Driving Miss Stacy

Our daughter is working on getting her driver's license. She's wanted to get it for a long time, but for one reason or another, we've put it off. We sometimes practiced parallel parking in a parking lot using two plungers with strips of balsa wood taped to them topped with a piece of blue plastic bag tied to each of them for little flags. This did not work well if it was windy. Both of the kids have practiced using these. On weekends, they have practiced parallel parking at the DMV using the poles that are set up for the parallel parking portion of the road test. Stacy has decided it's time to get her driver's license. Today, we went to the DMV and got her set up for her road test, which won't be until April 18th.

Getting a Driver's License in Texas is a rather complex process. In Ohio, it was easy. First of all, there was a Driver's Ed course in public high school. Unlike Texas, you didn't have to go to an outside company, you just had to sign up for it when you signed up for your regular high school classes. It was included in your school schedule and you went to Driver's Ed during school hours. You just had to have your learner's permit before coming to class. Part of the Driver's Ed class included a simulator which was set up in a trailer and the students each sat at individual dashboards with steering wheels and the necessary pedals. They showed a movie at the front and everybody at their little stations pretended to drive. It made little clicking sounds when you were "driving." The clicking would speed up if you accelerated. slow down if you decelerated or braked. If you messed up, like if you accelerated at a stop light, a little red light would come on at your dashboard saying to "slow down." If you braked in the middle of the freeway, another little light would shine saying to "speed up." If you drove like the Dukes of Hazzard, it lit up like a Christmas Tree and the teacher would probably have had a little chat with you after class.

                                   

Simulator similar to the one I used in high school, only mine was in a trailer

Dukes of Hazzard - General Lee

We also had classes where we drove a car around with an instructor and classroom Driver's Ed. After you completed the course, you went to the DMV, took your road test and would have your license soon afterwards as long as you passed the road test and the parallel parking test. Of course if you got pulled over by the cops, ran into something, drove like a car chase on a movie during your road test or knocked the poles over in the parallel parking test, you would have to take the test again. If you passed your road test, then you would walk out of there with your license and all you had to do was change the car insurance to cover you and you would be able to drive.

Dukes of Hazzard - General Lee

Don't do this on your road test!

In Texas, it's quite a bit more complex. First, they don't offer Driver's Ed in school. You have to go to an outside company and pay about $300. Or course you have to have your learner's permit before the class starts.  Both of our kids Went to the Driving School of North Texas, which was a very good school. With the exception of the driving simulator, they had everything my driving course had, even the gross movies.

After the driving course, you have to go to the DMV and wait in line to schedule your road test. You have to have your permit, your papers from driver ed and you have to fill out a paper. Average wait time in line at the DMV is two and a half to three hours.You get assigned a number and wait for your number to be called. They aren't in any logical order, the numbers were random, we were number 504. They called 503, 22 and 708 and so forth so it was hard to tell when you were next.  Stacy and I got lucky, we only had to wait an hour and a half. Then they took her picture and thumb prints and we had to pay $11.00. Then we had to schedule her road test, which isn't until April 18th, the day after her twenty-first birthday, over a month from now. She was bummed about this, she had wanted to have her license before she turned twenty-one. She said that had she taken the driving course and gotten her license when she was 16, she wouldn't have had to take the road test, but they've changed that and now everyone has to take a road test.

 Getting your license here is a long process, so why so many people around here drive like idiots bewilders me. One day I saw one guy (he looked younger than Stacy) steering with his elbows while texting on his phone. Jeff and I saw one lady stuffing a big long hoagie-like sandwich into her mouth while she was driving. One time, I saw a guy shaving while he was driving. This one lady almost ran into me once because she was smoking AND talking on the phone while she was driving. People now have the capacity to get on the internet and check their facebook status while driving and that's just plain wrong.

Neither of my kids do any of that while they're driving and I feel confident with them behind the wheel. Anyway, I just want to wish Stacy luck with her road test in April and know that she'll be a good driver.