Moxie Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 I can say, without a doubt, the legal driving age should be 25. Oy vey. That parking lot was scary!! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I think some of the parents are scarier drivers than the kids. Do they really need to pul up to my bumper to park their car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 Never ever go to a school parking lot the last day the seniors are there. Or anywhere near the senior parking lot on the first day of senior year. Even if you don't get killed, you will see idiocy beyond compare. And you just don't need to see that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnE-girl Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I'm not saying the teenagers aren't scary drivers (I can remember some of the things that I did while driving at 16), but those parents can be awful too! There are two moms at the elementary school who come to mind. There's the one who won't leave early enough to get a better parking spot at pick up time, but thinks nothing of blocking half the crosswalk because heaven forbid she parks a little way down the block like the rest of us. And the other is always careening into the dropout area with about 5 seconds to spare before her kid is late every single day. They are on my list of reasons why I can't wait to have both my kids at home next year. Four days of school left :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I think the state of Maryland agrees with you. I have a child who just graduated high school and still isn't driving. They have to pass a learners test that 50% of them fail. She got it last summer but never had time for the REQUIRED drivers ed class. I finally have her enrolled for June. The classroom classes are 3 hours for two weeks in a row and that doesn't include the driving time the class schedules. She never had TIME for it during the school year! It's about $300 and there is no drivers ed in the schools. Once she gets through the class and passes a driving exam she'll still only have an INTERIM driver's license. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 KungFuPanda, that's pretty standard for driver's ed, I think. Here in NM they're required 30 hours classroom instruction, 7 driving sessions (30 minutes each), written and driving tests, and the provisional license lasts 1 year, during which they can only have one person in the car who's not an adult or immediate family member, they can't drive between 12am and 5am, and any ticket will delay their getting regular license. Still, ds will leave for school 30 minutes early in order to avoid the other students arriving in the parking lot. They can't seem to park straight between the lines. They park at all angles, taking up two or three parking spaces. They're quite erratic in other ways as well. It's crazy For some reason, ds took to driving like a duck to water (perhaps all those video games). He's a natural That wasn't the case for dd. She had a lot more trouble. She still has trouble keeping a steady speed when she's going slow. She does this tapping thing with the gas pedal, causing the car to surge and slow, surge and slow, surge and slow. Makes me car sick, but she doesn't even realize she's doing it. She's been driving for 2 1/2 years. She's way better than she used to be, but she has a way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 KungFuPanda, that's pretty standard for driver's ed, I think. Here in NM they're required 30 hours classroom instruction, 7 driving sessions (30 minutes each), written and driving tests, and the provisional license lasts 1 year, during which they can only have one person in the car who's not an adult or immediate family member, they can't drive between 12am and 5am, and any ticket will delay their getting regular license. Still, ds will leave for school 30 minutes early in order to avoid the other students arriving in the parking lot. They can't seem to park straight between the lines. They park at all angles, taking up two or three parking spaces. They're quite erratic in other ways as well. It's crazy For some reason, ds took to driving like a duck to water (perhaps all those video games). He's a natural That wasn't the case for dd. She had a lot more trouble. She still has trouble keeping a steady speed when she's going slow. She does this tapping thing with the gas pedal, causing the car to surge and slow, surge and slow, surge and slow. Makes me car sick, but she doesn't even realize she's doing it. She's been driving for 2 1/2 years. She's way better than she used to be, but she has a way to go. I got my license, ignored the laws for twenty years, and now have a teen going through the process. When I was her age, you got your learners, then three months later could get your license. If you wanted to, and wanted an insurance discount, you could take driver's ed for free as a class in high school. I missed, when, why, and how Driver's Ed got removed from the schools AND made mandatory for licensing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I got my license, ignored the laws for twenty years, and now have a teen going through the process. When I was her age, you got your learners, then three months later could get your license. If you wanted to, and wanted an insurance discount, you could take driver's ed for free as a class in high school. I missed, when, why, and how Driver's Ed got removed from the schools AND made mandatory for licensing. I had the same (not shocking, we're probably in the same age cohort), though I took private drivers ed because in-school was a full semester and I wouldn't be able to do it because of my birthday , which would have made me 15 and 9 months (permit age) in the middle. I recall that it only applied to under 18 prospective drivers, though. (Or, maybe it was only made mandatory by our parents who would be footing the horrific insurance bill) When my eldest daughter learned to drive, the mandatory out of school drivers ed, recorded hours of supervised driving (by the instructor, then by us), etc. was in place. She's now 26, so it's apparently been a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 For some reason, ds took to driving like a duck to water (perhaps all those video games). He's a natural That wasn't the case for dd. She had a lot more trouble. She still has trouble keeping a steady speed when she's going slow. She does this tapping thing with the gas pedal, causing the car to surge and slow, surge and slow, surge and slow. Makes me car sick, but she doesn't even realize she's doing it. She's been driving for 2 1/2 years. She's way better than she used to be, but she has a way to go. My FIL drives like that. It's nauseating. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 It helped at my son's school that students had assigned parking. They were pretty responsible. Still, there were the gender-benders of inexperience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luuknam Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I can say, without a doubt, the legal driving age should be 25. Oy vey. That parking lot was scary!! Hey! I got my licenses at 23 and did just fine. Turned 23 in July, had baby in August, car and motorcycle licenses in October, big rig license in December. Hell yeah! Amazingly, I was cheaper to insure than my 31yo husband. Because female drivers are so safe, even if they're total newbies. :confused1: Oh, yeah, and people with newborns shouldn't be allowed to drive either. Sleep deprivation behind the wheel and a crying baby in the back seat distracting you... er, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 I got my license about 30 years ago in Maryland. Drivers Ed was required then. It was offered in school, but there was a fee. I took it privately from Summit Driving School off route 40 over the summer. Mr. Lansbury was my instructor. You had your Cinderella license for a year. In GA, where I live now, no drivers Ed required. I think the Cinderella license here lasts until you are 18. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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