Yesterday was a momentous day in the life of CootieGirl, for it was yesterday that she not only turned 16 years old, but she finally became a fully licensed driver in the State of South Carolina. Yep, she passed her driver’s test!
I took her out of school 30 minutes early and as we drove to the DMV I gave her a pep talk and reminded her of things to look out for on the test (she failed the test in early April and this was her second attempt). We had been practicing since we got home from England and I felt confident she would pass if she just focused on the things she scored low on earlier in the month.
- Don’t speed. You can’t go over 35 mph on the test.
- On your 3-point turns, turn the wheel THEN move the car.
- Turn on your turn signal well ahead of your turn.
- Check your blind spots – especially when going from left lane to right.
- Don’t hit the curb when you parallel park.
After signing in, it was a short wait (and quick prayer) before her instructor called her and they left. Twenty minutes later they were back.
- She had gone 40 in a 35 mph zone.
- She was a bit too aggressive when braking and caused a couple “head jerk” moments (which apparently causes a loss in points)
- She was good checking blind spots to the left, but not to the right – in at least 3 instances she did not adequately check.
- She sped up to make right hand turns versus slowing down heading into the turn (something I noticed her doing this week but it’s not something she has ever done in the entire year she has had her permit).
BUT she nailed the parallel parking and the instructor specifically called out how well she did (that was something we practice a LOT because hitting the curb twice was the reason she failed the test last time).
The instructor said it was close, but CootieGirl passed! The instructor also said that a couple of things she got points deducted for were easily fixed (speeding in low mph zones, softer braking), but to work on the right side blind spot and her right hand turns. I told CG that for the first couple of months I’d probably still go out with her to practice driving every now and then just to make sure she was working on what she needed to improve.
We celebrated with birthday dinner at Outback Steakhouse. On the way home she asked if we could go to WalMart so she could buy a new pair of sunglasses.
“I don’t want to go to WalMart. I just want to go home,” I said.
“Oh, okay.”
“But YOU can go to WalMart. You don’t need me anymore. Just drop me off at home and then you can go.”
“REALLY?” she squeaked in surprise.
“Yep.”
And so that’s what she did! When she got home, I asked her, “So how loud was the radio blasting as you drove to WalMart? Probably really loud, right?”
She laughed. “It may have been turned up a bit. How did you know?”
“Because I was once a teenager with a brand new license to drive, too.”
This morning I contacted our car insurance folks to alert them that our learner’s permit driver was now fully licensed. And just like that my insurance went up 82% per year. Oof. That’s painful. What sucks is it’ll be going up even more once CootieBoy gets his own license in about 16 months.
Fortunately, CG has enough in her savings account to purchase a cheap used car for cash, and once she has that vehicle in her possession I’ll be strongly encouraging her to get a part-time job to help pay for her part of the car insurance, upkeep of the car and her gas money.
Happy birthday, CG!
