Once you get your driver’s license, the headaches begin

The ultimate goal of a high schooler is being able to drive places by yourself. No more being mortified by waiting to be picked up, or even worse, having to ask for rides from peers (who with their licenses and cars are way cooler than you).

But getting that driver’s license is not all it’s cracked up to be:

▪ Obtaining the license. This step tends to be more of an obscure game of Trivia Crack, especially for the teens who choose not to take driver’s education. Is it at age 14 that you can get your permit? When can you get your less restricted? Do you have full use of your license at 16 1/2 even though you didn’t take driver’s ed?

Then there’s the written test. If you pass the written test, next comes the anxiety of the driving test. You have to prove to the tester, a stranger, that you know how to drive by yourself even though you’ve never been driving without a parent by your side. Horror stories from peers about that “Instructor That Failed Me for Taking My Hand Off The Wheel to Scratch My Nose” don’t help.

▪ Getting a car. Many kids get their license but have no means of transportation, making the license useless. Insurance fees are ridiculously inflated because teens are considered notorious for wrecks, and parents are reluctant to pay for the insurance because it would be simpler and cheaper to drive their kids to school.

▪ Maintaining a car. If you’re lucky enough to get a car, it’s your duty to keep up the maintenance. Things like car washes, vacuuming out the car, keeping up the interior and new windshield wipers are all up to you. If you have a minor fender-bender in the parking lot and the insurance won’t cover the repair, the money to get it fixed comes out of your already empty pockets. It’s just one more aspect of life that you have to juggle under the pressures of school, friends and family.

▪ Gas money. Along with the responsibility of having a car, some kids have to pay for their own gas. Where will you get that money, you ask? You have to get a job. And now, you have to pay for gas to get to that job, which creates a vicious circle.

▪ Parents and friends. Once you can legally drive, parents will use you to run errands – even when you’re in the middle of something important. Also, once other friends know you can drive, they will ask for rides every day! With that nuisance around, it’s hard to enjoy the freedom of driving anywhere by yourself.

▪ A bad reputation. Teens are infamous for being bad drivers. But many wrecks are not our fault. A large percentage of wrecks are the fault of adult drivers, but people tend to notice ones that are caused by teens. Because of this bad rep, teens are subject to a lot of accusations and skepticism. Parents don’t trust their kids to drive out of their general area because they think kids can’t drive responsibly enough not to cause an accident. I don’t judge all adult drivers by the one that cut me off on my way to school, so why should all teens drivers be judged?

▪ High school parking lots. The big triumph of a license is that you no longer need to be picked up or dropped off by parents. But high school parking lots turn into a race against time to get the best parking spot closest to the front doors to get to your first hour faster. But if you’re a few minutes later than you usually are to school, you might have to park farther away than usual and not get in the doors before the bell rings. Driving can be beneficial if you need to get to school early for extra help in chemistry or to drive home after practice because it got out earlier than usual. However, it still adds strain to an already stressful teenage life.

Despite the added headaches, I don’t regret getting my license. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility. There’s a cost to that freedom, though. More freedom means more responsibilities. It’s a great lesson on the road to independence.

This story was originally published February 25, 2015 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Once you get your driver’s license, the headaches begin."