Driver’s Ed: What You Need To Know
Photo H. Huschke
All Photos: H. Huschke
Learning to drive and becoming a good driver is not an overnight accomplishment, but a crash course (pun intended) might make it easier. by: MARIA LINCK and JOIE BALDYGA content editors
Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For most teens, getting their driver’s license is a big deal. Driving is a rite of passage because it gives teens something thing they desire most: freedom. Working up to a glorified slip of paper that lets a teen drive by themselves is a long and detailed process. Driver’s Ed is an experience that almost everyone goes through, but the journey is easier with tips, tricks and just general facts about driving. Driver’s Ed is a stepping stone into adulthood, and over the years, as much as it has changed, it has remained the same. Both the significant cost and the overall format that are in place today were still factors many years ago. “I had to pay for both of the sections [of Driver’s Ed],” explained Central Spanish and History teacher, Ashley Howe, “my parents wouldn’t 10 // BGQ // October 2019
pay for it because they said it was a privilege and that if I wanted to do it, I would have to pay for it on my own.” After explaining the format and schedule of Driver’s Ed when she was involved, Howe concluded that she believes “that it is very similar to what everybody does now. I don’t think it has changed a whole lot.” Central English teacher Kathryn Shelley-Barnes learned to drive in New Jersey. “When I moved to Michigan I had to take a driver’s test, not a driving test, but a hand test. I had to review some of the laws.” Shelley-Barnes also explained that one of the differences between driving in New Jersey and driving in Michigan is that in New Jersey she had to get her car inspected for emissions and pollution. Also, when Shelley-Barnes learned to drive, there were not any restrictions like time and number of passengers once somebody got their license. “You got your license, you got your license. Bang, you could drive any time you
