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18 yrs and car insurance is their responsibility. I live in one of the largest cities in the country, driving conditions are fast and crowded, insurance is pricey. $300 a month each teen. I didn't see the need to drive during high school, they didn't care so we left it at 18.
I'm curious if just the lessons were enough to make them decent drivers, or if it took some practice. Did they practice with you in the car or were they able to get their licenses immediately after the class?
I'm curious if just the lessons were enough to make them decent drivers, or if it took some practice. Did they practice with you in the car or were they able to get their licenses immediately after the class?
In our case, the schools didn't have driver's ed. An outside firm came in and held the classes, which parents paid for ( about $350.00). That included 6 hours of actual driving, done over 3 days. In other words, not nearly enough practice to pass a drivers test.
My boys were always asking me to take them driving. It was absolutely nerve-wracking. Because the instructor took them on highways immediately, I think they overestimated their skills. DH had all the patience in the world for the practice sessions, and took over, thank goodness. He also let them on freeways but he has nerves of steel.
Driver's Ed classes fill up very quickly here. As soon as you get your permit you must sign up, or it can be months before they hold another session locally.
You still must be a permit holder for 6 months before taking the test to get a license.
ETA: the practice sessions with the instructor are during the day. The requirements for a license include something like 20 hours of nighttime driving.
I'm at work, bored, playing words with friends, thought I'd start something new, something that hopefully can't turn out confrontational...LOL
Anyways,
1. What age do you plan on letting your kids drive/get their license?
2. What will your rules be?
3. Do you plan on following state law and letting them their permit as soon as they are old enough?
4. Will you wait till they are 18? 17?
5. How do you think driving skill correlates to how young/old you start?
6. Do you think being male/female has a difference?
Bonus question: How old were YOU when you got your permit and license?
What were your rules with the car?
I got my permit ON my 16th birthday and my license a month before my 19th birthday and wasn't allowed to drive alone until a few months after that.
I have only gotten a few tickets which I didn't get until I got my own car, no accidents, I take great care of my car.
I had to tell my mom where I was going, I was only allowed to take the car out for the duration of whatever I was doing, usually just to college and rec soccer.
My brother got his permit at 15 in a half due to some driving program and got his license at 16 1/2 since with the program you had to hold your permit for a year.
He was allowed to take the car out alone that very same day.
He is 17 now and has had so many violations he recently got his license revoked but my mom paid for him to get it back.
And the SUV is ALWAYS broken in some way or another.
He takes the SUV any time day or night for however long he wants.
1. As soon as they are legally old enough. I plan on taking them on their birthdays like I was and being very involved with teaching them and putting them into classes and making sure they are good drivers.
2. Whatever the law states regarding times they drive, how many passengers they have etc once they have hit that time period of like 6 months and only one passenger or whatever then I will reevaluate based on their maturity.
3. Yep.
4. Whenever they are old enough, if they can get it at 15 1/2 then they can as long as they are mature enough.
5. I think driving skill definitely correlates, if you don't learn young it can be pretty hard. I taught a friend how to drive last year and she didn't start learning till she was 19 or 20 and she was awful, she took corners too fast, freaked out, pulled up too close behind cars at lights, scary scary driver.
6. I think it does. Guys are more reckless than girls and tend to not think first, some guys not all but most.
I am not making this about me, but since I asked everyone about themselves, not only their kids and there is no mother here to say what was done with my brother and I, I thought I would put from my side as well.
But from this thread is about kids and driving age and the other questions I asked.
Your mother was foolish to pay to get your brother's license back. If he got his license revoked at 17 due to having too many violations then he should have gone without one.
She should have let him stew for awhile.
I know of similar situation where the parents took care of all the tickets for their 18 yr old son. He had several violations at 17 and the parents never took the car away.
He had tickets for speeding, running stop signs, etc.
He ended up killing himself, his best friend, his 15yr old sister, and her friend when he hit a cement wall doing 100mph in a 35 mile an hour residential area.
I'm curious if just the lessons were enough to make them decent drivers, or if it took some practice. Did they practice with you in the car or were they able to get their licenses immediately after the class?
This was 14 years ago. My son had 20 hours of instruction. The instructor came to our home, picked him up and dropped him off. The lessons were given over 4 days in the summer. He got his liscense immediately afterwards. He had experience in driving mini-racers, and golf carts since the age of about 10, so he had a bit of experience beforehand.
We paid his insurance and gas, his job was to go to school.
Anyways,
1. What age do you plan on letting your kids drive/get their license?
2. What will your rules be?
3. Do you plan on following state law and letting them their permit as soon as they are old enough?
4. Will you wait till they are 18? 17?
5. How do you think driving skill correlates to how young/old you start?
6. Do you think being male/female has a difference?
Bonus question: How old were YOU when you got your permit and license?
What were your rules with the car?
1. Not sure what the law is in PA, but whenever they are old enough to qualify for a permit and complete driver's ed.
2. No electronics while driving; a few months of only driving him/herself then a few months of only driving one passenger; you drive it, you put gas in it; you pay for any accidents/tickets/increases in insurance premiums from these events - we'll pay for the general increase of insurance for having another driver in the house; no using substances and driving
3. yes
4. see #3
5-6. I believe driving skill has more to do with experience/maturity than age or gender, though insurance companies' stats would say boys are a higher risk than girls and younger drivers are a higher risk than older (25+). It's going to depend on how the individual fits into the group statistics.
I believe I was 16 when I got my permit, my dad taught me how to drive and I completed a summer drivers' ed course at the local HS and took the driving test at 16. I was able to get my license on my 17th birthday, as per NYS law at the time. As for rules, the ones I listed above applied to me. We had two family cars for 3 drivers so I had to ask permission/coordinate schedules with my parents. I was allowed to drive to my HS (30 minutes away) as long as I brought my sister and picked up my brother at his school on the way home. I paid for gas and part of maintenance, my parents for insurance; I would have been responsible for tickets/accidents but didn't have any. I used to drop my sister off at her friends' houses (usually about 40 minutes away) on my way out on weekend nights and she was allowed to stay out until my curfew if I brought her back home. If no one needed the car during my work hours, I'd drive to and from work; otherwise I was dropped off. My parents saw driving as a privilege and as a member of the family, I helped out as a driver for my siblings. It worked out well for us and I was happy to take the sibs around if I meant I could also use the car independently. ETA: And of course, no drinking was a rule (whether driving or not).
couldn't wait to get my license as soon as I was eligible and all my friends were the same way.
I have always loved the teacher aspect of being a parent and teaching my kids to drive was great fun for all of us. DH was a nervous wreck and almost had a stroke and made the kids super anxious. We drove around everywhere- parking lots, town, interstate(limited). Atlanta interstate is a suicide ride as far as I'm concerned so we mainly just rode on a few miles close to home. Even as an adult I would not drive on the Atlanta Interstate and I was a nervous wreck when my kids drove back and forth to Ga Tech just for a few hours visit.
1 big rule we had was no eating while driving-before cell phones. No papers and trash in the car. They could stop and eat but not eat and drive.
No friends in car for at least 6 months, I had to know the driver and family of any car they got into.
Proud to say twice son asked to get out of a car he did not feel safe in- one kid speeding and 1 kid drinking before son got in. I think this had to do with story I told them about how, in college, I did not feel safe(we had all been drinking) and demanded to get out of the car. Was picked up by another group of friends coming from same party and we ran upon the crash of the car I just got out of. Driver decapitated, 2 killed, 2 maimed. You just don't forget something like that.
I don't think either kid has any moving violations tickets. daughter got rearended by texting teen just last year.
With this next set of kids I will probably be just as diligent about rules.
We made son pay insurance cause he had a job. but daughter we paid for because she was drum major and couldn't have a job and be in band too.
Here in Montana, kids cannot get their drivers license until around 15/16 years old. They have to attend driver's ed and complete a graduated driving course with a licensed driver. My children all have learned to drive on the ranch by the age of 8 though. With the exception of my oldest, they do not drive on ANY public road or highway, only in fields and rough ranch roads. We start them on the tractor and graduate them to a truck after a few months. My oldest was able to hold a "farm" license which enabled him to drive on county roads because of the amount of work he did. I expect all of my children to know how to drive a standard "stick" by the time they are ten as well as change the oil, change a tire and repair a flat and back up to and hook a trailer up. We teach safety first and they are not allowed to operate ANY machinary or vehicle until they know the rules and safety in every direction.
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I live in one of the largest cities in the country, driving conditions are fast and crowded, insurance is pricey. $300 a month each teen. I didn't see the need to drive during high school, they didn't care so we left it at 18.
yes
