Is trying to avoid a raccoon a believable excuse from a teenager totaling the car?

Question

most importantly - no one got hurt, tnx god,

but ... this happened at 2am, 17 yrs old and his friend same age - he said it was slippery and he lost control of the car

The car had to be towed out of the shallow part of the lake

people tell me I will never know the truth about what really happened, that's just the way teenagers are.

Do you have any other ideas on what might have caused this and what they can be involved in? From your own experiences at that age.

Answer 1

hahah... YES. When I was in high school, the RICHEST girl in school totalled her BRAND NEW camaro because she swerved to miss a squirrel.... Her dad ended up buying her a beater after that and she was crying about it for DAYS... I thought it was hilarious!

Answer 2

Well, if he was going to lie, he could have done a better job. Most parents would be more understanding about a kid trying to avoid hitting a domesticated animal that is a pet, such as a dog or cat. But, to end up wrecking because you tried to avoid hitting a raccoon, while that may sound stupid to you, it is probably the truth. It isn't like the teenage brain had a lot of time to work it out and went, "Well, I could run over and kill a raccoon or I could wreck my car. Well, I think it would be okay to just wreck the car. Yes, I'll do that." You know it had to be more like, "Yikes! Critter!" Swerve. Bang.
The better question is what was he doing out at 2 a.m. at 17 years old. You know, you have to face the fact that alcohol or drugs could have been involved and would certainly have dulled the reflexes. But, unless you know for sure, it's best to go with the tale that was told and try to get the kid more driving time behind the wheel before he is out at 2 a.m. in winter with a friend in the car. At that age, everything is a distraction -- so you tally up darkness, late hour, a friend, probably the radio, then a little critter in the road -- it is a recipe for a wreck. I tell my kids that every distraction ups the "stupid factor" by one more degree.

Answer 3

No, I don't believe it.

#1) It seems that they may have been going too fast for the road conditions.

#2) Avoiding an animal is a normal excuse, but it'll usually won't get you out of a ticket (which in this case, they could be charged with failure to maintain control of a moving vehicle), unless it could be proved that it was a large animal.

#3) There is a chance they could have be on some type of medication, illegal drug or alcohol that could have caused them to not pay attention to the road (most probably at a good speed), then over-correcting, in turn causing the accident.

From my experiences as a paramedic for over 25 years, I've seen many, many accidents. History repeats itself time and time again, especially with teenagers. I'm surprised they said it was a racoon, and not another vehicle (which is the normal excuse) that they had to dodge to keep from getting into an "accident".

With just what you've told us, I would be highly critical of their excuse. I feel that there's more to this story than what they're telling you. At least no one was injured. Best of luck to you.

Answer 4

It would depend on you kid and their propensity to lie in general before I would consider this to be a lie.

If he has not been driving very long and it was dark and rainy out, anything running out in front of the road in front of his could cause him to hit the brakes and then skid into a lake.

When I was 16 I hit a mailbox to avoid hitting a rabbit and even as an adult I ended up in a field after successfully avoiding hitting a dear that came out of nowhere.

If I was concerned it was due to drinking, I would sit down and have a talk about drinking and not driving and come to some sort of arrangement where my son would call me to pick up he and his friends should this end up happening and then discuss in more the next day after he sobered up the perils and pitfalls of underage drinking and the possible legal consequences.

I wouldn't accuse him of having drank and drove in this instance because if you do and he didn't, then he is going to feel that he might as well because no matter what he says, you are not going to believe him.

Answer 5

YEP, my best friend was high when she wrecked her car, and gave the same excuse. But you can't go apeshit on your kid. I am 27 and when I was growing up most everyone I knew tried some kind of drug. We all smoked weed pretty regular. I was lucky enough to see the damage drugs cause in your life and I left that back in high school. Your job is to TALK to your teen. Do not accuse them of anything. Tell them a story about someone else who did the same thing b/c they were high. Then tell them about the long term effects of drugs. Talk about their future, include things that are important...drivers license, looks, materialistict things they care about and how a person who can't get away from the "high school" use and drags it into the real world could lose everything. Let them know that if they ever need to talk to you about something like that, you won't get mad, you just want to light the way for them to make their own adult decisions.

Answer 6

You will know the truth in about 20 years when he or she has teenage kids.
Just remember when they come whining about their kid driving the car into a lake to laugh at them, and tell them it was probably a raccoon.

I did much worse in my day. But I was basically a good kid. So my folks acted like they believed the dog ran out in front of me. Now that I have my own teenagers I finally get it.

Answer 7

You are asking for specualtion, but let's stick with the obvious because it makes more sense.

2 teenagers
2 am
wet slippery road
car in lake

I just have to assume they were going faster than the driver's ability to control the car. Does it really matter whether he totalled the car to avoid a raccoon or whether they were speeding and totalled the car??

Answer 8

LOL oh man.... they where prolly talking and carring on and wasn't paying attention to the road and lost control of the vehicle..... Because if they where drinking or had drugs the police would have known and so would you.........

they were just being teenagers and not doing what they should have been and had a wreak.....

Answer 9

I have had customers total their vehicles doing the same thing; they've since learned that the animal will die next time! Keep in mind, he doesn't have much driving experience.
Perhaps more importantly, what was your 17 y.o. still doing out at 2am?

Answer 10

hows this 200km an hour down a gravel road and smashing into a light post...3 of us in the car 2 without seatbelts and me with mine on...but heres the funny part..i was the only one that got hurt..just a few bruises nothing major....and it sure as hell wasnt no damn squirrel.