Nanci Kuykendall

>Here's a weird thought -- what happens if you happen
>to be over, say, 18? Can you just go take the tests
>and get a license, if you know how to drive? Do you
>have to get a learner's permit if you're over 18?
>Nancy

I got my license in Albequerque, NM when I lived there
for a year. I spent the first 20 years of my life in
San Francisco. With the combination of the incredibly
excellent system of mass transit (trains, BART,
busses, rail system, ferries, shuttles) that
crisscrosses the city and links the surrounding
communities AND the high cost of parking and insurance
in the city, it was not necessary for me to get a
license for freedom, nor feasible for me monetarily.
Plus the city is compact, being only 7 miles square,
and you can walk to the store, to local restaurants,
landromat, whatever. I took busses to school and
college, to work, to friends houses, parties, events,
and to the train station or bart to go out of town, or
shuttles to the airport.

When I moved to New Mexico at 20, I had never been
behind the wheel of a car, even for any kind of
drivers ed. I found myself living in an neighborhood
on the edge of town, and everything was so much
farther away from evertyhing else than I was used to.
I needed a license post haste, just to get back and
forth to work. I spent one hour behind the wheel to
practice, walked into the Licensing place and took my
test. I had a behind the wheel test, but was not made
to drive on the freeway or to parallel park. I had no
previous driving experience, no questions were asked
about that at all. That first car I drove for sevreal
years was a huge buick LeSabre boat of a car, with the
long extended bed.

This was a little over 9 years ago. I am a very good
driver, self taught. I have had one accident, a
fender bender in heavy stop and go traffic, years
after I got my license. I do great in defensive
situations in fast urban traffic, in strange cities,
at night, on country roads, have since driven all over
California, in Portland, Seattle, all over Washington
State, in icy conditions, rain, sleet, fog, snow, you
name it.

Nanci K.

avgjean

--- In AlwaysLearning@y..., Nanci Kuykendall <aisliin@y...> wrote:
> >Here's a weird thought -- what happens if you happen
> >to be over, say, 18? Can you just go take the tests
> >and get a license, if you know how to drive? Do you
> >have to get a learner's permit if you're over 18?
> >Nancy
>
> I got my license in Albequerque, NM when I lived there
> for a year. I spent the first 20 years of my life in
> San Francisco. With the combination of the incredibly
> excellent system of mass transit (trains, BART,
> busses, rail system, ferries, shuttles) that


Me too! I grew up in SF, and didn't really need a license. But
when I was heading off to college in San Diego, I decided to get
one. I was 18 by that time. I did get a permit, but it just
required a written test. Then my sister taught me to drive, and I
went back and got a license. No drivers ed or drivers training
required. The permit is needed here to make your practice on the
road legal, I think. Well, that was a long time ago, now, so maybe
things have changed. :)

Jean