When most kids turn 16 what’s the first thing on their mind? A license—a chance for freedom.
Instead of having to ask parents for a ride and then trying to coordinate rides with friends—kids can just go. And for most, that is just the type of freedom that is most appealing. It’s not as scary as leaving home and attending college, but a sense of freedom that can still be utilized and enjoyed.
But getting the license? That’s the hard part.
According to Massachusetts State laws, drivers under 18 must attend driving school and complete 30 classroom hours, six observation hours, and 12 driving hours, as well as having a valid permit for 6 months and obviously passing the licensing exam.
Across all driving schools in Massachusetts, 52,000 young drivers attend driving school per year. Overall, there are currently 37 states that require some form of driving education for drivers under 18 due to the high accident rates among new drivers. Although, some states such as Massachusetts, have much tougher rules when it comes to young drivers obtaining a license.
According to a CBS article, “a new study by…a personal injury law firm in Utah, found that Massachusetts has the second hardest exam to pass in the country.” It may be surprising to hear, but the strict license rules that we think of as “normal” would for sure surprise people in states that ranked lowest in the study such as South Dakota.
The Massachusetts license exam normally consists of parallel parking (a nightmare), 50-foot backup (my reason for being scared of the test), three-point turn(always forget if it’s left or right first), and uphill/downhill parking(the only thing I can do right), as well as driving normally on a road.
Senior Joe Keroack, who is top of his class, said that he failed on his first try of his license exam for forgetting to put the e-brake down and attempting to shift out of park. He later explained that he passed fine on his next try and that if he had been less nervous he would have most likely been fine the first time. He admitted that he thinks it was a reasonable consequence because “it would break the car.”
Most students at LHS usually either go to United Driving School or Belmont Driving School.
When I told people I was writing this article I was often met with laughter and skepticism. But I was also met with a slew of funny stories of varied experiences with United Driving School.
Liana Chaves, junior at LHS, told me that her instructor had her pause her lesson to drive to a Cumberland Farm so they could get a coffee (iconic really if you ask me). Marcelina Pecak, junior at LHS, told me that her instructor played the Polish national anthem randomly while she was driving (she’s Polish). Emily Pereira, junior at LHS, told me that an instructor would play the meme sound “bruh” on the radio every time she made a mistake (bruhh.) Natalia Houlihan, junior at LHS and staff writer at the cub, told me that her instructor would often take breaks to stretch out their legs by doing high kicks (everybody was kung fu fighting 🎶).
These are some of the many hilarious stories I was told. I never truly thought how often things like this would happen with these humorous driving instructors until I began my own driving and observing journey at United.
Whether it was a spot-on Trump impression, or an AI-generated audio of Taylor Swift endorsing Trump following her endorsement of Harris, the driving instructors were able to “break the ice” with me and other drivers and observers to make us more comfortable.
When I asked instructor Rob his favorite part of the job he responded, “I like to see the improvement over lessons, how people improve with their driving…. Someone can have totally no practice and I can watch them within a few hours and really improve.”
He has been an instructor at United for about 10 years and started the job as a part-time job in college, but then he took a full-time position.
Driving can be scary and intimidating, even if you have done it for a while, so being a new driver may be even worse. Having instructors that can make you laugh, but also know when to be serious can make all the difference. At least for me, having a calm, relaxed instructor can make driving so much easier and make learning the rules of the road infinitely easier.
United Driving instructor Dave explained that he was not originally going to take the job at United but he instantly became close with Paul, the owner. “He’s just a great guy,” explained Dave. He also told me that he chose to take the job three years prior because he liked that he “could still help people.”
Getting a driver’s license is an important milestone that represents independence, freedom, and a new chapter in life. While the process of getting a license can be a long one, it is chock full of memorable experiences that will last forever.