In New Jersey the driving age is higher than anywhere else in the country, so I had to wait longer to get my license. However, as soon as I was old enough, I went to driving school in order to get my permit. Our high school also offered a driving class, but I would have had to wait an extra six months for my permit which, in teenage time, is equivalent to 45 years.
My first day out I was nervous as could be, especially when the instructor took me out onto route 95 and I was forced to do 65 along with all the other psycho drivers on the road. I was scared out of my gourd, but managed to survive the experience, thankfully.
One thing I remember about the driving school I used was that they were the only one in the area that didn’t have a huge taxi-like sign on the top of the car that said “STUDENT DRIVER.” Instead, there were just some stickers on the car itself. I believe they even used this as a marketing gimmick, letting students know that the school didn’t draw attention to the fact that the kids were student drivers by using an embarassing sign. They just figured it would be apparent when the car was going 25 in a 35 mph zone.
Another thing I remember: taking the driving instructor places so he could run his errands. Looking back, something about this seems wrong to me now.
Posted in Miscellaneous