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Drivers Training

K-Dawn

K-Dawn

New Member
In Montana, they are going to move the age of a complete liscence from 15 to 18. I'm going to turn 14 in about a month. I could possibly take Drivers Training this year after school on Wednesdays but I think that will be my last chance. They're changing it next year. I was planning on taking it next summer, but I won't be able to. What is the driving age where you live? Are they changing it any time soon?
 
Driving age here is 16 1/2. However, you can't drive late at night and you can't cart kids other than your siblings around until you turn 18. Honestly, (no offence K-Dawn) I think it is better this way. I think kids under 18 tend to be immature dangerous drivers. I'm a tad frightened to see that there are still states letting you drive at 15.
 
in Canada it's 16 years old. it used to be fairly easy to get your license here, ie. you took the tests (paper and road) and if you passed you got a Learner's Permit. the Learner's Permit meant you had to have a person with a valid license with you at all times when you were driving. that lasted 3 months, if i recall correctly. but a few years ago they changed it. you can still go for your test at 16, but the Learner's Permit period is longer. also, new drivers and Learner's have to have a big N or L sticker on the back of the car they drive. there are other regulations, which i don't recall, but basically you can drive at 16 here
 
Anything under 18 is scary in my opinion. Even if you can't have passengers, some kids still do, and their parents don't raise any eyebrows if they're out with the car 'by themselves'.

In most states of Australia you can get a learner's permit at 16, which enables you to drive so long as there is a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat next to you. This is just a written test, as it's assumed you've had no driving experience. You also have to display what we call 'L' plates on the car. These are yellow squares that must be put on the front and back (windshield or bumper bar) so that other drivers know that you are just learning. They're great, because people know to give you extra space and to be extra careful - although there are drivers out there who don't care I think they're great, but both when I was a learner myself and now being a fully licensed driver.

When you turn 18 you can go for your Probotionary License. You must have held a learner's permit for at least 6 months prior to going for this licence, and you have to pass a written and practical driving test. Your probotionary licence lasts 3 years, and during that time you must have a zero blood alcohol content and cannot drive super high powered vehicles (but then, what normal 18 year old has a ferrari?). You also have to display 'P' plates in the same way as L plates. These ones are red and white. There's no restrictions on the time of day you can drive or how many passengers can be in your car licenced or not (beyond the obvious seatbelt requirement).

I believe there is one state in Australia that does this differently (maybe the Northern Territory?) and lets kids drive at 17... but I'm not certain about that.
 
In Minnesota they have what is called "graduated licensing". You can get a permit at 15, a provisional license at 16, and a full license at 18, granted you meet a number of conditions at each stage.
 
It's 17 in the UK. A driving test involves three parts:

  • Driving theory;
  • Car Maintenance;
  • Actual Driving with manouevres.
 
Car maintenance is a neat addition. What kind of maintenance do they need to do?

What I don't understand about licencing kids from Drivers Ed at the age of 16 or whatever is that they have barely had any real driving experience. You've got to drive for a year or so with someone by your side to help you out before you're ready, in my opinion. How can you let someone behind the wheel of a potentially life threatening vehicle before they are deemed old enough and thus responsible enough to vote or drink alcohol? And I'm not talking just about whether or not they have accidents while they're in their teens. What you learn when you are learning to drive should set you up for a life of driving. Otherwise, it makes no sense that people never have to re-test for their licence.

Sorry, K-dawn, I know this doesn't really help you but I have to agree with what your roads department is doing.
 
16 years old in Delaware, but with pretty strict restrictions... like no passengers that are not a legal guardian, no driving between 11:00pm and 6:00am, and no cell phones....

16 and 10 months for complete unrestricted driving...I believe...

There is talk in State Government of raising age here too.

18 years old sounds good to me. I'd like to see a high school diploma be a neccessity (spelling?) too.

I'd like to see a law that restricts parents from buying high performance cars for their children the second they get thier license too. No brand new driver should have a 400 horsepower Trans Am.
 
Kookamoor said:
Car maintenance is a neat addition. What kind of maintenance do they need to do?
Click to expand...

It's a recent thing added into the practical driving test. Apparently it consists of knowing where different important car things (such as water and oil) are managed. I've not sat the test so I don't know what form they take.
 
i like that maintenance aspect too. do you know i have never put oil in a car? that is pathetic. once i put cold h2o in an overheated rad not knowing i could have cracked the engine block. i didn't thankfully. but i think a lot of people, guys included haven't the first clue about their cars.
 
In Denmark you have to be 18 to take the license and have to do the same things as Stewart said about the UK. I think they have also just made a new rule where you can only get caught a certain number of times doing stuff like driving a little too fast, in the first two years before your license will be revoked.
 
We have a similar system now in the UK. New drivers are only allowed a maximum of 6 points before their license is revoked - normally it is 12. This period lasts for 2 years from the date you pass your test, irrespective of your age.
 
I don't know what the most recent regulations are, but before I got my license I got a learner's permit at 15 at the same time I enrolled for Driver's Ed classes at my high school. During the semester of class, you were supposed to log 20 hours of practice driving time with a fully licensed driver in the passenger seat, as well as take written and practical lessons at school. At the end of the semester you were tested in all the areas, and then when you turned 16 (if you passed all the tests) you could go to the DMV. There, you'd take a written and a practical test, and if you passed those you have a full license.

Things like curfews and passengers weren't state regulated, but were done on a town-by-town basis if I remember correctly.
 
Stewart said:
It's a recent thing added into the practical driving test. Apparently it consists of knowing where different important car things (such as water and oil) are managed. I've not sat the test so I don't know what form they take.
Click to expand...

Car maint is a great idea. A friend of mine and I hit a rock in her car (she was driving) and blew a tire. It was before the cell phone revolution and we had to ask some creepy road guy to help us. After that my shop teacher made sure I could do that along with some other basic stuff.

You don't have a lisence? Or has this been added since you were a kid?

I can't possibly fathom what it would be like to not have one (having nothing to do with the fact that my job requires one).
 
Car maintenance! Love it.

I think that the legal driving age should be 17 or 18. I remember riding with people at 15 and 16 years old, and being worried about my life. Seriously, at that age, a lot of people do not realize what the consequences of their actions are. My friends would be looking at me while driving and talking about whatever popped into their heads. I was gripping the door handles wishing they would pay attention and shut up.

Then again, I could be wrong. Maybe the experience and responsibilities of driving help instill some maturity. Accidents, even small ones or just hearing about them, can be very sobering.

Or not. My college-age cousin got her first ticket when she was stopped one week for doing 75 in a 55, so the next week, on the same day in the same spot at the same time, she got another ticket for 75 in a 55 by the same cop. Maybe some people just don't learn.
 
Here, you can be 15 for a learners permit, 16 and some months for a full license. I don't know about any other regulations yet, but honey, if my state or area doesn't have them, I'll make my own. I have a daughter closing in on that age rapidly :eek: . As a driver, young drivers scare me! And being a mother, it scares me doubly because statistics have proven that the number one killer of teens is car wrecks. :(
 
i didn't get my drivers license until i was 19. i always had a boyfriend who had a car, who needed to drive. lol.
i failed the first drive test. couldn't parallel park. we never made it out of the parking lot. i wish now i had taken a proper course as i am not a confident driver.
 
jenn, I failed my first practical driver's test too. I had to retake it over the summer and I had the SAME INSTRUCTOR WHO FAILED ME THE FIRST TIME :eek: :eek:

Oh, the horror.

I'm happy to say that I've had no accidents or moving violations, but I'm not the best or most confident driver in the world either. I'm not sure if I'll ever become so.
 
I think if you pass the tests you should get a permit, no matter what your age. Responsibility doesn't come at a certain age. Some teens are more responsible than others. I know some people aren't responsible even when they're 30 years old. But others are responsible enough to drive at 15. I have yet to find out if I'm responsible enough.
 
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