I CAN DRIVE! WOOHOO!

[Oldbushie]

I got my driver's license today! Yaaaaaaay!
Now to wait for my dad to buy the insurance.

[Say]

OMFGCONGRATZ

the hard is not to get the license, it is to actually have it and stay out of trouble the first year... , good luck with that

[Storm]

Congrats Bushie!!

Drive carefully

Actually, for me getting a license was the hard part. Not getting into trouble is pretty easy when you don't have a car

[Oldbushie]

Thanks, I'll be careful. Perhaps when I go through two years without accidents then the $1200/year insurance will go down a bit.

[Yonkey]

Congrats!  And yeah, the worst part about my first year of driving was that I knew how to follow the signs and rules of the roads, but everyone else didn't.  

[copycat]

Congratulations Bushie!
Getting my licence was no problem, getting an insurance wasn't neither (don't remember how high it was back then), getting  car with a little loan from my parents once I got a job also no problem. My spotless reputation of never causing an accident has ceased to exist on May 28th, 2004. about 11 1/2 years after I got my licence.

[Jeysie]

I dunno, personally I think being able to afford a car and insurance is the hard part.

Seriously, the reason why I still don't have my license is partly that I can't afford a car... and mostly because driving scares the crap out of me.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Yonkey]

My spotless reputation of never causing an accident has ceased to exist on May 28th, 2004. about 11 1/2 years after I got my licence.

Yikes, that's today (well, by the time you read this it will be "yesterday")!  What happened?  

[racx_00]

Congratulations Bushie

[B'rrr]

Congratz Bushie!!

I never had an accident... o wait, I haven't got my license that long, so it isn't really an achievment ..it was kinda hard to get though, because those lessons are very expensive, ugh... after that(the lessons) i was broke (and still am ; )

[Drunken Chinchilla]

Yayyyy well done Bushie!

I have to start learning soon everyone at school has their own cars now! And insurance *meh* you think you've got it bad, try £1000--> per year for the first two years on a crappy Astra!

[copycat]

Yikes, that's today (well, by the time you read this it will be "yesterday")!  What happened?  

When crossing a road (that had priority to mine obviously) I failed to see a car coming from my left, and he crashed into my (left) side. Luckily there was only material damage, both on my car and his.

because those lessons are very expensive, ugh... after that(the lessons) i was broke (and still am ; )

Yes, driving lessons are very expensive, but here in Belgium you can also choose to get your licence via 'free training', meaning you get to choose your own instructor (usually someone from your family), and they teach you how to drive. Actually, I already knew how to drive technically before I went to driving school. My dad already taught me that beforehand, since we live in a neighborhood where there's no traffic at regular times, he'd take me on a little 'excursion' in the neighborhood. But, in those times at least, if you wanted to be able to drive alone with a provisional license you had to take (expensice) driving lessons. Anyway, at that times both of my parents were still working, so there was no actual problem for them paying that kind of money.

My insurance fee is about â,¬ 1.000 annual, but that's a complete coverage.

[Jeysie]

Blargh, that sucks, CC. How badly damaged were the cars?

As for lessons... here in MA, at least, you can get lessons however you want... paid lessons, lessons at a high school or college, lessons from a parent or friend, etc. Only thing the state cares about is whether or not you pass your official license exam. That's how it works for a regular license anyway. Commerical licenses, you technically don't need lessons either, but the stuff specific to passing a CDL exam is esoteric enough that you prolly should. Harrison technically has a CDL.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Yonkey]

That sucks CC.  At least you're ok though.

As for lessons... here in MA, at least, you can get lessons however you want... paid lessons, lessons at a high school or college, lessons from a parent or friend, etc. Only thing the state cares about is whether or not you pass your official license exam. That's how it works for a regular license anyway.

Same thing here.  I paid for my lessons, but little did I know that the next year my high school was having them (either for free or much less than I paid).  Oh well, I still had my license before them and luckily I had the car too since my sister was in University.  

[copycat]

Blargh, that sucks, CC. How badly damaged were the cars?

They could still both drive, but mine's, according to the manager of the garage where it's now, left side is thusfar damaged it's likely it could be declared a total-loss. The other one's just damaged at the front, from experience I know that's easier to repair.

As for lessons... here in MA, at least, you can get lessons however you want... paid lessons, lessons at a high school or college, lessons from a parent or friend, etc. Only thing the state cares about is whether or not you pass your official license exam. That's how it works for a regular license anyway. Commerical licenses, you technically don't need lessons either, but the stuff specific to passing a CDL exam is esoteric enough that you prolly should. Harrison technically has a CDL.

Here there's only one type of license. Ofcourse, depending on what type of vehicle you want to drive, you have to pass the appropriate exam, but that's the only difference. AFAIK there aren't any lessons organized here in high school or college. Ofcourse, there's also a difference between theory and practice. Theory you can do easily on your own, you might loan a book to learn the traffic code, but that's it. There's also lessons to learn that, but I didn't need them. Practical lessons, you can only do with the help of a parent/friend, or through driving school.

[Jeysie]

Hmm. So how can you tell what sort of vehicle a person can drive? Here in the States, a CDL is for driving a bus or a tractor trailer, and that sort of thing.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[copycat]

Hmm. So how can you tell what sort of vehicle a person can drive? Here in the States, a CDL is for driving a bus or a tractor trailer, and that sort of thing.

Depending on which type of exams you passed, you get a license with stamps stamped besides the type of exams you passed. You need a type B to drive a car, a type D to drive a bus, AFAIK you don't need one to drive a tractor trailer.

[Jeysie]

Ahh. We also get stamped for different letter types, but a license for a bus or trailor or whatever also says "Commercial Driver's License" on it. Harrison used to be a bus driver.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Louisiana Night]

If you're too young to get a license, no need for a license, just drive a tractor.

[Oldbushie]

True, that's how my mom learned to drive at first. She grew up on a farm.