Driving...

[ORL]

Well I'm at that age where your "supposed" to be getting your driver's license. Or, so they say. I did take the Drivers Ed course a year ago and barely passed it. Although one might think I would be really excited about being able to drive just because I legally can, I'm not.

My mother and grandmother are really starting to push me about getting my license. Why? I don't need a car yet. I still take the bus to school. They just want me to do all they're little odd jobs so they don't have to.

And mentally, I am just not ready to drive yet. I've seen all the crazy shit that happens on the road, and frankly it scares me. Why can't my mother and grandmother understand that I am just not ready? What if I get in a serious accident and die, just because I was told to go to the store and get my mother a damn pack of cigarettes?

I'm starting to stress out over this, and I shouldn't be. But my mother and grandmother just don't seem to give a damn. My father and grandfather are fine with me not being ready, they know how crazy it can get on the road.

Is not being ready good enough to not drive a car just yet? Argh...

So how about the rest of you? What age did you start driving? Were you pressured into it? What would you have preferred happen instead?
Please share your thoughts, because I really need some advice.

[spooker]

i started particularly young....age 11, no joke--driving on the beaches on nantucket. then at age 12, 13, 14 i was driving all the time--sometimes even by myself--on this tiny island with no police force. and this women i babysat for let me drive around town when i was like 14. i don't want to pressure you, but there is not much to be afraid of--you can drive as defensively and safe as you want to. a 16 year old is physically and mentally able to control a car--that is why the state allows you to drive. it gives you great independence and is an important step in the maturing process. if you are lacking in confidence--and we all do at some point, especially me--that is something better challenged sooner rather than later as it gives rise to problems in all areas of life

[joao93]

--that is why the state allows you to drive.

No, it's because they want your money sooner.

[QuadRaptor]

Once you get your license, driving almost becomes second nature.

Take your time, though. If you're not ready, then you're not ready. Noone can say you're ready but you.

You just have to watch out for the idiots who don't use turn signals and speed. And trust me, they're everywhere!

As for me, I got my license at 16.

[Solecord]

I got my license at 16. I couldn't wait to get it. Taking the bus sucked ass... having the freedom to just go where you want when you want was something I wanted.

[foq]

I'm in the same boat ORL, only I'm a few miles down the river. My parents are gonna pressure the hell out of me to drive so I can do thier odd-jobs for them.

[Baker]

So how about the rest of you? What age did you start driving? Were you pressured into it? What would you have preferred happen instead?

Please share your thoughts, because I really need some advice.

I started driving at 17 (I got my license at 16). I was the youngest kid in my grade due to birthday cutoff, so I wasn't driving until almost 2 years after many others in my class.

You will be in an accident, so make sure it is in a 35 mph or 25 mph zone and make sure it doesn't involve a pedestrian :d

Remember, the shittiest drivers are other people your own age (I wrecked twice within the first year and a half, not bad ones I just wasn't paying enough attention and/or making assumptions) -- especially at night. Don't ride in a car with someone who acts like an idiot or a spaz drive -- you might end up dead.

Learn to drive, tame the beast. Don't exceed your comfort level.

[foq]

Hm I dunno wether to commend or condem you for that post Baker. It's good you're telling like it is, but he's already scared about driving...

[Canadian*Sniper]

I'm not sure if America is different but for every year you have your full license, your insurance adds up. At first, in Canada, it will go up by +5% per year. Then it will reach +3%, etc. This is very helpful for when you get in an accident that's partially or fully your fault. Because once you get into one, your insurance is going to go DOOOOOOOOOWN. It will go down into the negative percentage if it has to.

[foq]

I'm not sure if America is different but for every year you have your full license, your insurance adds up. At first, in Canada, it will go up by +5% per year. Then it will reach +3%, etc. This is very helpful for when you get in an accident that's partially or fully your fault. Because once you get into one, your insurance is going to go DOOOOOOOOOWN. It will go down into the negative percentage if it has to.

Ouch... Canada wins this one.

[R00k]

A friend of mine was in a really bad accident, though he survived, yet it killed my brother in 1984. Please, drive safely.

[Phenom]

I like to drive some days and other days I really don't feel up to dealing with bad drivers, I drive defensive and follow the rules of the road to a T, then theres days when I want to drive instead of someone else so I feel safer knowing I am a good driver and that will lower the chance of an accident.

Before I knew how to drive I was terrified because I played to much Hard Drivin at the arcades as a teenager and would be shown slow motion clips of me driving my car off a 400 foot cliff and explode into an unsurvivable death, but, once I practiced for about 2-3 weeks in real life on normal roads and highways I was all about it... Now I really don't think twice about it

This is what made me think I'd never be able to drive
PWNED!

[joao93]

ORL, do not drink before driving!

[foq]

I don't think ORL even drinks...

[scar3crow]

I got my license shortly before I turned 19. Why then? I had signed an apartment lease a month back, and needed to move in. So my dad and I went to the DMV, got my license, went by a used car place, got a car, and 3 days later I moved into my apartment. So aside from runs to the grocery store for a snack, my first time driving was on the interstate to a new city with a car full of my crap. Good times.

Don't drive until you are ready to, and don't enter serious traffic until you have the nerve to stay focused in it. I have been extraordinarily lucky multiple times, I am a defensive driver, I am a courteous driver, and I don't enjoy going fast. I can't begin to count how many times however I have almost died (near misses, no damage, just a case of if they hit I would have been done for).