<p>Parent of a kid who had a learner’s permit for three years here. He’s almost 19 and just got his license last week. That said, he says he’s not ready to drive solo around town just yet. He’s a very good and careful driver, but doesn’t have it down to second nature. (Being off at school makes that a bit more difficult.) Expect that he will do lots of driving with us over the summer and log more time.</p>
<p>Life got in the way around here – heavy school load, sports, etc. Driver’s Ed (32 hours of class time, 6 hours of supervised driving with an instructor) PLUS 60 hours of driving with a licensed, experienced driver are required before taking the driving test. S2 also had to have his current learner’s permit for at least 7 months, and I believe the graduated license rules apply even though he’s over 18 (and under 21, though I’d have to check the regs). Suffice it to say that until <em>we</em> are comfortable with his driving, he’s not getting the keys to go solo or to drive his friends. </p>
<p>OP, if you are in the VA suburbs of DC, the traffic is among some of the worst in the country. Not the place to be <em>learning</em> to drive! Many of S’s friends aren’t allowed to drive on the Beltway because it’s such a zoo. Heck, I have adult friends who avoid the Beltway.</p>
<p>I’m glad I live 3000 miles away most of the time.</p>
<p>OP, a license will make it easier to drive yourself to the good driving program?</p>
<p>There are driver training programs where the instructor comes to you! There are driver training programs at high schools (not sure why you did not do that; maybe not offered at your school).</p>
<p>Driving 5 miles with no real experience or proper training puts everyone in your path, plus yourself, for those 10 rt miles, at risk. </p>
<p>Driving is not something you learn on your own. Maybe back on the farm. Not on greater Washington DC streets and roads.</p>
<p>Ditto what everyone else has said. I don’t know of any driving school that will not come and pick up up at your home. With all my kids the driving instructor picked them up from school or our house. The ending point of the lesson for one of my D’s lessons was her work place. A driving course is worth every penny. You don’t want to hurt someone.</p>
<p>I sure hope you fail that driving test. You don’t know what you don’t know. Meaning you have no idea of the reflexes experienced drivers have. You are likely to cause many near accidents as you attempt to drive without enough experience behind the wheel or someone to “ride shotgun” to keep you out of trouble.</p>
<p>I finally got my license when I needed to for hospitals my 3rd year of medical school (age 24?). I was a klutz with the family stick shift, had driver’s ed but then was too busy other times. Parents finally had an automatic and I was home to practice… Our state now has rules for amount of supervised driving for teens, many more than you have had I believe.</p>
<p>My D has a license but has not really driven as much as we’d like and will need to be getting around LA (yikes). **Anyone know of any good instructors around the USC area that could help her get “up to speed” and more experience there? ** The freeways between Pasadena & USC are pretty busy and fast, with many lane changes; there are a lot more freeways in LA than in HI as well.</p>
<p>She has had her permit now for years (& has driven well and for many hours under our supervision) but just took the driver’s test over Christmas break. It’s really hard for her to get around LA for her field without a vehicle. Somehow S learned how to navigate LA just fine and she’ll probably be fine too, but it would be nice if she had someone to mentor her a bit.</p>
<p>Personally, I do NOT drive in LA (except in the suburbs). I also do not drive in DC area for similar reasons (tho HI traffic is very heavy–better the devil we know).</p>
<p>Two weeks is enough to learn the mechanics of driving “around” and you may very well pass the driving test, but it does take time on the road to become used to driving, observing, reacting, driving in the dark and adverse conditions, etc.</p>
<p>I must admit that I did the bare minimum to get my license at age 28.</p>
<p>I didn’t have a car nor the money to pay for more driving lessons than absolutely necessary.</p>
<p>I doubt I drove more than 10 hours (all lessons, and with a standard transmission) before I passed my driving test (no parallel parking required in my case).</p>
<p>I got a car shortly thereafter and moved to the suburbs (the whole learning to drive project was necessary because I was getting married!) I was absolutely petrified of driving and had a few shaky first weeks, but I don’t think I ever put anyone at risk.</p>
<p>I’m glad I started this thread. You parents were right, the driving school has a package deal where I can get 10 hours of driving lessons and they will pick me up.</p>
<p>Good! In our family we found that after each S got a license, which didn’t require highway driving, we had to keep practicing with him and working for an additional 6 months after the license was awarded.</p>
<p>In our regions, the license award came only after demonstrating the ability to drive a neighborhood and park. Real driving, however, inlcudes getting onto and off of 60-mph highways, merging with ramps and so on. You’d be wise to get some additional professional training in that aspect, along with whatever it takes to actually pass the license exam in your state.</p>
<p>Also, same-age kids can have some odd ideas about how to teach each other. Things such as de-escalating one’s speed after being up on 60 mph and back in a town take lots of experience. The professional driving teachers have a better feeling for how to tell someone to de-escalate speed very soon off the highway. This is hard for a new driver to judge or a recent agemate driver to realize it’s a special topic. Just an example of “you don’t know what you don’t know.” </p>
<p>Please take as many professional lessons as your family’s resources will allow. I know your Dad’s busy but am SO glad you took parental advice here. Now you have professional lessons scheduled. Good choice.</p>
<p>I also think you should push the envelope on how “busy” Dad is. Perhaps he will be more willing to accompany you knowing he’s not also got the primary responsibility to teach you from the start? I hope so. He should have every motivation to help you become the best possible driver. Can you think about ways to un-busy him for some daily practice; or if he comes home only occasionally, work with the time he has? Easier said than done, but you - like everyone - needs some help practicing between lessons and even after the license is awarded.</p>
<p>10 hours is a good start, but it really takes considerably longer. I remember that I really didn’t drive much in HS, college & law school. In fact, I didn’t drive all that much when I 1st got my car either & some of the early fights between H & I were because I really was a poor driver (where was I supposed to have learned?) Anyway, H took to QUIETLY helping and providing good tips when we were driving (H is an excellent driver). Fast forward a few decades & now I’m one of the best drivers in my extended family, thankfully.</p>
<p>S learned a lot by trial & error. Fortunately, he had the good sense to do it on backroads at non-busy times. It IS tough to learn unless you have some good mentors. So glad that DoinSchool sees the sense in learning from professionals who will pick him up. I’m assuming those 10 hours are all with YOU behind the wheel rather than classroom instruction–the latter is of much more limited value.</p>
<p>Hey parents, I got my license today!! Wooohooo!!</p>
<p>I think that learning in two weeks would have been a stretch, but definitely possible if I had practiced a solid 2 hours a day; but I am happy that I took it slow. </p>
<p>My driving instructor’s comments were very helpful, and my dad was a patient teacher.</p>
<p>Driving is intimidating at first, but then you realize that being too anxious is counterproductive. It’s better to be calm, cool, and AWARE. Once you learn the rules of the road and stop freaking out every time you roll by an intersection, it gets a lot easier. My dad has complimented my driving skills and said he is impressed by my handling and decision making. Of course there are a few scenarios where I am inexperienced but overall I feel that I am already way safer than most drivers out there (I have been absolutely shocked how many people blatantly break the rules, and think they are “above” using lane change/turning signals), and more fuel efficient too :D. Lol at people who accelerate then brake hard at red lights.</p>
<p>It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I know it’s going to be suuuuuuch a relief now that going anywhere isn’t a huge ordeal. I live in a suburban neighborhood about 1 mile away from any non-residential areas</p>
<p>Congratulations! Now…don’t get too over confident (or at least that’s what I’ve said to my boys over and over and over) and continue to be an aware driver!</p>
<p>Yep, I am just grateful to be able to drive places. I mean geez, how hard is it to turn on a blinker, and how bad do you really need to get somewhere 30 seconds faster while risking a ticket and costly accident?</p>