The good news is .....

[BackInTex]

I will be getting my $400 back from the driver's ed course. They guaranteed 12-months no accidents or your money back.

The bad news is the deductible is $500 and his insurance is bound to go higher than the already sky high rate for a 16 year old male.

The good news is no one was hurt.

The bad news is the car was brand new and we'd had it about only about 64 hours.

The good news is the wrecker driver said "Its mostly cosmetic."

The bad news is I haven't paid a dime for the car yet (zero down, zero interest). The first payment will likely be the deductible.

The good news is that first scratch is now behind us.

The bad news is... well, that may be the end of the bad news. I can only think of positives now.

This may just save his life someday....as he will now have an even higher level of appreciation for safe driving, safe distance between him and the car ahead, watching two and three and even more cars ahead of the car ahead of you. All the things I tried to teach him but that a teenager lets go in one ear and out the other as their parents try to teach them things.

The really frustrating thing is it happened in a construction zone near our home (and a route we take very frequently) where two lanes that folks drive 40-50 mph would merge but each having their own lanes, the just yesterday put up barrels forcing one lane into the other with little warning. On the way to dinner last night I drove through it for the first time and had to hit my breaks hard as the traffic came to a sudden stop and it was difficult for me to even figure out where I was suppose to drive. I commented to my wife and daughter who were with me "Someone is going to have a wreck here!" and thought to myself "I need to tell Travis about this so he is forewarned." But after dinner we got home, he came home later, and I had completely forgotten about it. Until about noon today when he called me and said "I go in a wreck." When he told me where he was I knew immediately and though "CRAP!".

My stomach hurts.

[ghostjmf]

The good news is no living beings were hurt. I try to tell that to my car whenever bad things happen to it.

They have traffic crap up here too, if it makes anyone feel any better. Usually I come upon them at night in a place where they appear to have completely blocked an exit I really need, but haven't really. To the brave-&-stupid.

I guess its better to scare a young driver early? Certainly better when nothing/no-one animate gets hurt.

[Bob78164]

I've been trying to teach my son that if you can't see at least two cars ahead, you're too close to the car ahead of you. We'll find out starting this summer whether he's taken the lesson to heart.

I'm glad the only damage was to property, and perhaps to pride. Bob