@Twoin18 That’s interesting re cost. I thought because of the drinking age of 21 and a more driving culture your insurance would be cheaper. Ours is about £2000 per year so a little more expensive but still too expensive. So many kids learn to drive at 18 but then don’t drive till after college. Though we do have ‘packages’ where you buy a new car and get the insurance ‘free’. So if you can afford the new car it is worth considering.
I’ve driven a lot in the US and the automatic is soooo much easier. But as I say to S if there is ever a situation that someone needs to be able to drive a manual/stick shift you will be able to step up and save the day :)) (I am reminded of the scene in Pretty Woman!)
The issue in the US is the liability when you crash into someone and injure them. Huge settlements (and large legal bills) push up the risk and cost considerably. And note that is just for one car, you pay by the car, so a more normal price without kids (but with the equivalent of a no claims bonus) would be $800-$1000 per car per year.
If your son might end up staying to a point where he has a car, it might be worth him getting his US license because the price of insurance can be affected by how long you’ve had a US license, regardless of whether you owned a car in the interim. It was definitely expensive for us when we first moved from the U.K. to the US, even though we’d been driving for 10+ years in the U.K. by that time. And it’s very useful as ID so he doesn’t need to carry his passport around. Typically in most states after you are 18, the restrictions such as holding a learners permit for 6 months start to fall away, so it can be cheap and easy to get a license if you can borrow a car.
I have two kids who are already 18 and haven’t learned to drive. I dread trying to teach them and can’t really afford lessons. Oy vey.
Mine hasnt learned either.
Decision made. UGA with Trustee Honors. Still waitlisted at Georgetown but not a high probability. Now on to five AP exams in the next two weeks. Our kids could use a break!
@Nomorelurker congrats on having a decision!
@Nomorelurker, a friend’s daughter has had a FANTASTIC experience at UGA Honors. Truly top-notch experiences. I’m happy to connect you if you’d like. Congratulations to all of you!
@swtaffy904, Many thanks. Great to finally be done. @Suzy100, kind of you to offer to connect, but S has already met probably thirty plus Honors students in person at the university on several visits, and with the added benefit of social media group chats, he is pretty well covered. Now we can finally make some summer plans!
S received a very nice letter today from the President of UNM commending his academic success and welcoming him to the university. The letter also included a Southwestern-style lobo pin that S immediately pinned to his jacket. 
@Nomorelurker Congrats on the decision! Also congrats to decisions posted earlier @Meddy @swtaffy904 @1822mom
If S hadn’t decided by now, I very likely would’ve been doing the coin flip for him. For those on the fence, hang in there!
@twinsmama any relatives/friends/neighbors willing to help teach your kids? A friend and I took turns teaching my cousin’s kids because she and her H were too nervous.
@hafamama, many thanks. I remember you and I commiserated together for a while over on the other thread where our boys ultimately decided against the West Coast option. I really thought S was leaning toward the higher ranked OOS schools that offered merit, but when he went back for a second and third visit to the Honors program instate, they rolled out the red carpet and showed him the love. Ultimately, I think it was a social, academic and financial fit for him, with the financial not being the main factor, even though he is happy to conserve resources for grad school. All the schools applied to would have been a good academic fit, but the UGA Honors program provides extraordinary support for their students, from internships to study abroad, and research at home base. Athens is a terrific college town with great school spirit too like Notre Dame, @hafamama. Mark your calendar for 2019 when the Irish come to Athens on September 21 to try to avenge last year’s one point loss to the Bulldogs. I’ll be there!
@melvin123 Nice idea, but probably not (although I will ask some friends for pointers). It’s not so much nerves in my case, just that I don’t have the faintest idea how to go about it and am sure I will miss something crucial.
I just tried to convey things how I would do them. Once they get the basic mechanics of braking, giving gas, steering under control which is fairly easy with an automatic, then I started showing them where on the road to position themselves, how to turn, how to change lanes, how to watch oncoming traffic when turning left, how to proceed at a 4 way stop sign.
I started in an empty parking lot with explaining the controls, some practicing stopping and starting, backing up, making turns.
Then short trips in town on quiet streets at less busy times.
After a while when the driving became second nature, I focused on pointing out “pitfalls”, other drivers, certain places in town where I know there can be issues.
In PA you have to do 65 hours of supervised driving. Some have to be at night, some in inclement weather (snow, rain), some on the interstate.
We waited for those until they were doing very well with the others.
It can be unnerving not to be in direct control of the car, especially at high speeds, and having to anticipate things so you can warn then in time.
Parallel parking we practiced at the testing site, on the weekend, they had a rectangle marked off with tall cones.
I figured it’s my job, the same as teaching them other things.
I learned from a driving school, because that’s how it was done back home.
But our high school discontinued the driver’s education program and I couldn’t afford the driving school, so they had to make due with me as their teacher.
If they practice 1-2 hrs a week, it may well take longer than 6 months, or even a year.
I had to sign on the dotted line that they were ready, so I wanted to make sure they were ready to drive unsupervised.
There were also scheduling conflicts, due to the testing site being 30 minutes away from us , and closing around 3 during the week, they could only test on Saturday, and those filled up quickly.
Weather also played a role, and time, my S worked on weekends, so requesting off work and scheduling the testing appointment proved to be challenging.
All this to say, it was not easy to see them drive off alone for the first time.
Or having them come home after dark (we have a lot of deer here).
@hafamama We are flipping the coin later today 8-|
Decision made! Really respect my kid because he was mostly concerned about how his decision would affect the rest of the family. But we told him we could do it, and we can. USC!
Insurance rates went down for us once my DS went off to college and left his car behind.
Thanks, @mommdc, that’s very helpful!
Wow, congratulations @Booajo!!