The eldest Izzlet has her test (second time around…first time was too stressful for her because I was in Ireland…) next week. I’m thinking of sabotaging the whole thing. I still can’t imagine a child of mine on the roads, in a vehicle that can go faster than she walks. 
SIGH! Does it ever get easier, in terms of you don’t WORRY so much about the sheer thought of it all?
As a son all I can say is that I’m evil and I made my Mum worry even more by deliberately driving badly when giving her lifts. For years she would grip onto the seat, or other parts of the car, really tightly the whole time I was behind the wheel.
No confidence.
Now I just criticise her driving all the time. You should have seen her attempts at parking the other day, 7 times she tried to reverse into a space!
Anyway, no it doesn’t get easier for a fair few years. Sorry.
Good luck to your daughter though 
Yes. It gets easier. Depending on the kid.
My first three, all girls, did well, though in terms of driving skill I’d rank #1 as #3, #3 as #2, and #2 as #1. _well, the one on the left was…on the right, and the one in the middle was…on the left…_and all that.
You will, naturally, restrict her range to more familiar territory until she’s more experienced.
Still…daughter #1 did rear end a car, damaging (totalling) only our vehicle, and daughter #2 (who I still count as best) side-scraped a car she was parking next to when driving the minivan instead of the Soobie she was used to.
#3 has stayed out of trouble so far. But Izzy–I’m afraid these are phone calls of the sort you’re going to have to deal with sooner or later.
I’m working on the last one now, the only boy. he has his learner’s permit, but he’s uniquely unmotivated to drive, so we haven’t put much time in. I figure this will be a couple-year process with him. His judgment concerns me the most.
I have said before, and I’ll say it again: I wish there were a driving camp in Nebraska (or somewhere) where I could ship him off for 2 months or so and have him come back competently licensed. I really don’t feel like doing this again…but I will.
This is an area of interest of mine (www.parentingteendrivers.com).
It does get easier, but never easy, at least for people who aren’t in a state of complete denial.
That said, it’s unfortunate, but true, that in most areas of the country, driving independently is a critical life skill. It is true that new drivers are at considerably greater risk of an accident than are older drivers and this, by the way, is more a function of inexperience (and lack of adequate training) than age. Accordingly, the best way for a novice driver to be a safer, non-novice driver is to, well, drive.
There’s a handful of critical risk factors for young drivers, in addition to their inexperience.
First, the presence of teenage passengers in the car with a teenage driver. As opposed to driving alone, each time a teenage passenger is added, the risk of a crash goes up sharply. This effect is extreme in 16 and 17 year old drivers, much more subtle in 18 and 19 year old drivers, and absent in adult drivers. This is the only case I know of for which teenagers differ qualitatively from adult drivers.
Second, seat belts. Teens have the lowest use rates of seat belts than any other group of drivers. Seat belt is lower, even, among teenage PASSENGERS than teenage drivers. Lower in back seats than front seats. And, particularly scary, seat belt use is lowest in teen driving situations which are already high-risk: With multiple passengers, driving at night, when there’s alcohol involved, etc.
Third, alcohol. Driving when impaired by alcohol is boneheaded and risky at any age, of course. But, teenagers are more impaired by alcohol than adults. They’re novice drivers AND novice drinkers.
Fourth, sleep deprivation. The highest incidence of asleep-at-wheel accidents are in teenagers.
Fifth, use of electronics and hand-held devices while driving. Cell phones, texting, MP3 operation, etc. Bone-headed for all us, but more distracting for new drivers and, of course, that generation is all about texting.
Educate your child about these things and do a contract. See my website.
Good luck!
I wonder if there’s a correlation between sleep deprivation and incorrect grammar. 
Probably. In my case, though, it’s aging. I’m making more and more of that kind of error.
I had forgotten about your site, Dale, and I even have it bookmarked. It didn’t apply to me at the time, though, which is why I didn’t think of it. Thanks for reposting the link. It’s going to be very useful.
I just got back from driving with her…she’s not bad, she’s just hesitant. I think my problem is that in my mind, she’s still not old enough to drive because she’s still just a baby in my eyes 
SIGH! I hate when kids grow up.
Growing older is mandatory; growing up is optional.
izz - I won’t say it gets easier, the worries just change.
With my oldest, I honestly never had any worry about his driving. He’s always been a safety conscious kid - always wore his bike helmet, etc. While he likes “fast” - he drove a 1979 1/2 ton pick up. It don’t go fast! And he then had the nerve to take it to the dragstrip and pay $15 to have three times at the “Christmas Tree”. Again - it don’t go fast (if anyone knows about 1/4 miles and times, he ran consistant 18.3 - he was just flooring it and going!).
My youngest let his temps expire. He has absolutely NO desire to drive (older brother got his license the day he turned 16). And I have no desire to push him (older brother swears the two cannot be related). With his ADD, I can see him stopped at a light, his mind wander to something else, his foot come off the brake, and him running into the car in front of him.
We’ll see if he wants to go for it after he turns 18. I’ll still make him take instruction even though it’s not require by law at that point. But for now, he gets around by bus, bike, or mom-taxi.
What does that mean? Will he still have to sit a test to get his license?
Yes, he’ll still have to do the written and over the road tests.
But he won’t have to take the classroom and driver’s ed training, have to have so many hours logged on temps, or have the “progressive” license that anyone under age 18 has to do.
That’s just the Ohio regs - I have no idea what other states require. I, personally, think it’s stupid, hense why I said he’ll still have to take the instruction (mom’s rules instead of state required rules!).
If the road tests over there are anything like the ones over here he probably won’t pass unless he’s had some formal instruction.
Mind you, I had loads of lessons and still failed twice 
When my eldest got her license, she drove me back to the house. She asked if she could go see a girl friend and I said yes, but be back in an hour. An hour passes, … hour 15, hour 20. I am now offically starting to panic since she’s not the type to miss coming home on time. I went outside and I see her driving home. She gets out of the car and is in tears. She got LOST coming home and spent at least 1/2 hour trying to see what streets were coming up.
Moral: make sure your kids know directions. Her lack of directional acuity is now part of family legend.
But it does get easier
Oh, Izz… did you have to go and remind me that my daughter will be old enough for her permit in only 6 months??
I’ll just sit here and panic now. 