.

Prescriptive, normative, judgmental? I don't wish to offend you, but must tell you your post goes a bit too far in my eyes. I really hope you'd like to reconsider your statements and just offer up the observation that you think it is the parents' responsibility to train new drivers how to handle all driving conditions. If you use the work "experience" again, please consider it may apply to anyone, regardless of the happenstance of birth and driver's education locations.

 

<rant commence>
My son has about 20 hours of driving experience and some of that has been on the freeway. It is important to allow a learner driver to experience all kinds of roads under supervision so they are prepared for it while not under supervision.
My first drive of a car on the road was on a Saturday morning across the city and down the most dangerous stretch of road in South Australia, the road between Adelaide and Victor Harbor. I had my dad beside me and 3 petrified passengers in the back. By throwing me in the deep end my dad put me on a fast track to getting my licence. In my early driving years I spent some time playing on dirt roads between stock paddocks where there was normally no other traffic, the roads were wide, straight and slippery with good run-off areas. I practised handbrake turns and 4 wheel lock-ups which gave me a feel for how the car would react in an emergency situation. I'm not saying this made me the world's safest driver but it meant I was ready and self trained in what to do if I lost control of my vehicle. It is a shame that these dirt roads are getting harder to find.

Unfortunately driver training these days and in past years is all about passing a test and has little to do with safe driving. How many people are killed each year in parallel parking incidents? In South Australia if you don't follow a pre-drive drill in the correct order as laid out in the drivers hand book you will have points deducted, does it really matter if you adjust the mirrors before or after you start the engine? Does it really matter if you don't put a manual car into neutral before getting out of the car? Yes that is a requirement, I leave the car in first gear but apparently that is wrong.

I'd like to see an hour of skid-pan training and a couple of hours of high speed driving as part of the compulsory driver training. I think driving a car at its limit would give a learner an appreciation of the difficulty of controlling a vehicle at the limit of grip and stability but at the same time help to prepare them for the day it happens by accident.

<rant over>

 

nothing to add here. that one line really sums it up

 

How do you know what experience other drivers have ? . . . and what is a 'small' state? Population? Geography? We have a home in MT which is 4th largest, but lightly populated. Did you mean lightly populated in relation to size? MT used to have stretches of road with NO speed limit. Does that mean anything? They also have a ton of flower memorials all along the road sides. Does that mean anything?

If you do a little reading, you'll find congested areas tend to have safer drivers while lighter populated areas have some of the worst drivers:

Where are the safest drivers in U.S.? - More health news- msnbc.com

I'd guess that's because, with less traffic, it's easier to get lulled into a sense of false security, whereas in more crowded areas, you're forced to be on guard all the time. But ... then there's the age factor. Geezers like me are safer than newbie drivers, generally:

Older citizens are among safest drivers : Lifestyle Columns : Evansville Courier Press

As for nobody making laws for another state? They don't (but sometimes the Fed's do) so ... I guess we're all nice & happy now.