Can We Drive Today?

Four little words guaranteed to strike terror in the heart of any parent of a teen! My kids got their driving permits a short while back, and ever since, this is pretty much all I hear. "Huh? Huh? Can we? Pleeeeease? Can we?" Here in Ohio, a teen can get a permit at age 15-1/2. They must hold that permit for a minimum of 6 months and need 50 hours of driving experience (10 of that at night) in the car with a parent or legal guardian. Do the math - that's 100 hours in the car for a parent of twins, 20 hours of that after dark. In 6 months. That's approximately 4 hours a week. That only I can do with them. *sigh*

They really aren't bad drivers for their level of experience, but I have power issues with letting them be in control of the vehicle. Last Saturday, my son even asked, "Why don't you trust me?" Um, because you've have 1-1/2 hours of road driving experience, and you're flying down a country road at, oh, 58 miles an hour! One warning for speeding - the next time I see it, and you pull over and let your sister drive. I want one of those driver's ed cars with the extra brake on the front passenger side!

We started out in the church parking lot, so they could get used to the sensitivity of the brake and the gas pedals, practiced a few turns, etc. Then we progressed to the local cemetaries. They are good for practicing 4-way stops, turns, assured distance on the sides of the vehicle, and you can't really go very fast! The last few weekends, we've been going out on county roads. The only problem is, I only have the patience for about a 1/2 hour of each of them driving right now. That's not helping the experience build up very quickly. It's funny how each of them have their own issues. He is almost too confident and has avoidance issues with the brake. Uh, dear, when I say "stop" because I think you're going to hit something, I mean STOP. RIGHT NOW! He wants to slow down slowly, but you can't always do that. She, on the other hand, is paranoid that she is going to go off the right side of the road. "Am I over too far? Am I over too far? Am I over too far?" The first time she drove in the county, she literally repeated this over and over without taking a breath! Yes, dear, I'll tell you if you're over too far. Believe me, I'll tell you! haha

They did get a reality check several days before testing for these permits. Their 16-year-old cousin was the at-fault driver in an accident in which another driver was killed and several people seriously hurt, including an infant who is still in the hospital now, a month later. This has made my daughter especially very nervous about driving. Their cousin wasn't drinking or under the influence of anything; he had 3 friends with him (a driving violation - you can only have 1 nonrelated person in your vehicle if you're under 18), was speeding and ran a stop sign, T-boning the other vehicle. One blink of an eye and lives are changed forever.

I do feel better since we were able to buy an old Ford Taurus from some friends of ours. DD especially feels much better driving it than our old Pontiac Montana van, but DS would rather drive the van. They'll get experience in both, but the Taurus will be their main vehicle. It's smaller, gets better gas milage and will be a good car for them to use once they get their permanent license, but it will be hard to let them drive off alone no matter which vehicle they use. I guess this 50-hour requirement is for parents too - to get us used to the idea that our kids are growing up and becoming more independent. I'm not sure I like that, but it's a journey that we all must take. I just hope to come out on the other side with sanity still intact!