When an 8 year old kid takes a road trip by himself!

Give me the keys mom!  I'm not sure you are quite ready to drive son.

​Every so often a story about a kid taking his parents car for a joyride pops up online. I’m always fascinated by these stories. I guess it’s hard for me to imagine one of my little kids not only figuring out how to drive the car but just the whole reaching the steering wheel and pedal aspect confounds me.  
For fun I decided to google “kid takes parents car” and to my amazement stories from all around the world showed up. Who knew this was a common thing. I just thought American kids took their parents cars to get cheeseburgers and fries occasionally.
The story that got this all started was about an 8 year old German boy. He apparently just wanted to “drive for a bit”. Gosh, I wish I could get my 16 year old daughter excited about driving for a bit. But, this kid got on the freeway, got up to over 80 miles an hour before he decided he no longer felt safe. He pulled over to a service station per the report. He then put his hazards on and placed a reflective safety triangle out. He put his little feet up on the dashboard grabbed a piece of bubble gum (I added this part) and waited for his mom to show up. Uhm, are we sure this kid was eight? Because I know a lot of full grown people who wouldn’t know how to put their hazard lights on and would never think to put a safety triangle out on the road.
So, what would happen with your Auto Insurance if your ten year old kid decided to take your SUV down to McDonald’s to get a big mac and fries? Well, the kid can’t really get a ticket because they don’t have a license.  I’m pretty sure being under age they can’t get a ticket for driving without a license either. I sure do hope my ten year old isn’t reading this, don't get any ideas honey.
Now, if your kid takes your car and has an accident along the way your auto insurance should pay to get your car fixed minus your deductible.  Auto Insurance companies don’t exclude kids that aren’t old enough to drive. If you have a 16 year old in the house and they take your car that might be a different story. Just make sure your insurance company covers your vehicle if someone decides to “borrow” it.  There are some companies that are more restrictive in who is allowed to drive your car. You'll need to check with your auto insurance carrier to find out how they handle that.
If you want to have a good time check out some of these stories online. Not all the situations where the car is taken by the kid end as uneventful as the practical German boy.  There are kids that run from the police, there are kids that get together and take an under age road trip. I saw one kid took his parents car because the parents took his Playstation. And, my personal favorite was the kid who took the car and when pulled over told the police he was just a “Little Person”, that happened in Norway.
Before your kids take your car for a road trip give me a call to get some insurance. 951-395-0754