How To Get a Driver’s License 2023

Getting a driver’s license is one of the most talked-about topics in a high school student’s life. It’s a process that takes a few months, but by the end, it is worth all the effort. 

Gabby Mansour (11) mentions, “You get a lot of freedom from driving and you never have to ask your parents for a ride again.”

Aliso Niguel High School does offer an online driving course to attain a permit, so students should talk to their guidance counselor about joining the course. Only students who are older than 15 and a half years old are able to start their driver’s education.

After completing an online driver’s education course, students should make an appointment to visit a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to pay an application fee, get a fingerprint scan, take a vision exam, have a photo taken, and take a knowledge test.

If a student fails the knowledge test, they can take it again in a week.

After obtaining a permit, students should enroll into a driving school to have a professional driver teach them the correct habits to have while driving. After their first lesson, they can practice with an adult in the car. Students are required to keep their driving permit for at least 6 months before they can take the official driving test.

After the required amount of lessons has been taken, or the required amount of driving time has been fulfilled, the student is able to take the official DMV driving test. It should take around 30 minutes to complete, and as long as they do not break any laws or make a major error, they can pass and get a driver’s license. 

Some examples of major errors are crashing, bumping into curves, running red lights, having the driving examiner intervene during the test, and other reasons. If a student fails the first time, they can always take it again at a later date by appointment. 

There are also minor errors, such as not checking mirrors enough, or not signaling. The maximum number of minor errors a person can get is 15. With anything less, they can still pass the test.

Also, the test does not require students to go on highways. They only drive on a route around the DMV, and depending on the time of day, the roads should be relatively peaceful, especially near Laguna.

Students are able to get a temporary paper driver’s license the day they pass their test. Their official card will be mailed to them later, but they can drive freely with the temporary one. 

Amanda Tran (11) brings up another beneficial aspect of getting a driver’s license by mentioning that “it serves as another way of identification, straight from the government.”

If students are concerned about the permit tests, there are many practice tests online that they can practice with. There is also a pamphlet from the DMV that lists all the important rules to remember for the test.

Some extremely important things to remember when driving are to always check the “blindspot” of the vehicle before changing lanes. Without doing so, it can result in failure of the driving part of the exam. 

The quickest that a student can obtain a driver’s license is a little over six months, depending on how long they take on the online driver’s education. Once they get their license, if they are a minor, they legally cannot drive other minors alone. They can only drive alone or with an adult.

Getting a driver’s license is worth the time and wait. By doing so, students open doors for new opportunities and new places to explore.