Driver's Education and Driving in General

[Cody]

I think a good number of us have either gone through it, are about to, or are currently going through it, as I am. I was just wondering how it worked for people in different parts of the world (and other cliches like that.)

For us, in Maryland, we can get our Learner's Permits when we're 15 and 9 months. Driver's Education includes ten classroom sessions, with a final test that you need an 80 (or maybe 70) percent or better to pass. I passed the test, but missed three classes (D so I need to make them up in March. During, or after as in my case, the classroom sessions, you have three in-car sessions with an instructor. They last two hours each, and today was my first. Now, I don't find driving difficult, but it's none too thrilling. And, honestly, I think it's kind of tiring xD. I always finish with a stiff back and cramped thigh. Along with the six hours from in-car instructor led sessions, we need 60 hours of driving with a mentor before we can take the exam for our license, which a Marylander can get when they're 16 and 6 months old.

What about you guys?


Also: If anyone has any exciting stories (Drove on a collapsing bridge! Out-drove a lava flow! Or more average stuff) share them!

 

[Shocari]

In Arkansas, we can get our permit at 15 and our license at 16, but only if you've had your permit for 6 or more months. I've no idea what the tests are like, as I don't even have a permit. I just dislike driving in general, so nyah

 

[Picnicker Virgil]

In my area, you can take Driver's Ed as soon as you're 15. Once you get your permit you have to get 30 hours of driving in (including 5 night hours) and you have to be 16 before you can send out for your license. You have to wait 6 months after you get your permit to send out. Then you have to wait another 6 months after you get your license before you can drive around non-family members.

I took Driver's Ed last year when I was 16 (and turned 17 while I was taking it) and now I'm 18 but I still don't have my license :x
I just really hate driving and I'm not good at it and I always have this feeling that I'm going to end up killing everything when I drive. I guess I have no real desire to have my license, except when I'm waiting around for rides. I'll get it eventually but I don't like driving at all.

 

[SineCosineTangent]

We here in Orlando don't have any formal driver's ed courses in school. Or I didn't. At the age of 15, you take a written test to get a permit, and then you just have to drive with a licensed driver over 21. Or maybe it's over 18, I don't remember. There's a certain amount of hours you have to drive, but no one keeps count. Anyway, after a year with the permit, you take the drivers' test and get your license.

I have to say, I'm a rather good driver. I was taught by my father, who drove in New York City. In other words, driving in Orlando is a piece of cake. There are some dumb drivers, though, and I've maneuvered my way out of an accident more than once. Like, people seem to have a penchant for trying to merge when I'm just about even with their car. It's like they assume I'm not there, or they're on their damn phone. Also, I hate traffic. Like hatehatehate it. I'm a rather aggressive driver as well, and I enjoy going fast :3

Also I may have a piiinch of road rage.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

I got my permit at 15 and I'm fairly sure I got my real license at 16 or 17. Driver's Education was offered as an elective at my high school so I took that without issue. At first I hated driving and refused to drive on the interstate, but both of those things changed. If I couldn't drive, I'd live a pretty boring existence. However I still love being a passenger because I can look at passing scenery or go to sleep ♥ I have a bit of a lead foot while driving and like SCT I also have a bit of road rage, but I consider myself a safe driver especially since I tone it down to avoid scaring passengers. My mom likes to make me drive everywhere and yet she hates my driving anyway. Go figure >>

Driving in Atlanta during rush hour is extremely tedious because Atlanta has some of the worst traffic you've ever seen. You have to plan all of your trips around it. For example, at it's widest point I-75 has like, ten lanes...and all of them get clogged during rush hour. It's shockingly bad. It also doesn't help that highways in Atlanta are inherently flawed so that adds to the stupidity. Aggressive driving is definitely needed or else you won't get to where your going. It also contributes to many headaches and my road rage XD

 

[Blarg]

I am currently taking a drivers ed course through my old high school, although you are allowed to when you turn 16 in NYS. You are able to have a full-fledged drivers license at age 18 here, otherwise you can only have a "learner's permit" requiring you to be in the company of a licensed driver at all times. I haven't taken my road test yet, but I think I'm going to fail it multiple times, seeing as I'm not the greatest driver in the world. I'm currently saving up for something to drive, other than my bike, which could take a while.

 

[Nim]

Here is Australia you have to be 16 to get your learner's licence but you have to be accompanied by an adult at all times. Then after 100 hours of driving and turning 17 you take a test which if you pass you receive your previsionals which allows you to drive on your own. However, I'm not really sure how long it takes from there to get you full licence.

 

[Weeds]

Here in Finland (and in Europe in general, I think) you can't take your driver's license before you're 18. That's why it sucks being 17 here, you can't drink, smoke, or drive a car I'm not too sure about how many hours and such you have to do (I won't be taking mine before 2012), but you can start when you're 17, I think. As I said, I'm not too familiar with the system personally.

 

[StellarWind Elsydeon]

Here in Israel, the Driver's Ed system sucks the celestial spheres.

There's no such thing as permits or learner's. You have to take a written road rules test (which is slowly being computerized and is valid for about.... two years or something like that). With that, you need to take driving lessons with an official, professional driving instructor (you know, the sort that has special cars with TWO sets of pedals and all that junk) - which is quite an expensive process, obviously. Once you've logged enough hours and your instructor deems you ready, you get to take a driver's test - which has two parts: one that runs in a closed lot and involves the practice of parking (both parallel and 90-degree), accellarating and target-stopping, uphill braking and resuming, freakin' slalom... yup. Once that is done you also need to take a test where you drive around the city. Driver's testers are quite often awful bastards who will flunk people for completely arbitrary reasons, like... say... 'overconfidence' or somesuch no matter what you do. And if you DO actually manage to get through all this shit, well... You still can't drive on your own for at least three months, where you have to drive around with a liscenced driver.

Yeah. Suffice to say I gave it a few tries, it didn't work out, and I figured "well, Screw it."

xD.

 

[Midnight Shadows]

In Arizona you can get your permit when you are 15 and 6 months, none of the schools here offer a Drivers Ed class and you have to go down to the MVD to take your permit test in a glass room on a touch screen computer and cant miss more than 7 on the 30 question test or else you fail. You can review for the test by getting the flimsy permit book by either someone else who has it or a library and as long as you study the book and review questions its a fair test (but naturally they have questions you just have to guess on cause it wasnt talked about in the book or the study questions x.x) . I failed mine 2 times and you have to pay for every 3 times you take it so if I didn't pass on the third time I would've had to pay the next time I tried. I passed the 3rd time and I got my permit when I was 16 only because my parents didnt taken me >>'

Getting your license you have to have 25 hours of driving and 5 of them have to be at night. All you have to do is have your parent sign off on it when you go to the MVD. Hell though, i've known kids that go the next day even though they didn't have the hours and take the driving test and pass and get their license xD To get your license all you have to do is parallel park (not hit a cone or its an automatic fail) and drive around the block.

Well..for me I took a 6 hour driving class that my parents paid some couple hundred dollars for and a 3 hour driving session only because they didn't think I was a good enough driver in their standards. Since I already had my permit I didn't have to take any form of test just get in the car with some driving instrustor drive for about 3 hours, 3 point turn and parallel park, drive in downtown Phoenix, go on the freeway and at the end he signed something for me to give to the MVD to get my license. I got my license July 2nd of this year and I'm 17.

I don't have a car, for some un godly reason becasue my parents don't want to buy me one and I have to buy my own, where every other Senior that goes to my school has an expensive car that their parents bought for them. I'm not saying I want or need an expensive car but I don't have the kind of money working the stupid job that I have to get enough money for a car. Did I mention I'm the only Senior that walks to school too? X.X sdlfhdsklfhaslkfh /rant.

Driving's great when I get the chance to drive, I need to listen to music or else I'm on edge and it's generally music off my I touch that I plugged into the aux thingy in the car. I love driving fast but at the same time I love driving for a long time to go anywhere.. mainly out to this town Queen Creek because there's nothing there and the desert scenery is awesome ♥

 

[Psycho Monkey]

I'm 21 and proud to say I got no license! The reason I refused to lean how to drive was mainly to protect the world from me. I'm easily distracted, I'm directionally impaired without a GPS or knowing exactly where I'm going, I'm an adrenaline junky so you know I'll be speeding, I can be pretty aggressive when too many stupid people/jackasses cut me off/don't let me over/drive slowly in front of me, and I like freedom of movement. When I walk, I can go just about anywhere I can fit and turn any direction at any angle. In a steel death trap I don't have that luxury, and if the aforementioned idiots don't let me in the lane I need to be in I'm stuck going somewhere I don't want to go. When walking, I can push and shove through the crowd to go where I want to be.

I learned all my annoyances from being the passenger all my life and just by knowing my behavior. The only thing I dislike about not having a license is finding a ride, but I can deal because it's the lesser of two evils.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

Oh yeah...I forgot to mention what happened during my driving test.

Basically I was using my Mom's car and it had squeaky brakes that the driving instructor kept pointing out << But other than that, every thing was going well right up until we got to the parallel parking. I failed that part in Driver's Ed, and I didn't do it well on the actual test either. I think I knocked over a cone (or three) and therefore I ended up only passing with like, a 70. I couldn't really feel excited about getting my license after that.

Oh, and I can still barely parallel park. Basically I have to find a space with a lot of room and slide myself in or find two open spaces in a row and drive into it.

 

[SineCosineTangent]

...This makes me glad that there is no parallel parking on the Florida driver's test :>

Because that is the -one- thing I can't do XD

 

[Stark]

Here in Englishland we can get a provisional licence at 17 I believe, which allows you to drive with a licenced driver over 21 I think in the passenger seat. After that, I believe its optional if you use a driving instructor to learn the ropes or use parents or whatever. You can take the driving theory test whenever, just go book it. As long as you get at least 44 (ish) out of the total 50 in the multiple choice bit and a further 44ish out of 75 on the little hazard perception videos, you'll pass. After that, you have a further two years in which to pass the driving test.

In that, you'll be taken out around the city where your examiners place is. You'll have to do two of either parallel parking, bay parking, a turn-in-the-road/3-point turn, or a reverse around a corner. You might be asked do emergency stop as well. Asides that, you'll be marked on general driving ability. It lasts about 40 minutes or so, and as long as you don't get a "major" (a serious screw up which either shows you don't have the ability or put other people in harms way/made them go out of their way for you) or up to 15 minors (like speeding a tiny bit is 1 minor, slightly off road positioning is another minor), you pass.

I passed first time with 6 minors in May of this year ^^ Really enjoy driving, I find it forces me to concentrate because we have a lot of country roads here. Real driving, not like you silly american straight roads and square corners (♥ u guize rly)

 

[Magpie]

I'm a pretty good little driver, although it stresses me out completely. I really can't park though. I need room, and lots of it :V

I passed first time, which was a miracle in itself. But when I was on my test a learner lorry-driver was in front of me on a hill. I'm talking the giant lorry of doom you see on motorways (freeways/highways/whatever). It just started moving backwards because the poor guy obviously didn't have 'biting pint'. My instructor actually screamed, and all I did was look behind me to check no one was there and slowly moved backwards too. Very funny, especially since his scream was the most girly scream ever :'D

I don't think he dared fail me after that~

 

[Doubled]

Driver's Ed for me was around when I was 14 or 15. It was fun, mainly because I was able to drive myself to my appointments at the dentist that week XD But We had a bunch of kids taking it. Among the people that passed the written exam the first time, I was, surprisingly, one of the people who passed the first time. My friend and rival, Sam, who had always done better than me in everything, had to wait a week before taking it again XD

But yes, the driving was fun, for a bit.... Then we had to drive in town, and our instructor/principal/football coach was on the phone saying things like "You need to turn right", and when I did he yelled and he yelled. Stupid idiot, get off the phone!

As for how I drive, I believe they need to increase the speed limit everywhere, as going 45 MPH to me feels like I'm going 20. Going 70 makes me feel like I'm going 45, so I speed a little ^^; And I get road rage bad, especially when an idiot won't move when he's going slow. However, I like driving, mainly because its the closest I feel to running like the wind or operating a mech that I can get at this point. Plus, the size of it tells people not to mess with me for some reason.

 

[Blisk]

I skipped the Driver's Ed stuff because I didn't feel like paying. In Colorado, you can get a permit if you pass Driver's Ed at 15 or pass a written test at 16+. Because I'm lazy, I got my permit at 17 (Two days after my birthday). Since I have to have it for a year, I basically have to wait until my 18th birthday to get my license.

 

[Secad MS]

I can't drive, legally and because of a lack of skills. In a drunk driving game my class was taken to in ninth grade, I couldn't start the car for five minutes, flipping it over in a few seconds when I finally did, with a BAL of .01. XD

My parents have always been overprotective. They say I'm not ready to drive, even though I'm going to go away to college in a few months. I still have yet to even get in the office to apply for a permit, or even driving lessons. Needless to say, I'm happy I have an ID.