Junior year is full of monumental and life-changing events and exams, from AP tests to SATs to J-Prom. One of the most unarguably important milestones, however, is the ability to get your driver’s permit and even your driver’s license.
In order to acquire your driver’s license, an extensive process is required. First, sophomore year, students take a Driver’s Ed class. At the end of this one trimester-long course, students take a state-mandated Knowledge Test that covers everything learned from the course and requires that a student gets 40 of the 50 questions correct to pass.
The next step for students is to get their permit. This is available once a student turns 16 and undergoes 6 hours of driving with an instructor. For most students, this step was completed in sophomore year; however, due to late birthdays or other circumstances, others are still in the process of getting their permit or have not yet begun. According to a survey conducted with the current juniors, around 19% of participants haven’t received their permit yet, even though all of them would like to obtain their permit and license.
“I really want to get my permit, but my mom is too scared to let me start driving,” said a junior. “I see all my friends driving, getting food, and hanging out, and I want to be part of that too – it seems super fun.”
Once those with a permit turn 17, the long-awaited moment arrives: the ability to get your probationary driver’s license.
Based on the earlier survey, 51.6% of participants already reached this step; this means that all of them took part in the Basic Road Test. This exam tests some of the basic skills needed in driving, such as maneuvering, driving in reverse, parallel parking, and stopping.
“Honestly, I was scared for my test,” said 17-year-old Liam Strauser who received his license last November. “But once I got behind the wheel, I realized I knew what I was doing since I practiced so much when I had my permit.”
What are the 51.6% of junior participants able to do now that they have their license? The answer is, anything they want – with driving comes much more freedom and responsibility. Around 75.1% of juniors with a license say that their parents allow them to drive with friends, and nearly all of them believe that they now have more independence and opportunity to spend time with other people.
Aside from doing schoolwork and studying for exams, juniors can now travel to new places with their friends – whether it’s late-night Starbucks runs, drives to the beach, or just blasting music on the way to Walmart.
“My friend and I went to a 24/7 McDonalds at 11pm the other night just because we could,” said a junior who recently got their license. “It really just felt like freedom for the first time.”
Driving has also made day-to-day life easier for some juniors. Around 77% of juniors use their license – or plan to use it – to get to school and to run errands, making life easier not just for them, but for their family as well.
Getting their license has really changed the game for many juniors – not only in being able to get from point A to point B without asking for a ride, but also in being the first step into a future of independence.
