13 + 2 + 75 = 9

[Diggin It]

"From the logging roads of the Pacific Northwest to the farm country of the Great Plains and beyond, it's not uncommon for people in rural parts of the U.S. to learn to drive when they're young, sometimes even before they reach their teens.

But the news that a 13-year-old was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that blew a tire and struck a van on a dark, two-lane road in West Texas on Tuesday night, killing nine people — including six members of a New Mexico college's golf teams and their coach — put a renewed focus on the practice.

At a news conference in Odessa, Texas, on Thursday, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the dangers of underage driving put it on the agency’s “most-wanted list.” "

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"The cause of Tuesday's crash in Andrews County, Texas, near the New Mexico border, wasn't clear, but federal authorities said Thursday that the 13-year-old was driving a Dodge pickup on a road with a 75 mph speed limit when its front left tire, a spare, blew out.

The truck veered across the center line into an oncoming transit van carrying the golf team from the University of the Southwest, in Hobbs, New Mexico. The boy and a man in the truck with him were killed, along with members of the golf teams and their coach."

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-03-17/explainer-driver-in-texas-crash-was-13-is-that-legal

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Aside from any other aspects of this, a 75MPH speed limit on a two lane road is completely and totally unacceptable. The state is at least partially responsible here.

 

[LD1]

It is a tragedy that I have seen all over the news this morning and various social media platforms.

Lots of people blaming the father for letting the boy drive......citing age...too young, etc.

But what I have not heard.....and we may never know....is the reason the boy was driving?

This could have been an emergency? Father injured or I'll?

I don't like jumping to conclusions.....and it's sad because that's all you see on the news and social platforms anymore. Everyone picking a side....defending their side often in heated arguments....without even knowing the facts of the situation

 

[Hay Dude]

Tragic beyond belief.
I’d also focus on the tires.
If the vehicle was registered, does TX have required vehicle inspection? Did the tires pass inspection? Was the tire defective or was it too old or worn to be safe?

I have 2 in college on traveling sports teams. Very sad and concerning.

 

[Clintock]

I agree with Ld. Facts are left out. The narrative of ANY news outlet is to scare you and these news outlets do a damn fine job of it.
My two cents.. The state ain’t accountable. That’s like blaming gun makers for a shooting. Regardless of the facts the ultimate one responsible is the driver. He was on spare. Spares do dry rot pretty quick. Idk if that one had started to or not. Yea he was young. And for all we know, again lack of facts, everything could’ve been in tip top shape. It may just be a freak accident that could’ve happened to anyone.

 

[Root Cause]

I feel for the family but I blame the Dad. There is not a good reason for letting the kid drive under all of those circumstances.

 

[TheMan419]

Tragic beyond belief.
I’d also focus on the tires.
If the vehicle was registered, does TX have required vehicle inspection? Did the tires pass inspection? Was the tire defective or was it too old or worn to be safe?

I have 2 in college on traveling sports teams. Very sad and concerning.

We dont even know what kind of spare it was. Was it one of those little crappy ones that you are not supposed to go over 50mph on and not more than 50 miles or was it a full size real tire spare? By the fact it has been referred to as a spare would lead one to think it was the little crappy one.

 

[hube2]

What I heard on the news was that it was one of those spares that's only safe to 45MPH.

I'm one of those people that started driving when I was young, maybe 12. But I never drove on a public road. We had a lot of logging roads where I grew up all with signs that said things like: this is not a public highway, travel at your own risk. That's where I learned to drive. I did not drive on public roads until I was legal to do so.

As far as having a front tire fail though, unless you've been there you have no idea. I have had it happen. The car becomes almost impossible to control at any significant speed. It probably didn't matter who was driving. Even an experienced driver would have a hard time not wrecking. The fault was driving too fast on a tire not meant for those speeds and this happens more often than you'd guess. How many people actually limit their speed when using one of those crappy spares they supply with new vehicles. I saw someone on the highway doing 70 on one the last time I was on a trip. If the kid was driving that fast on the spare it was probably because that's what the father would have been doing if he was driving.

 

[ChuckT]

I don't know enough to judge but 75 mph (Speed Limit (!)) on a spare? Raises my hackles for sure.

 

[jyoutz]

"From the logging roads of the Pacific Northwest to the farm country of the Great Plains and beyond, it's not uncommon for people in rural parts of the U.S. to learn to drive when they're young, sometimes even before they reach their teens.

But the news that a 13-year-old was behind the wheel of a pickup truck that blew a tire and struck a van on a dark, two-lane road in West Texas on Tuesday night, killing nine people — including six members of a New Mexico college's golf teams and their coach — put a renewed focus on the practice.

At a news conference in Odessa, Texas, on Thursday, National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Bruce Landsberg said the dangers of underage driving put it on the agency’s “most-wanted list.” "

-------------------------------------------------

"The cause of Tuesday's crash in Andrews County, Texas, near the New Mexico border, wasn't clear, but federal authorities said Thursday that the 13-year-old was driving a Dodge pickup on a road with a 75 mph speed limit when its front left tire, a spare, blew out.

The truck veered across the center line into an oncoming transit van carrying the golf team from the University of the Southwest, in Hobbs, New Mexico. The boy and a man in the truck with him were killed, along with members of the golf teams and their coach."

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2022-03-17/explainer-driver-in-texas-crash-was-13-is-that-legal

---

Aside from any other aspects of this, a 75MPH speed limit on a two lane road is completely and totally unacceptable. The state is at least partially responsible here.

In those west Texas locations, 75 mph wouldn’t be a problem. It’s flat as a board with no curves. But those roads are hazardous because of all of the heavy trucks and other oil field equipment traffic.

 

[jyoutz]

What I heard on the news was that it was one of those spares that's only safe to 45MPH.

I'm one of those people that started driving when I was young, maybe 12. But I never drove on a public road. We had a lot of logging roads where I grew up all with signs that said things like: this is not a public highway, travel at your own risk. That's where I learned to drive. I did not drive on public roads until I was legal to do so.

As far as having a front tire fail though, unless you've been there you have no idea. I have had it happen. The car becomes almost impossible to control at any significant speed. It probably didn't matter who was driving. Even an experienced driver would have a hard time not wrecking. The fault was driving too fast on a tire not meant for those speeds and this happens more often than you'd guess. How many people actually limit their speed when using one of those crappy spares they supply with new vehicles. I saw someone on the highway doing 70 on one the last time I was on a trip. If the kid was driving that fast on the spare it was probably because that's what the father would have been doing if he was driving.

Those west Texas oilfield highways are a big difference from logging roads. They are challenging for experienced adult drivers due to the oilfield trucks and equipment traffic, all driving too fast.

 

[Oaktree]

My two cents.. The state ain’t accountable. That’s like blaming gun makers for a shooting.

The state shares responsibility here if they habitually look the other way at underage/unlicensed driving on public highways.
It's one thing to drive on the farm or private roads, something totally different to drive 75mph on a public highway.

 

[jyoutz]

The state shares responsibility here if they habitually look the other way at underage/unlicensed driving on public highways.
It's one thing to drive on the farm or private roads, something totally different to drive 75mph on a public highway.

Texas has already stated that it’s illegal for 13 year olds to drive on public roads. This is no different than drinking and driving. It’s illegal but people do it. The state isn’t liable for people doing illegal activities.

 

[Doofy]

I drove some of that same stretch of road back in the early 60s. I was around 10. My Father was dead tired from working 2 oil field jobs and just needed a quick nap. Road was straight with hardly any traffic and I probably never went over 40 mph.

Different times. Farm kids drive all types of equipment and joined the workforce very early. Kids were more mature in times past because they had to be. Not sure about today.

 

[Clintock]

The state shares responsibility here if they habitually look the other way at underage/unlicensed driving on public highways.
It's one thing to drive on the farm or private roads, something totally different to drive 75mph on a public highway.

State is not responsible. Everybody knows it’s illegal to drive without a license. Texas is one of the states that don’t play. When I worked in oilfield my brother got 3 tickets in an hours time there. Third one he said he’s done got out and I had to finish the drive. Never drove in tx again. I’m sure the kid knew. The daddy knew. Was the daddy hurt and needing the hospital? If it’d been my daddy I’d sure as hell been hammering it to get him some help. Can’t hold someone else responsible for your actions. That’s the world we live in today though. Everybody has to have a scapegoat and if I’m being honest, nobody wants to take the blame anymore. Pass it off to the man, or system, or company, that has more money than me.

 

[oosik]

We obviously do not have all the facts here. A two-lane road with 75mph speed limit. Hell - I-90 running W to E thru our state only has a max speed of 70 mph. Sounds like somebody might be exaggerating a little. Besides - what bearing does the speed limit have on this accident. How fast were the vehicles going.

 

[Cougsfan]

I agree that not enough information has been provided to draw any definite conclusions. However the likelihood of acceptable circumstances of a 13 year-old being in that situation in the first place have to be quite low. Might be just as low if an adult was driving that pick-up, but it wouldn't make as much headline news. As unfortunate and utterly tragic as this accident was, the news media does tend to magnify incidents and continually attempts to create wide ranging issues that may or may not be in need of magnification.

 

[ljjhouser]

All the facts are not there. But there are some facts that are there. 1. A 13 year old and father died. 2. nine others died. 3. the pickup and child and father in truck was the cause of the accident by crossing into the oncoming lane of traffic. 4. The occupants of the Transit did not in any way create the accident. 5. Everyone involved became a victim. Everything else may have cause to bear questioning or consideration. Those may include Why, How, and also consider that sometimes things happen our of our control. But a 13 year old driving it this situation does bear scrutiny. Sad and troubling circumstances.

 

[oosik]

I agree Cougsfan. If it would have been an adult driving the pickup - not near the media hype.

 

[Doofy]

Tragic and sad, anyway you look at it.

 

[jyoutz]

I drove some of that same stretch of road back in the early 60s. I was around 10. My Father was dead tired from working 2 oil field jobs and just needed a quick nap. Road was straight with hardly any traffic and I probably never went over 40 mph.

Different times. Farm kids drive all types of equipment and joined the workforce very early. Kids were more mature in times past because they had to be. Not sure about today.

The oil field traffic on those roads made for a white knuckle drive for me last year. Trucks and other equipment running 75 and pulling out everywhere. Not a good learner’s environment.