Somewhere along the line, we established that I'm the only person in the world who has ever had a kid turn 16, so I'm a regular pioneer this week, and you get to hear all about it.
So, if you had a kid turning 16, and getting a driver's license, what rules would you put in place regarding driving the first few weeks?
Are you in the, "Just drive, already" camp, or are you more of a, "Let's try this driving thing out near home, first, and work our way up" kind of person?
Inquiring minds want to know.
She also up and got herself a job at a church nursery on Sunday mornings, so I'm thinking I may become a, "Just drive, already" kind of person when 7:00 Sunday morning arrives, and she needs to go to work, but we'll see.
I predict we'll have a bit of trouble making the newly licensed member of the family understand that a license is permission to operate a vehicle, not permission to go anywhere desired at any time.
This will also probably be good for a, "Why did I think this was a big deal?" post sometime in the future, but many of you probably already know that.
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I had to work up to the freeway. The LA freeways scare me in relation to a 16 yo. Come to think of it they always scare me, thus why I don't get on them much, either.
The rules were to/from school, church, youth group, cheer practice. Anything else she had to ask. OH! And she technically couldn't drive to school because they don't have adequate parking. Yes, she got a parking ticket or 2. Yep, she had to take care of those all on her own.
CA also has a law that says that they can't have anyone else in the car with them until they're 17. That really cut down on the going out thing-if her crowd went anywhere they all had to drive! ;-)
Well my kid didn't drive until 18, but ... I was of the "lets start this thing out slow" mindset (he hadn't even gotten a learner's permit for Pete's sake!) so imagine my surprise when I came home from work and found him gone. Driving. With his father's blessing. I was overruled! I got over it :)
I'm never gonna' let my kids drive at all. Ever. Solves all that.
It was a "Just go drive!" situation when I got my license at 16. I'd had my permit for a year and did lots of practice with my parents in that time. I got my license the day after I turned 16, and I remember my mom asking me to go pick something up at the grocery store later that afternoon. It was so jarring to be able to "just go," but it was great to know they trusted me after we'd worked so hard to teach me the skills for driving.
I know I had to wait about 3 months before I could drive further than Chattanooga on the interstate (that was only 30 miles away), and I wasn't allowed to have more than 1 friend in the car at a time for 6 months as per insurance rules. I worked at a grocery store from sophomore year through graduation, though, and I know my parents were grateful I could drive myself to and from!
Knowing Busy Girl fairly well, I'm in the "just drive already" camp. I'm also thinking of you. You'll get over it quicker that way. Suggestion to help make you feel more comfortable: have her text you everytime she arrives/departs. That way, you know where she is, and when to worry more or less.
We ruled - No passengers, firm destination with firm arrival & departure times. NO driving after dark. No Freeways (this was tough & there were creative ways to get a few places). After a month or so of regular driving we eased up on what was allowed based on what we were seeing as far as his abilities & willingness to treat driving as a privilege and responsibility.
My mother FORCED me to get my license (I was the youngest of my friends and didn't need one) so I could go to the grocery store & pick up my sister from sports for her. So my rules were totally different and she practically threw me in the car & told me to DRIVE ALREADY.
My 17 year old daughter got a car for Christmas (very used, btw, but she loves it!) and it was scary at the beginning. We live about 10 minutes from her job and her high school, so that was no biggie. No passengers allowed at first, which went over just as well as you might imagine. No driving the interstates to soccer practice. ( I drove) As time has passed, though, I have allowed her more and more opportunities to drive new places, and with passengers, and she is doing fine. One minor fender bender, which was her fault and for which she paid out of her bank account. Otherwise, its going well. Good luck!! Its a whole new world when your child drives.
Wow! When did your kids grow up! I guess facebook has taken a lot of my blogging time away. So Busy "Young Lady" is now 16? In my state, we really don't have a choice of "Just Drive Already,"or restricted rules that ease up. New drivers aged 16 have daylight and no-passenger privileges for the first six months. If they have no problems, then the can drive until midnight. Sometime they can start carrying one passenger. I think there are cell phone and texting restrictions in place, too.