Finally Driving
Nathan Schmidt
Woot! Woot! After a period of time that lasted much longer than it needed to, I finally got my driver's license. I could have gotten my permit on April 4th, my birthday. I decided to wait though, not because I didn't want my permit, but more because I had not looked over the quiz information enough to have passed the test. I ended up getting my permit a month later, and my driver's test was set up for November 17th. I had five lessons with Hickory Driving School (previously Moyer Driving School), and I had to complete 30 hours of online driver's education. The driving lessons themselves were never a problem, it was the stupid 30 hours of online training that really started to push my buttons. Now I am certainly not saying that the 30 hours of online training was unnecessary. I am definitely a better driver because of it, but it is the way that the program is set up that is the issue. This is how it works: you open up the program and are shown that you have to complete a number of sections (I believe it is somewhere around 15), no problem, right? Well, that itself is fine, but then I realized that each section has a minimum amount of time required to move on to the next section, a minimum time that is drastically longer than what is necessary. So, in a section that takes 20 minutes to read, I had to remain on that page for an hour and 20 minutes before I could move on to the next section. This itself was already frustrating to me, but I do have to take some of the blame.
Yeah, yeah, I know I had all summer to do the online driver's education. My parents have pointed that out too many times to count. I chose to procrastinate, it's not the first time. Anyways, you can imagine my frustration when I learned that these 30 hours of driver's ed is not actually required like I had been told. It is only required if the test is taken through Hickory Driving School, which was information I had never been told before. None-the-less, I finished the driver's ed, took the test, passed, and got my license. I now get to experience all the benefits that come with getting a driver's license. As for my final thoughts, I am definitely glad that I completed the 30 hours of driver's ed and I think it is beneficial to others who are getting their license. While the program itself seems unnecessarily extensive, the process itself has helped me as a driver in ways that will keep me safe in the future.
I never knew how extensive the driver's ed program was, even with the online part being optional. I didn't enroll in driver's ed, and I instead just tested through the DMV. It seems like it would be a really helpful program, though, even with it being excessive in some areas. Thankfully, I still managed to pass on my first try, and I totally agree with being able to enjoy the niceties of having a license. I enjoy the added responsibility that comes along with it.
ReplyDeleteWhen I took the 30 hours for the class it wasn't actually online, it was in the LGI tuesday and thursday nights from 5 to 8. This is when it was still the Moyer Driving School. In the Moyer Driving School I was one of the last students to take the drving test through them, which I just barely past.
ReplyDeleteLike Caleb, I took driver's ed in the LGI. Similar to your experience, I found that the 30 hours worth of classes were useful and they made me a better driver. Had I not taken these classes, I would be lacking the knowledge to handle some stressful situations. Overall, I am happy that I took the classes because of the benefits they gave me although they were be a bit long at times.
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