I feel so trapped without a driving license… can’t go anywhere…
I think everyone has a driver’s license at 16 here in the US, but I’m already over 18 with no license… :(
16 - parents
I taught a friend how to drive and he was in his mid 20’s when I taught him.
14, rural communities have different rules I guess. My grandpa at 6 put me behind the wheel of his F350 while pulling a 20’ trailer so he could stand in the trailer and buck hay for all the livestock.
So by the time I got my license I already knew how to control a car and just had to learn the rules of the road.
When I was less than 10, my grandpa would have me steer his boat, so he could troll off the back. Only problem was that he was constantly telling me to slow down so the fish could catch his bait, while I wanted to open it up and fly!
Never. I’ve always been poor and it’s just not that necessary living in German cities. It would help a lot to be able to rent a car once in a while e.g. for moving apartments, but it seems like a bad idea to get a license and then only drive every couple of months, you’ll never build the skills to drive safely. It’s moot, though, I couldn’t afford the license itself anyway (pretty expensive in Germany).
How much?
Haven’t checked prices in a hot minute, but I think it’s about 3000€ right now, maybe more depending on the driving school and how many tries you need to pass the test.
Holy shit
I’m 30 and have never learned. I live in a city with adequate public transit.
What a dream
18 from a school. Letting 16 year olds drive is insanity.
::: spoiler
:::
I had a girlfriend whose 95 year old immigrant grandmother used to walk to the grocery store every day, crossing a major road.
She died crossing that road, when she was hit by a 16 yo girl who had just gotten her license, and was on her first solo drive.
I had drivers ed in high school (over 2 decades ago, in PA) and my parents took me out to drive in addition to that. I learned on an automatic first, but my parents also taught me to drive manual. My daily driver for the last 2 decades had been a manual, until this new car we bought last year. We have 2 kids now and my wife can’t drive manual, well she could but doesn’t like it, and it’s more important we can both drive the vehicle, but I digress. I haven’t looked into it, but I’ve heard that there is no drivers ed classes in the school district we’re in now, that learning is done through driving schools, not sure how I feel about that
When I took the written exam for the permit, it was pretty easy. Most things make sense. You’ll still want to read up to know symbol and sign meanings, and to understand more niche rules.
For the actual driving, the more practice you get in the better you’ll be. You’ll get used to the car your driving, start understanding usual patterns of other drivers, and different driving conditions. It’s funny looking back and whenever I drove by a semi on an undivided highway I would be so far over on the shoulder because I was nervous.
I also have ADHD which is often cited as a risk factor for driving but it mostly works out well for me. It’s a lot of stimuli coming at you requiring a lot of small focus switching and I find it really engaging. Generally the thing that gets me is if the passenger tries to have a serious conversation with me, that is when my driving ability diminishes.
Personally I feel the US needs more density, with walkable neighborhoods, and better mass transit. Cars shouldn’t be a necessity, instead of being freeing, they are a yoke on the working class
I remember the only question I couldn’t answer correctly was ‘at what distance do you dim your brights? 1000’, 3000’, .5 mile? And I was like… as soon as you see the other car?? Lol.
I still don’t know the rule.
I think the numbers aren’t even universal when comparing states or countries. As soon as you see the other car’s lights is as good of a rule as any. I actually know the numbers for my area, and it’s not like I use them to calculate when to turn them off.
Those numbers are definitely different in the age of LEDs anyway.
My cousin and his wife are 57 and neither of them have a driving license. They cycle, take public transport or take a taxi when absolutely necessary. I myself was 30 when I got mine, and I still cycle or take public transport unless it’s not possible (sadly the buses are garbage where I live nowadays, but I do take the train a lot).
Was 19. Needed it for a job and got it in 2 weeks. Took the permit test after a few nights of studying. Took a driving course online while I was sick and then scheduled a driving exam. Lots of practice with my dad doing the exact stuff that was on the test. I had an expired permit from when I was also 16… never had the courage to get a license. I also felt trapped despite biking places. Many places were just outside my reach, including jobs. I was terrified of driving because it felt too complicated. I eventually got accustomed after a summer of driving to work.
Tips: drive around the area you’re testing in. Never hit the curb when parallel parking. Always Be Signaling (ABS). Come to a complete (0m/s) stop before a stop sign. Make sure to make it obvious you’re checking your mirrors, etc. because the grader is looking at your eyes.
Years before I got my license, I took some lessons with a driving instructor. They’d take you on some rides, some on the highway, some doing simple stuff. It was helpful. When I got my license, I kind of already knew how to drive, just wasn’t that familiar with the rules.
I didn’t get mine till 18, even though I went through my schools driving program at 16.
Its nothing to be embarrassed about! I literally didn’t know that vehicles would slowly move themselves when in drive until the first time I got behind the wheel in the driving school lol.
Well over 18. Paid for Driving instructor(cuz by then I was able to afford it at that age) . Seriously best money I have ever spent.
do not have a relative teach you. All a relative will teach you is all their bad habits. An Instructor will reprogram you the correct way and teach you how to actually pass the test.
do not have a relative teach you.
In this economy?
Nah, dad can teach me just fine, clean driving record never was in an at-fault crash.
(I’m broke af lmao, I don’t even own a car, I’d have to borrow one of my parents cars to go anywhere lol)
never was in an at-fault crash.
Right of way, but dead wrong.
Two weeks before 18.
The earliest possible age in my country.
Same.
Driving school in Germany. You had to be at least 18 for a driving license. Paid around 1200 €, 24 years ago.
13, special license in some US states for kids who live out in the middle of nowhere so they can get to school.
Learned from parents, grandparents, siblings, being around trucks and tractors and motorcycles since I was a toddler. I knew how to drive long before I got a license.
I never heard the school excuse, I thought they allowed rural kids to drive so they could handle farm vehicles.
My home state had a permit for that too, certain vehicles I could drive on certain roads under restrictive speed limits. So I could, like, drive a tractor or farm truck with the right license plates down county roads to another field.
That was separate from a school permit. The nearest school bus stop to me was miles away and didn’t go directly to my school so I would have spent 3+ hours per school day on multiple buses if I hadn’t been able to drive myself in. Not to mention sports on weekends and other stuff where the normal school day bus wasn’t running. My permit restricted the hours I could drive, it had to be to or from school or jobs, and I couldn’t give anyone rides other than siblings. I think I wasn’t supposed to drive on the interstate too.
Got mine at 22, drove twice before taking the test and barely passing
I was 20 and learned from an instructor. To be fair, I’m from the Netherlands and cars don’t play such a big role here. I had a moped from when i was 17, so i was motorized. Although I bicycled for most of my trips under 10 kilometer (five miles).
