Parents, these aren’t cars for kids

BMWs, Mercedes and other high-end cars are common sights in the SHS parking lot, and to many, it doesn’t come as a surprise. Saratoga is one of the richest cities in the Bay Area, so it isn’t shocking that there are this many luxury cars being driven around.

As nice as these cars are, though, we don’t think it’s appropriate for freshly licensed high schoolers to be speeding around in these extravagant cars, which many of lower economic means could never afford.

Then there are the dangers of having a vehicle that 16-year-olds will be tempted to drive like their personal race car.

The California DMV states that drivers between the ages 16 and 19 have a 2.7 times higher chance of being involved in a vehicular crash than average, which is 16.8 per 1,000 drivers. Sixteen-year-olds, in particular, have a 3.7 times higher chance of being in a wreck. The DMV also states that 52.7 percent of all accidents committed by 16 to 19-year-olds are because of “unsafe speeds.”

Clearly, it’s just not safe of parents to spend the tens of thousands of dollars buying an expensive car or handing a luxury car down for their child. At this age, it’s just too risky to take on the responsibility of owning a premium car.

Even though it’s probably safer for students to drive new BMWs compared to older BMWs, it still makes no sense why they have to get an expensive BMW and not a Toyota, which is cheaper to repair and maintain but not nearly as flashy or tempting to drive like a race car.

According to Kelley Blue Book, Americans paid an average of $33,560 on their cars, new and used, while the school parking lot fashions numerous cars over $80,000.

To put it frankly, high school drivers are just too inexperienced to be risking these expensive automobiles’ structural integrity on the road. It doesn’t really matter to us if someone else’s expensive car gets totaled, but it’s just such a shame that parents allow their children to drive these kinds of cars right off the bat.

Additionally, many parents may state that a lot of these cars are priced so high due to their safety. While this is true in cars such as Cadillacs that are heavy-duty, metal-based cars, this does not account for the numerous performance cars such as BMW M8’s that can go 0-60 in 3.7 seconds.

Instead, if parents are so willing to spend money on their child, then at least they should buy something like a Subaru or a Nissan with some of the best safety elements. A supercar is simply not efficient nor is it beneficial to a child with the danger that comes with it.

Furthermore, if parents keep giving teens so many pleasures while they are still so young, when they grow up, they will have no desire to reach for their own dreams. With everything given to them as though they are royalty, privileged teens will have no need to work for their own pleasures and will be unprepared when they have to actually work for themselves.

Still, even if this article doesn’t stop any parents from spending tens of thousands dollars on wheels for their teens, we would both appreciate it if these drivers would kindly stop revving their engines in the parking lot bright and early in the morning.