Almost 21, Still No License.

[Chrisseh 0]

I grew up in Northern Illinois... it was great, we had malls, fast food and 24 hour grocery stores... when I was 14 going into highschool, we moved to Northern Wisconsin. It was horrible, high school was a living heck for me, they don't openly accept new students, especially students from Illinois. I was tormented to the point where I started failing classes, and I was always obsessed with getting good grades. Well, I became a computer geek and survived high school... and yet something was still missing. Oh yeah, drivers ed! See, the school didn't exactly push the students to learn this crucial life skill, especially crucial since there's no public transportation up here and actual civilization is 30 miles or more away! An instructor from a private school would come, and you'd have to pay about 350 dollars to get in. Provided the class wasn't full. Which it was. Always, whenever I asked, guidance counslers were like "Sorry, it's full for this semester". Or my parents didn't have the money.So, come graduation day, I still hadn't taken drivers ed. So the following fall, I took it from a private instructor. I aced the first part, we were supposed to do drivers training, but the teacher never called me back when the next part started. No biggy, I had my permit. But it was winter. My stupid over-protective parents wouldn't take me out driving because the roads are so bad around here in the winter. Everyone kept telling them... "Take her out driving, winter is best, teaches good defensive driving" but nooo.... So when I was 19, I moved in with my grandma for a while, she took me out practicing, but my stupid permit expired in just one year. I'm 20, going on 21 now. Guess what? I still don't have my license! I'm lucky my job is across the street (conviniently placed buisness in the middle of the woods) because if it weren't, I'd be riding my bike to work every day. Which wouldn't do me much good in the winter, now would it?And what's even worse, I have a 14 year old brother, and my parents let him drive MORE THAN THEY LET ME DRIVE! I'm old enough to actually drive, though I don't have my license. He isn't... does anybody else think this is crazy? I think my parents need to quit being so overprotective. Do you know how humiliated I feel to watch all these 16 and 17 year olds say "I'm going shopping today... I just got a new car!" while I still have to use my parents to get around!? And they very rarely take me anywhere.Has anybody else experienced a similar problem? If so, please share.

[husker 0]

Jeez, I made fun of my brother because he was almost 18 when he got his license. It sounds like maybe your parents don't want you to get your license, perhaps a trust issue. Life can be really tough at times. Just hang in there!

[brandon10092 0]

That is complete crap. Any kind of situation like that is just stupid. Your parents obviously don't realize that you're 21 now, not 14 or 15. You're a legal adult and no matter what they say, they have absolutely no control over you whatsoever. If I were you I would move away for a while just to be able to get a permit, get some practicing in, and get a liscence. But since you basically have no way of doing that, and since your parents seem to be against you driving for some reason, I would have your grandma take you out for driving lessons every couple days, without telling your parents, until you got enough hours to apply for a license. Then once you get your liscence you will never have to worry about what your parents think.

[wacky_stu 0]

Both my sisters, aged 17 and 18, have their license. The scary thing is neither of thrm acan drive. When i say drive i mean that its impossible to ride in the car with them without fearing death!. I have had my liscence for a few months now and can allready drive better than both of them. Its not becuase they are stupid or something. Its just that they dont have the urge to drive like I do. If I hadnt tried to get my licsense ASAP i wouldnt have it by now. wor dof advice: get ur liscense ASAP or you will never get it

[Kubi 0]

Well now they have no say. There is honestly nothing they can do. You're old enough to move out(with the proper money), you can drink, smoke, whatever, you're an adult. You should be able to make your own desictions in life.In Arizona if you're 18+, you can get your permit, and the next day if you want, your licence. They can't make you hold the permit for 5 months here. I'm not sure if it's the same where you are, but it's worth a try, that's for sure.

[juice 0]

I'll get it eventually, In South Africa you have to be 18 to be legal to drive and I'm almost 19 and still no license I'll get it eventually I just don't rush like the others I know. I do have a bicycle by the way

Edited September 22, 2006 by juice (see edit history)

[contor 0]

in some cases why you need a licence if you dont have a car

[Plenoptic 0]

Do you know anyone over the age of 21 that can take you driving. It doesn't have to be a parent it just has to be someone over the age of 21 you drive with and you won't need your parents consent for your license considering you are over the age of 18. That is if it works that way in Illinois like here in Florida. I got my permit the day after my 15th birthday in July, luckily I'll get my license this coming July when I'm 16. I really feel bad for you it must really stink not being able to drive around.

[dundun2007 0]

Well i got mine as soon as i could but i was defiantley in a different situation then your in right now. But to me this isnt that big of a suprise. This is because my brother is 21 and he still doesnt have his drivers license either. We live in a small city and he works right down the street but still theres no reason you shouldnt have it to began with. The worst part is that he bought a car about 3 years ago and he hasnt used it yet. Why would he buy a car when hes not evening planning on getting his drivers license i have no idea.

[terminal2k 0]

i'm 23 and I don't have my licence, they have this stupid system that got introduced here about 4 years ago where you have to drive under the supervision of someone who has their licence for 50 hours before you can take your driving test. Now I have nobody to take me driving and I sure as hell can't afford for 50 hours worth of driving lessons. So basically I'll never be able to get my licence, although with petrol pricing the way it is I don't know if that is a bad thing

[Chrisseh 0]

See, it's not that my parent's won't let me have it. They want me to. Heck, I practiced the other day. It's just getting them to get off their butts to get me out and driving. I could probably review the rules of the road book and get it next week if I wanted to. Part of it is me I guess, it's not all my parents fault. I do have a little bit of a fear of driving, but not that much. The law up here is pretty basic... 15 1/2 to take drivers ed and get a permit, 16 and you get a probationary license where you can't have more than one or two non-related minors in your car, something like that, and you can't drive between certain hours unless you're coming/going from school or work. I believe even though I'm almost 21 (over 18 at least) I still get a probationary license but the conditions are different, you just have to be more careful or whatever or they'll rip up your license. It's the same though with the permit. A spouse or guardian 19 or older or a license holder 21 or older can be seated next to me when driving, which isn't a problem.The permits expire in exactly one year up here, which stinks, so mine expired last December. And I'd have my grandma take me out driving but she lives 2 hours away. -sigh- The only thing I need to work on is backing up, which I'm getting better at. I didn't mean to make it sound so much like it's all my parents fault. Sure, part of it is, but part of it's mine, too. I should've pushed them more to take me out driving. I just want to hurry up and get it before the snow falls (Which could be as soon as next month, it's not unheard of up here to have an October snowstorm) and they start freaking out about me sliding around on the ice, trying to avoid deer. I was just frustrated about them letting my younger brother drive when he isn't really even old enough to be practicing yet.But yeah, I was out the other night and my parents stopped by the bar while I finished painting a window for a local buisness for a contest, my dad was a little tipsy. I drove him home, perfectly fine, dropped him off at the store across the street so he could order a pizza, drove home, went back and got him...just fine. Hopefully that proved to them that I am almost ready enough to go ahead and get my license. Once I get that... it's onto car insurance and getting my own car. Thank goodness I have a job now, too.