After busy tiring school days, I dread taking the bus. The bus is always crowded and incredibly slow, so it takes me about half an hour or more to get to my house near Culver City. I can’t wait until I get my drivers license and car so I can take myself to and from school.

There are countless reasons to why driving in high school is important for students. Many responsibilities and advantages come with learning how to drive and owning a car while still in school.

Driving teaches students how to be independent and mature. Once they get a car and start driving, they will be going places on their own and doing their own errands. If I had a car and a license already, I would be going places that I wouldn’t be able to go to because either my parents are busy or the car isn’t available.
For example, if I want to hang out with my friends, I would have to ask for a ride every time. And if they don’t want to drive me or the car is in use, I am stuck taking the bus or not going.

Driving changes teens’ level of responsibility drastically. From doing simple tasks like filling up their gas tank, or big things like paying for their insurance, teens who drive are preparing for jobs and adult responsibilities.

If students make the mistake of doing something wrong like getting a ticket, or turning in something past the due date to the DMV because they forgot, they become aware of consequences that can happen in other situations. It teaches young people how to be responsible for these kind of situations in the future because once they make a mistake, they know for next time.

Once teenagers get a driver’s license and a nice car to go with it, they feel as free as a bird. Freedom is another positive outcome to driving in high school. They have freedom to go wherever they want, without worrying about the bus or getting a ride from someone. They can get themselves wherever they want, whenever they want. When I get my license, I will be looking forward to not taking the bus anymore.

Students can easily get stressed out with many bills to pay for the car, filing for their registration, and keeping on track with school. Being strategic and organized is a very important aspect to having the freedom to drive. Keeping track of errands, bill payments, due dates, and registration renewal deadlines can be really easy. Just write them down on your phone, calendar, or agenda.

Students under 18 need to take an online drivers ed class. After they pass the class, they can claim their certificate and proceed to go to the DMV and take the written test. After they pass the written test, they need to sign up to take the driving part of the test. When they pass both exams, they now have their learner’s permit which allows them to drive with an adult. To apply for a provisional license, they must have had your learner’s permit for at least 6 months and have 50 hours of behind-the-wheel training. The restrictions to this is that they can’t drive between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and they can’t have any passenger under the age of 20.

Once you turn 18, these restrictions will fall off and you will be an unrestricted California driver’s license holder. If you wait until you’re 18, you can skip the driver’s ed