When did you get your driver's license?

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I got my license at 16 despite being absolutely f***ing terrified of the whole idea of driving. Living somewhere where there is absolutely no public transportation and nothing within walking distance, it was pretty much imperative.

The trick to it, for me, was figuring out how to divide my attention between the road/signs/other cars/etc. and the person in the passenger seat telling me what to do. It seems to be about 70%/30%, I think.

(I still hate driving, though.)

Public transit makes sense in some places, not in others. For me to go to work, it's a 5 minute car ride or a 20 minute bus ride that comes once an hour.

I got my permit at 15 years 9 months to the day, and my license the day I was eligible. I couldn't wait. I grew up in a rural area so no way other than driving.

I got it at 18 and while I was terrified at first (wow, driving was much harder than I thought) I got a perfect score on my road test and have been told that I'm an expert driver. In Canada you pretty much need to own a car outside the major cities and while we have public transit, it can take 90 minutes where a car takes 20. Sorry, my time is too valuable to sit cramped in a bus.

I should note that even with a car if a bus has a direct route to where I'm going I will take it. I probably get some weird looks when I do that! I should also mention that even with my skills, it was almost impossible to drive when I was in Montreal or Calgary as the non stop traffic jams were VERY hard to deal with and avoid a meltdown.

I was 19 when I got mine in December 2006. I've driven sporadically since; and only recently have I begun driving on the highway; it was because I don't have a car and scheduling when to drive is a hassle.

I live in the Netherlands and licenses are much harder to get.

People generally take 40-50 hours (at 40-50 euro PER hour) of lessons over a period of several months with a professional driving instructor in a duo paddled car before even being allowed to attempt the actual exam (250 euro). (The instructor is the only person who can request the exam for you once he thinks you're up for it).

My brother is 2 years older and has Aspergers, (I have PDD-NOS and ADHD), and he's been practising for 2 years now and has had close to 200 lessons.

For some reason though I managed to simulate driving in my head so well that I got in the car and was able to drive away no problem, and 15 lessons and 4 weeks later I had my drivers licenses in my pocket. I still have no idea how I managed to get it that quick. Granted I've always been playing racing games with a steering wheel, so that may have helped me.

Driving itself takes a lot out of me.. I can normally do 15 things at once, but when driving I'm ultra focussed, scanning my mirrors constantly to know the exact position of every car near me. I'm constantly trying to drive the exact speed limit, and have reaaaall bad road rage treating everyone else as incompetent drivers. When I'm driving alone I just let it out and am constantly cursing at people and that seems to help calming me down, but when I've got people in the car with me I keep it all inside, which builds to a level where I end up pulling over and make someone else drive, or kiss the floor once we get to our destination because the last 10 miles have been a blur for me. And then there's these days now and then when just looking at the car makes me have visions of a fiery carwreck and I don't go near it.

Listening to a lot of "autisten" I sometimes feel lucky I have this one kind of "I am so awesome I can do anything" feeling inside me that forces me into situations I wouldn't have attempted otherwise. That being said, that same feeling no doubt caused me to not look for help till age 22.

Scuba license 16 yo
Motorcycle license 17yo
Car license 18yo
Truck license 22 yo
Fork lift license 24 yo
Dangerous goods license 26 yo
Boat license 34 yo
Personal watercraft license 34 yo
Flight crew license 43 yo
Student pilot license 43 yo
Oh and my fishing license.
I Have a problem with being told I can't do something so I started collecting licenses to prove to myself that I can.

I got mine when I was in my 20's because public transportation doesn't go everywhere in my area, so driving is another form of independence. It also means that I can work anywhere and any time as I'm not bound to any bus schedules, and I can get to work at least 10 minutes early, instead of half an hour early as what could happen with the bus when routes often run once an hour. While I did get laid off from my last job, I do think my being able to drive is a slight advantage over someone who doesn't drive.

I don't see what the big deal is... I got my permit at 15 and my license at 16. Passed all of the tests first time.
It's nice to have a driver's license because I can use it as a basic form of ID, and because I can drive whenever I have the opportunity.

I got my license yesterday and to celebrate, my parents found a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta for me. I drove it to and from work today and love it. I hate the turbo lag, but the sound of the diesel engine is incredible.

There is a graduated licensing system in Ontario. I did not get my G1 classification until I was 19 and you were legally allowed to get G1 status at 16. The earliest you can get your full license is 4 months shy of your 18th birtday, but is very rare to find people that have their full license that early in their life. With G1 classification, you are not allowed to drive on major highways and were not allowed to drive without anyone other than an experienced driver in the front passenger seat (must have G license and four years driving experience). If you do drivers ed which consists of in class (written/theory based) and in car (Practical/hands on), and pass that, you are enabled to step up and get your next licence level after 8 months rather than a whole year. G1 is all written test and I failed it twice before passing. Back then, you could re-write the second you knew whether you failed or not as the test was marked right when you finshed. not sure if you can still do that now.
I got G2 status at 20 years of age and about nine months after getting my G1. This was an in car exam and you were required to drive in city and demonstrate that you are able to navigate through city traffic, and obey the laws of the road. You also must demonstrate if asked, your abillity to parallel and perpindicular park. It has been advised that you ask your questions before engaging in the exam since some people who are giving you your test will fail you if you ask them one question about what to do (This shows that you don't know how to drive). I passed this on the first try and thought I failed because my marker pretty much tore me a new hole after finishing. G2 allowed you to drive on some major highways alone, could drive in any city alone, but you could not have any alcohol whatsoever in your system. In the last six years, there have been more strict rules on age and drinking placed on the driver (Drivers under a certain age are not allowed drunk passengers in the vehicle, may not be allowed to drive between certain hours, etc).
G is your full license and you can get this 1 year after aquiring G2 status. I got this 22 months after acheiving G1 status. You pretty much have no limits as to where and when you can drive in Ontario, and blood alcohol level must be under the legal limit. I am sure there are still some restrictions about age of drivers and who is allowed in the car with them (drunk passengers). I got this at 21 on first try and surprisingly i was the first in my circle of friends to get this license despite all my friends having G2 stauts before I even had G1. You must demonstrate your ability to drive in city, and on highways while obeying the laws of the road. Again, you must demonstrate ability to parallel or perpendicular park if asked.

I didn't obtain my license until I was 18, however I did hold a permit when I was 17. Parents wanted me to start later because they didn't want me screwing up the car on their dime, lol.

I only drive when necessary, really. In Michigan, places tend to be quite spread out though so you kind of have to drive everywhere.

The car is really noisy, I wish I could get a new one, but I don't make much money.

I didn't & never will. My vision is too bad for me to drive; I have a rare low vision disorder that wasn't diagnosed or even recognized by docs/quacks till my senior year of high-school. Even if my vision could be corrected; I have problems paying attention & I am slow to react to things & have major problems processing things that do see visually. Not being able to drive is very limiting because his area is rural & doesn't have much in the way of public transportation so I'm stuck having to rely on my parents & sometimes my mom b!tches about how I should of tried to make friends so I could get rides from people instead of wanting to be dependent on her

I have my learners permit but where i am i need 75hours of driving lessons and supervised driving so it will take a while to get a car licese. However i have my motorbike license and love riding around on my honda. I got my motorbike licese recently at 26 years old. I live right near the center of a capital city (30minutes walk from city center) so i really don't need a license but i have decided to just do it.