One of the big perks of becoming a high school student is getting a driver’s license. However, many underclassmen who are not 16 yet can start driving younger with a school permit. A school permit allows students to drive to and from school and school activities without an adult being present and also drive any time with someone over the age of 21. These permits provide many learning opportunities and benefits for these young students who don’t have a lot of driving experience.
One underclassmen who has experienced these benefits is freshman Emmy Ray.
“I can drive to school, and I can drive to all the functions, and I don’t have to wait for my parents to pick me up,” Ray said. “I don’t have to carpool with people.”
Not only is having a school permit more convenient, but it also gives teenagers more experience driving before they get a license at 16.
“[A school permit] basically gives you a lot of driving practice on your own, going short distances compared to when you’re 16 and you can drive everywhere,” freshman Chase Schake said. “It’s a lot easier for my parents and a lot easier for myself.”
While having a school permit has a lot of benefits, there is also a lot of learning that must happen before students can get their permit. Ray learned how to drive from both her parents and driver education.
“I learned mostly from driver’s ed because that’s when I got the most practice, but I’ve had more experience driving in cities with my parents,” Ray said. “I learned about all of the road signs and just all of the simple rules you need to know when driving.”
Freshman Ansley Degroff also learned how to drive from her parents.
“First we started off on the gravel road and just talked about driving, like the break and the pedal,” Degroff said. “At first, it was super scary…the fact that you can get in an accident at any time, and you can make a mistake, and then you’d be dead.”
Since there is a high risk of car accidents for young drivers, driving can be very scary at first. This is something freshman Weston Ringer has experienced first hand.
“During the winter, I almost went head on with a garbage truck, but I went straight into the ditch because he swerved,” Ringer said.
Besides issues associated with weather, there are other challenges that come with learning to drive. Schake has experienced challenges involving other drivers when driving in busier cities with his parents.
“Usually when there’s [a lot] of cars on the road, it can be kind of hard because there’s some people either stopping or going slow, and it’s just not fun,” Schake said.
Even when cars aren’t moving, there can still be problems.
“Sometimes other drivers aren’t paying very close attention,” Schake said. “Some people park really tight. Some people don’t follow rules in the parking lot.”
Although driving can be intimidating or frustrating for young, inexperienced drivers, it gets easier with more practice.
“Lots of practice and driving with my parents really helped,” Degroff said. “I’ve gotten a lot better at crossing the highway and knowing when to cross.”
Because having a school permit allows these students to get a lot of practice, Ray has noticed a lot of improvement in her driving. At the same time, she knows she still has things to learn.
“I’m a pretty good driver,” Ray said. “There are definitely things I need to work on, but through a small town like this, I think I’m pretty good.”
