"Six Year Old Drives to School Thanks to GTA"

by **Thunderboyx** on Mon Jun 22, 2009 8:15 pm

Spoiler:: Most six year olds in America are probably not too excited
about attending school. Many parents have to drag their children out
of bed in the morning in order to make their scheduled school bus pick
up times. However, one diligent six year old from Wicomico Church, Virginia, wanted to be on time for school so badly, he borrowed the family car after missing the school bus.

According to the Associated Press,
the six year old boy missed his school bus last week and tried to drive
the family’s 2005 Ford Taurus to school which was over seven miles
away. The child was able to drive the car six miles before crashing
into a utility pole planted about a mile and a half away from his
destination. Police said that during his drive, the child must have
navigated “at least two 90-degree turns, passed several cars and ran
off the rural two-lane road several times."

When the boy was
questioned by the police as to where he obtained the necessary skills
to drive a Ford Taurus, he responded by saying he learned to drive by
playing video [color:d8a5=blue ! important][color:d8a5=blue ! important]games
such as Grand Theft Auto and Monster Truck Jam. The county sheriff
also mentioned that the boy was so intent on going to school that after
the crash, he proceeded to walk the rest of the way because he did not
want to miss breakfast and PE class. The boy was found to have had
only minor injuries and was released from hospital the same day.

At
the time of the incident, the 26 year old mother was asleep upstairs.
Both her and the 40 year old father are in police custody, charged with
child endangerment. In the meantime, both the six year old boy and his
four year old brother remain placed in protective custody.

Besides
the obvious blessing that there were no serious injuries, this incident
also provides more fuel for those advocating against video game
violence. But let’s not forget that it was bad parenting that allowed
a six year old child to play mature rated video games. However, the
bright side of the story is that this six year old had the reflexes and
coordination to navigate a 2005 Ford Taurus... all thanks to the
advances of video games.

Source: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/video-games-driving-school,news-3280.html

by **koolmagican** on Sat Jul 11, 2009 10:44 am

"My parents are 15 years apart and never once did I have any incidents
such as this, my parents were always there for me growing up and will
always be there for me if I am in need (I'm now 30 years old with a
child of my own, paying my own mortgage, etc.). Seems more like people
in general should judge on a case by case basis, instead of sterotyping
immediately, because they see something they're uncomfortable with.

This
is one of those times you have to just shake your head at the parents
for ever giving birth and feel sorry for the child having to grow up in
an environment such as this. There is no way the child should have had
access to "M-rated" games in the first place. The blame lays soley at
the feet of the parents, no matter what age they are. I won't let my
kid play games such as GTA, but not because I have something against
the game itself (I personally enjoyed GTA4).. but because it's not
suited for children. Any parent worth a salt would know this.

Chalk
it up to terrible parents.. not age differences, not the game itself,
but to sheer ignorance and inability to act like a responsible parent,
which includes waking up and getting your child ready for school."
By Eccentric909

I agree with Eccentric909. Smile