The Safer Way to let your Kids Drive

[bigkid]

Hi all,

After a recent thread I realized that I'm not the only parent. My 6 year old son loves to drive my (or in his eyes our) truck, he's quiet good. But I was concerned with him driving by himself with the posibility of losing control and or hitting someone or something. This is how i resolved it. Its dirt cheap and it gives me peace of mind and him the freedom move about and to explore his driving without me breathing down his neck all the time.

You need:
A failsafe (which you should already have)
A switch (I used a pushbutton type)
A 35mm film container
About 3 feet/1 meter of cable (I used speaker wire)
A small piece of insulated card.

Drill a hole in the bottom of the film container big enough to push the switch through.
Drill a hole in the lid big enough to put the wire through.
Put the wire through the lid, wire up the switch put the switch into the bottom of the film container and out through the hole, attach the holding nut to the top of the switch.
At the other end of the wire strip the ends and solder so they have flat ends. Cut the insulated card so that its the same width of one of your transmitters AA batteries. The wire goes either side of the card (I taped mine in place) This then goes between two of your transmitters batteries.
I cut a small nick in the side of my battery cover for the wire to exit through (You could also drill a hole in the battery cover).

To Use:
Let your child/novice drive if you feel they are getting out of control, press the button. This turns off the transmitter and your failsafe cuts in, stopping your precious truck.

I hope this doesn't seem to much like a Blue Peter project, this is a system that works for us, my son prefers to have this setup as he enjoys his driving more (he thinks he is incontrol, but Dad's know best!!).

I look forward to hearing your thoughts, idea's or suggestions.

Cheers
Bigkid
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