Tyler Kendall
Features Editor
Junior Alex Robey is part of the countless students waiting to become eligible to obtain a license. Alex might pass the age requirement, but the strict steps just to be able to take the test are proving to be a burden. “I’ve been waiting for my license for a really long time,” he said. “My twin brother has already had his for almost six months.”
The day a student turns sixteen they become eligible to test for a permit. The permit test is a written exam taken at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). If a student passes the permit exam, it will take between four to six months, depending on the teaching path the student chooses, to become eligible to test for a license.
According to Connecticut’s DMV’s website, there are three options teenagers ages sixteen and seventeen can pursue to become eligible for a license. The options include: commercial driving school, high school driver’s education, or home training. All three options require a minimum of forty hours of driving practice and at least thirty hours of classroom “type” training.
With so many lengthy requirements, it’s easy to see why it takes some students a long time to obtain a license. “I play a fall sport, so I had no free time to go to classes,” Alex said. “My other activities just seemed to take priority.”
Senior Molly Joyce agreed. “Sports definitely interfered with getting my license. Practice wouldn’t end until after 4:30 and then I had to make time for homework and my job,” she said.
For future license holders, all the requirements can seem overwhelming. “I’m trying to balance sports and homework after school already,” freshman Taylor Cowser said. “I can’t imagine trying to fit in driving classes, especially when they are only offered at a specific time.”
Due to afterschool activities and academics interfering with going to driving school classes, many students choose to utilize the summer months as a time to complete as many driving requirements as they can. “I had to go to driving school over the summer even though I got my permit during the school year,” Molly said. “It was annoying that it was the only time I could fit it into my schedule, especially when I just wanted to enjoy my vacation time.”
However, some students prove diligence is possible and obtaining a license can go smoothly during the school year. “I committed to at least four driving school classes a week,” junior Henry Holbrook said. “[The driving school instructor] was so funny that it made the classes go by quickly.”
Junior Stefan Pla who obtained his permit during sophomore year agreed. “I was really determined to get my license before junior year started because that is the crunch time year academically,” he said.
Although classroom training can sometimes pose a challenge to fit into students’ busy schedules, behind the wheel driving requirements certainly seem easier to fulfill. “I would drive to and from practice or times that I would regularly be in the car during the day,” Stefan added.s
Although the requirements may be strenuous to fulfill, in the end, they are put in place to keep teen drivers safe on the road and prepared for the obstacles that driving presents. For some, the hours may seem tedious but in fact pose logical. “Even though you spend so much time learning about what you can’t do, the laws are designed to make you a better driver,” Stefan said.
Junior Jenna Hickey agreed, “It’s a lot of requirements but in the end it’s worth all of the hard work.”
For many students, getting their license comes with a sense of pride and accomplishment. “Now that I can drive, I can’t remember not being able to,” Molly said. “It’s so nice to feel more independent, especially since I’m going to college next year.”
Parking attendant Helen Casinelli agreed. “Kids want their licenses for freedom. They can go off campus during school to get coffee and hang out with their friends,” she said. “There is also a social stigma. You can’t take a bus to school, you have to drive.”
