Two Thirds of Teen Drivers Don't Know Basic Auto Repair

Reader Comments

Back to blog

I can only speak from my experience on this one but I was absolutely clueless when I first started attending drivers ed courses. Looking back on the knowledge shared with me I can now say that I have used a good deal of that to not only be a cautious driver but also to be a defensive driver allowing me to avoid a handful of potentially nasty accidents. I will also admit that I am not that skilled in the area of automotive repair though I have been going to great mechanic for years, which has saved me a notable amount of money on repais and believe me, even though I am a loyal customer I shop around (www.300auto.com). It is sad to see that most teens do not know diddly squat about though not surprising.

www.300auto.com of CO 3:48PM August 23, 2012

Look at if this way - with a 50-50 gender distribution, that's 32% of teen males and 100% of teen females. Viewed that way, doesn't seem thy unlikely. I know it's not 100%, but it's statistically the same.

This reporter must have never taken driver's ed. I did not learn any of this in driver's Ed.

K Ward of OR 11:03PM September 19, 2011

Hold on a sec... If "average" is included in the description the headline is unremarkable. Assume an essentially normal distribution of a set of random numbers, roughly a third of them will be average, a third will be well below average and a third will be well above average. Well, the claim is that two thirds are "somewhat or completely clueless or average".

That said, maybe it is a good thing that kids be less centered around cars in their lives. I admit, I'm a car guy to the point of being involved in local motorsports, but I wish that most people weren't so focused on cars. Whatever your politics the idea of kids driving less and walking more is probably a good thing...

LRichardson of OR 3:10PM September 19, 2011

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

Back to blog

High School Notes

Whether you are a parent, teacher, student, or administrator, get caught up on the latest news, ideas, and policy debates affecting America’s high school classrooms. Have something of interest to share? Send your news and notes to us at highschoolnotes@usnews.com.

advertisement

advertisement