High school is a time of many milestones for teens. One of them is getting the ability to drive by obtaining their learner’s permit and later, their license. Although for many, getting these is an immediate priority, there are some people who don’t rush into driving.
For many students, they just don’t have the time. A grueling junior year mixed in with everything going on outside of school leaves students with little to no time to focus on driving.
“I was busy with junior year stuff and I didn’t feel ready to drive by myself yet,” senior Saku Tanaka said.
According to a 2020 study led by Dr. Federico Vaca, professor and executive vice chair of the department of emergency medicine at the University of California Irvine Medical School, nearly 40% of teens delayed getting their license by one to two years, and 30% delayed by more than two years.
Junior Zach Chaouchi also felt the need to hold off on getting his license with all that was going on during his junior year.
“I just had other priorities in life…[getting my license] just wasn’t the top focus,” Chaouchi said.
For Maryland teens to be able to get their learner’s permit, they must be 15 years and nine months old and they must pass a multiple choice test that demonstrates their basic knowledge of the road. Teenagers are eligible to receive their license at the age of 16 and six months if they’ve had their permit for nine months, have completed 60 hours of supervised driving with an adult (including 10 hours at night), 30 hours of classroom learning and six hours of behind the wheel training with a professional teacher. Depending on how determined someone is to get their license, the time it takes to complete these requirements can vary in length.
“It didn’t take me long to complete after I started driving on the regular,” Chaouchi said. “It only took around three months.”
Some teens might not feel ready and confident enough with their driving, choosing instead to continue learning alongside their parents or teacher.
However, getting a license is important for many students as it gives them the freedom to go around their community for a multitude of different reasons, such as a job, sport or club.
“I live in two homes, half the time living 30 minutes away in Damascus,” senior Nikolette Delpierre said. “Getting my license was important for me to transport myself to school each morning, to and from each of my parents’ houses and getting around for extracurricular activities.”
It also gives teens more independence from their parents, whom they relied on for rides for most of their lives to get from place to place.
“I wanted the independence that comes with being able to drive,” senior Lexie Burns said.“I felt bad having my parents drive me to and from every practice and I wanted to make their lives a bit easier too.”
It’s common for teens in their sophomore and junior years to need rides from their friends, parents or classmates to get to different places. Coordinating these rides can become a challenge as these are the years when teens are much more social and have more places to be.
“I had to ask my parents to drive me to school, drive me to my friends’ houses or whatever it was,” Chaouchi said. “It was a bit annoying.”
As the next round of students begin their driving journey, some of them might come to the realization that driving is not of the utmost priority for them.
