Is your 14yo taking driving lessons or practicing driving?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was advised to start driving lessons after 16 and not buy kid their own car until college. I felt it really helped with ensuring safety and avoiding stress.

I think this is a good idea. The most accidents happen between 16-18. Our plan is start drivers training at 16. She drives with us as practice between 16-18 and gets license at 18. She will turn 18 mid senior year so still will have time at home to drive independently before college.

[Anonymous]

In my state, you can get a permit on 15th birthday and license on 16th, but must have the permit for 6 months at least. I do know people who let their 14 year olds drive around a little but it tends to be more rural people who do this. It’s not common and it’s not extensive (it’s also super stupid of them bc if anything happens they are on the hook)

Honestly so few of my 16 year olds friends even have their license I would be really surprised. She does and maybe 4-5 of her friends and she has a big friend group.

[Anonymous]

No. He didn't get behind the wheel until he held a valid permit. Still did more than 60 hrs of practice before getting his license.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in a small city in the DMV area. Spouse called the police to ask if we could teach kid to drive in a parking lot before they had a permit. The answer was yes!! I was not in agreement as this breaks Maryland law. The police said they would not enforce it so to go ahead...??!??!!

I let my 15 year old drive in a parking lot. He slammed into a pole. A lot of damage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We live in a small city in the DMV area. Spouse called the police to ask if we could teach kid to drive in a parking lot before they had a permit. The answer was yes!! I was not in agreement as this breaks Maryland law. The police said they would not enforce it so to go ahead...??!??!!

I let my 15 year old drive in a parking lot. He slammed into a pole. A lot of damage.

How did that happen??

[Anonymous]

I taught my 14yo daughter how to drive this summer - in a parking lot associated with an empty grocery store in our non-DMV medium sized city. There were no poles or barriers for the car to hit for several hundred feet in any direction. Nothing terrible happened. She learned how to operate the car successfully. That's it.

The legal age for driving in our state is 15 and she will get a permit and go through the real education process before I let her drive anywhere other than this one lot. My rationale for teaching her now was safety-related - in the extremely unlikely event that she would ever need to drive my car due to me being incapacitated in some way.

I guess I'm a horribly irresponsible parent!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD believes she is the only teen in her group not learning to drive. I grew up in DC and back then it was never really a thing in my circle to be learning way before the test to drive.

I am surprised many are learning this early. I did not take lessons until right before my driving test for my learners.

Don’t you need a learners permit to drive? Don’t you need to be at least 15 for a learners permit.. I don’t want to be on the roads with 14 years olds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I taught my 14yo daughter how to drive this summer - in a parking lot associated with an empty grocery store in our non-DMV medium sized city. There were no poles or barriers for the car to hit for several hundred feet in any direction. Nothing terrible happened. She learned how to operate the car successfully. That's it.

The legal age for driving in our state is 15 and she will get a permit and go through the real education process before I let her drive anywhere other than this one lot. My rationale for teaching her now was safety-related - in the extremely unlikely event that she would ever need to drive my car due to me being incapacitated in some way.

I guess I'm a horribly irresponsible parent!

That’s a super weird way to spend time and a really unlikely scenario. I could only see that happening in the unlikely situation you go hiking somewhere remote without cell service and break your legs and she has to drive to a hospital or to a place where you can get cell service to call for help because no one is around and you are stranded.

[Anonymous]

The 9 months of the learners permit is sufficient to teach driving if you take it seriously. No need to start early.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since when can 14-year-olds legally drive in this area?!

Not here, but in Kansas, you can get a learner's permit at 14.

In Kansas, you can apply for an instruction permit, or learner's permit, if you are between the ages of 14 and 17. To get the permit, you must:
Pass a vision test and written exam, or provide a certificate of completion from an approved driver's education course
Have parental approval if you are 14 or 15 years old, or a written application from a parent or guardian if you are under 16

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The 9 months of the learners permit is sufficient to teach driving if you take it seriously. No need to start early.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD believes she is the only teen in her group not learning to drive. I grew up in DC and back then it was never really a thing in my circle to be learning way before the test to drive.

I am surprised many are learning this early. I did not take lessons until right before my driving test for my learners.

This is new to me - I didn't even know you could drive legally prior to 15 and a half...are things different than back in the day?

You can’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since when can 14-year-olds legally drive in this area?!

Not here, but in Kansas, you can get a learner's permit at 14.

In Kansas, you can apply for an instruction permit, or learner's permit, if you are between the ages of 14 and 17. To get the permit, you must:
Pass a vision test and written exam, or provide a certificate of completion from an approved driver's education course
Have parental approval if you are 14 or 15 years old, or a written application from a parent or guardian if you are under 16

Yup- got my learners bf high school. Crazy! Had my restricted (school/work) at 15.

But that was all legal - I would never let my kid drive without a learners permit, even in an empty parking lot.

[Anonymous]

My kids have practiced driving for a while. DD is 15 now but DH started with her at 13. Just circling in an empty parking lot. There's not a lot of space for young kids to learn to drive.

DH and I learned quite young in open, rural areas but that's not where our kids live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have an almost 15 year old and know a lot of kids in the DMV who have learned to drive. No one is learning to drive or getting lessons at 14. I've known people where there is extended family in some square state and maybe they've driven around a property in that setting. But that's it.

dH has been taking DD to drive at churches and mall parking lots in Northern Virginia since she was 14.

Wow. Aside from being illegal, that is completely moronic. If even the smallest thing happened or someone even falsely accused you of something, your liability would be through the roof.

“Completely moronic”? Overreact much? If you’re that terrified of the risk, then don’t do it. But it’s hardly *completely moronic* to let a kid drive in an empty parking lot.