Note From A Worried NY Car Accident Lawyer / Father.

This Central New York Personal Injury lawyer handles a fair amount of car accident cases. I see a lot of bloody and broken tragedy behind the wheel. Young inexperienced teenagers are the worst. How many kids have I seen wreck their lives, and those of others, in stupid car accidents? Every time one of those kids’ parents walks in my door, I cringe – will that be my kid someday?

So letting my own 16-year old boy get a driver’s license does not come easy. My parental paranoia increased ten-fold when one of my partner’s 17-year old kid wrapped his car around a tree this year. He, lost consciousness for several hours, and ended up with a traumatic brain injury. Luckily he healed well after several months, but jeez, what a fright and worry for his poor parents.

But it’s time to cut the umbilical cord. No more helicopter parenting for me. Today he takes his mandatory four-hour driving course, which then allows us to sign him up for his driver’s test. He’ll be showing off his driver’s license by his 17th birthday (September 30).

I made him stick with the learner’s permit until I was confident he was a “safe” driver. That means he had developed the habit of looking twice in each direction before proceeding into intersections. It means he got used to leaving a comfortable space between himself and the car in front of him. It means he looks all around him when he’s driving in a parking lot. It means he does not let his phone distract him.

The last thing we had to work on was his led foot. I tried to get him to use the automatic pilot to control his speed, but sometimes he would forget and we would end up at ticket-zone speeds. (“Son, do as I say not as I do!”). I think we finally have that under control.

Insurance! Aarrgg! My new rate jumps up a thousand bucks a year. My insurer apparently shares my worries about seventeen-year old boys behind the steering wheel. Nice to have them in my corner, eh?! (Not!).

So friends, readers, wish us luck. If you were brought up Catholic like me, say a prayer to St. Christopher (patron saint of safe travels) for my son Sebastian. Also say one to St. Joseph, the patron saint of (worried) fathers!

Keep safe!

Mike Bersani
Email me at: bersani@mbk-law.com I’d love to hear from you!

Michael G. Bersani, Esq.
mbk-law.com Central NY auto accident Lawyers
Michaels Bersani Kalabanka

1-315-253-3293