Current Events > At the age of 33, I finally have my driving license.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Turns out I am super spooked driving by myself in the dark <_<

congrats

Yay

Don't be like me and get a speeding ticket within your first month of driving.

Cost me $700 to pay it off.

Congrats!

Why did you not get it before now?

When I was able to get my drivers licence I didn't for a couple of years as where I lived everything was only a 10 minute walk away. I had a car which my flat mate would drive if the need arose, so I didn't see the need to get it. I only got it as I was moving to a small country town (population of less than 50) to work on a farm and needed my licence to get there.

Congrats. And yeah driving in the dark can be scary at first

blistr posted...

Why did you not get it before now?

Mostly inertia. I took driver's ed as a kid and I was fine, but I drove with my mom and had a habit of coming to a complete stop whenever I turned. She told me I couldn't do that, so naturally I took a turn at forty miles an hour and ended up airborne for a few seconds. Everyone was fine, but they weren't quick to volunteer to take me driving.

Left to my own devices, I'd be a NEET, so I didn't have a pressing need to go anywhere and I would just get rides to work and stuff. I'd built it up into my own head a lot and psyched myself out.

But last year my dad died, so it was getting to be really burdensome on my family and I figured enough was enough. I learned you could just get an adult's learner's permit, probably would have done it a long time ago if I'd known that tbh.

LSGW_Zephyra posted...

Congrats. And yeah driving in the dark can be scary at first

The driving part is fine, I think I'm literally just afraid of the dark lol. I get a bit anxious if I do something like take the trash out late at night, I just didn't expect it to extend to driving alone at night.

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

Don't be like me and get a speeding ticket within your first month of driving.

Cost me $700 to pay it off.

Where the hell did you get a speeding ticket and how fast were you going that it cost you $700?

The_Popo posted...

Where the hell did you get a speeding ticket and how fast were you going that it cost you $700?

California.

I was going 80 in a 65

pegusus123456 posted...

The driving part is fine, I think I'm literally just afraid of the dark lol. I get a bit anxious if I do something like take the trash out late at night, I just didn't expect it to extend to driving alone at night.

huh, interesting. i never thought about how that might affect driving, too. kinda curious to know if you still feel this way after you get really accustomed to driving, or if it's just not a big deal.

Dawg, youve just been bumming rides for 17 years and its not even because you got too many DUIs?

GuerrillaSoldier posted...

huh, interesting. i never thought about how that might affect driving, too. kinda curious to know if you still feel this way after you get really accustomed to driving, or if it's just not a big deal.

I'm sure I'll get used to it.

Probably.

LonelyStoner posted...

Dawg, youve just been bumming rides for 17 years and its not even because you got too many DUIs?

I don't even drink, it's truly a shame.

pegusus123456 posted...

I don't even drink, it's truly a shame.

You arent missing much.

Did you grow up in a large city with easy public transportation? Ive heard having a car in those areas is more hassle than its worth.

Driving in the dark sucks. I got mine in my 30s also.

LonelyStoner posted...

Did you grow up in a large city with easy public transportation? Ive heard having a car in those areas is more hassle than its worth.

lmao no

pegusus123456 posted...

lmao no

Take me through an average day in your life at around the age ofhmmmm23. Im not asking to mess with you. I just cant imagine not having my own vehicle for that long.

LonelyStoner posted...

Take me through an average day in your life at around the age ofhmmmm23. Im not asking to mess with you. I just cant imagine not having my own vehicle for that long.

I would just get rides from family members, it's not that deep lol.

I got mine earlier this year when I was 32. Never too late to start, just gotta get used to it.

pegusus123456 posted...

Turns out I am super spooked driving by myself in the dark <_<

Well you see you that is when you need to turn your headlights on.

I haven't had a valid license since my early 20s. Idk if I could relearn it easily.

SilvosForever posted...

Well you see you that is when you need to turn your headlights on.

In all honesty, I did not have my headlights on for most of my ride home last night lmao.

I had the parking lights on but not the headlights. I just didn't realize it for a while because I was on a well-lit highway.

If you have astigmatism and wear contacts, then you need to wear glasses when driving at night. Contacts dont correct astigmatism (glasses do) and the blurriness you experience by wearing contacts is worse at night.

Where do you live?

Cuticrusader09 posted...

If you have astigmatism and wear contacts, then you need to wear glasses when driving at night. Contacts dont correct astigmatism (glasses do) and the blurriness you experience by wearing contacts is worse at night.

I wear glasses

Spiderman23J posted...

Where do you live?

Asscrack of North Carolina

pegusus123456 posted...

I would just get rides from family members, it's not that deep lol.

I mean, its kinda deep. Most people get their learners permit as soon as they turn 15 and their license at 16. Relying on family members to drop you off for 17 years is inconvenient for both parties.

LonelyStoner posted...

I mean, its kinda deep. Most people get their learners permit as soon as they turn 15 and their license at 16. Relying on family members to drop you off for 17 years is inconvenient for both parties.

It was inconvenient, yes.

I just meant the explanation isn't that complicated lol. I just didn't go anywhere except work and groceries.

Driving at night is terrible. It's probably why old people start losing their vision.

pegusus123456 posted...

Turns out I am super spooked driving by myself in the dark <_<

I cut my teeth driving in the dark on a windy country back road.

Didn't get a license till I was 28. I was scared of it and always had a convenient excuse to avoid it. Mom had a stroke and she needed a driver for Dr appointments so I maned up. Turns out I'm pretty good at driving

My dad did not, could not understand that I didn't care in the slightest about getting a driver's license. Like everything else, he was the one that ruined it for me in the first place, and then he would constantly hold it over my head like I should care. He punished me for I forget what by not letting me get it for three months after my 16th, and then he turned it around and decided to make it a reward for I forget what. Sure, dad. Whatever you say.

I guess it's just a Boomer/Gen X thing. They probably just still live in a world where driving meant something other than sitting at traffic lights or in parking jams for an eternity.

pegusus123456 posted...

But last year my dad died, so it was getting to be really burdensome on my family and I figured enough was enough. I learned you could just get an adult's learner's permit, probably would have done it a long time ago if I'd known that tbh.

Interesting. Did you have to do more or less hours with an adult's learners permit vs the...what was it, 40ish that you need for the 'normal' one?

Congrats, happy for you! :)

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

Don't be like me and get a speeding ticket within your first month of driving.

Cost me $700 to pay it off.

I did this......at 18. Was about $500. I also roll stopped a stop sign. There was 2 roads that lead to a exit. There was a section of road separating them.

Everybody did it too. I was just unlucky that day.

Kimberly posted...

Interesting. Did you have to do more or less hours with an adult's learners permit vs the...what was it, 40ish that you need for the 'normal' one?

Congrats, happy for you! :)

I didn't have to do anything. I could have come back the next day and taken the driver's test.

Hours logged and stuff is just for minors.

Oh dope, that must've been quite convenient.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

They probably just still live in a world where driving meant something other than sitting at traffic lights or in parking jams for an eternity.

besides sitting at traffic lights or in parking jams, driving lets me go places. leaving the house is nice and driving means freedom to go where you want, when you want.

this lack of enthusiasm to drive is definitely a generational thing. when i was a kid, almost everyone i knew got their license within a couple months of turning 16. nowadays kids just don't want to get it because they're "too anxious" about driving or something and it's so weird to me

Congrats! And yeah night time driving isn't that fun. Driving during the day is so much better. It really sucks when you get older and can't see as well in the dark. It's happening to my dad, and that's the reason my grandma didn't drive at night when she still drove.

LonelyStoner posted...

I mean, its kinda deep. Most people get their learners permit as soon as they turn 15 and their license at 16. Relying on family members to drop you off for 17 years is inconvenient for both parties.

I always paid them more than well enough. Had a friend growing up and he'd give me rides sometimes and I confronted him about overcharging me on gas money. He said you are also paying for wear and tear on my car and my time. Made sense so I've stood by that logic ever since.

Kimberly posted...

Interesting. Did you have to do more or less hours with an adult's learners permit vs the...what was it, 40ish that you need for the 'normal' one?

Congrats, happy for you! :)

I could have gotten my license right away when I did it but I flubbed on the 3 point turn and they failed me. Basically the truck I was using had a very touchy gas pedal and I wasn't used to it yet. They said had there been a curb I would have jumped it. Came back a few weeks later and aced it.

I miss that truck for that very thing. You hit that gas pedal and it would go. You'd feel your head sink into the headrest.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

My dad did not, could not understand that I didn't care in the slightest about getting a driver's license. Like everything else, he was the one that ruined it for me in the first place, and then he would constantly hold it over my head like I should care. He punished me for I forget what by not letting me get it for three months after my 16th, and then he turned it around and decided to make it a reward for I forget what. Sure, dad. Whatever you say.

I guess it's just a Boomer/Gen X thing. They probably just still live in a world where driving meant something other than sitting at traffic lights or in parking jams for an eternity.

Its definitely a boomer/Gen X thing to get frustrated and yell at your kid for not immediately knowing how to drive a car. I say that with no sarcasm. My wifes first car was a manual and my in laws made an absolute mess of the experience. Constant yelling, from what she has told me.

Shes still super uncomfortable behind the wheel.

LonelyStoner posted...

Its definitely a boomer/Gen X thing to get frustrated and yell at your kid for not immediately knowing how to drive a car. I say that with no sarcasm. My wifes first car was a manual and my in laws made an absolute mess of the experience. Constant yelling, from what she has told me.

Shes still super uncomfortable behind the wheel.

Nailed it. This is precisely what I mean when I say he was the one that ruined it.

LonelyStoner posted...

Its definitely a boomer/Gen X thing to get frustrated and yell at your kid for not immediately knowing how to drive a car. I say that with no sarcasm. My wifes first car was a manual and my in laws made an absolute mess of the experience. Constant yelling, from what she has told me.

Shes still super uncomfortable behind the wheel.

Technically I knew how to drive at 12. Lived on a private road and was given free reign to drive those roads

What was frustrating was either my mom was pushing me to get my license and I had some excuse but then when I wanted to do it she didn't feel good that day.

Same with practicing I felt practicing once in a blue moon wasn't helping me and driving in private dirt roads isn't the same as pavement.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

Nailed it. This is precisely what I mean when I say he was the one that ruined it.

If its any solace for your experience, Im a much better driver than either of my parents (and especially my in-laws) They would freak out on the highway and set my nerves on fire. As long as your perception concerning other drivers is keen youre golden.

LonelyStoner posted...

If its any solace for your experience, Im a much better driver than either of my parents (and especially my in-laws) They would freak out on the highway and set my nerves on fire. As long as your perception concerning other drivers is keen youre golden.

Id hate that. I can't stand riding with a bad driver. I've been known to close my eyes for the whole ride and just hope I died on impact if they wrecked.

In fact that was a saying when one girl in my friends group would drive. We would tell if you think youre gonna wreck gas it so we die on impact. I wasn't wearing my seatbelt in the backseat one time and well I ended up in the front seat.....

Good work TC!

Cuticrusader09 posted...

If you have astigmatism and wear contacts, then you need to wear glasses when driving at night. Contacts dont correct astigmatism (glasses do) and the blurriness you experience by wearing contacts is worse at night.

This very much depends on the extent of the astigmatism. They make contacts that work very well for minor to moderate astigmatism

pegusus123456 posted...

I wear glasses

Asscrack of North Carolina

damn not being able to drive in the south is horrible everything is so spread out

Jiek_Fafn posted...

This very much depends on the extent of the astigmatism. They make contacts that work very well for minor to moderate astigmatism

Yeah I have Acuvue for Astigmatism and don't need to wear glasses.

SomeLikeItHoth posted...

California.

I was going 80 in a 65

Oh.. Does that include the online course too? Sounds about right.

vycebrand2 posted...

Everybody did it too. I was just unlucky that day.

I was unlucky too but lesson learned, I don't speed often anymore.

Arcanine2009 posted...

Oh.. Does that include the online course too? Sounds about right.

The online course was about $25

pegusus123456 posted...

Turns out I am super spooked driving by myself in the dark <_<

I would be too even now at 42 and still no license.

Best use of my ID is verifying my age for Non-Alcholic Beer.

Spiderman23J posted...

damn not being able to drive in the south is horrible everything is so spread out

No kidding. Where I lived you could walk but it took time. Small town with a Walmart, and a Winn Dixie maybe took 30 minutes. Anything else need a vehicle for. Driving still took 45 minutes to get to any major city.