Student Driver

Uncle James is going to take his driving test tomorrow morning, so we have been out today getting some extra practice. He is not a bad driver yet (I think bad driving comes with experience), and he will probably do just fine tomorrow, but he could use some practice stopping and starting. One should not get whiplash stopping at stop signs. We are going to practice some more this evening and tomorrow morning, but I think he is good to go. He uses his turn signal and merges when there is room, maintains the speed limit, leaves room between himself and other cars, and realizes that a yellow light does not mean speed up.
I let him drive today with my Peanut in the car, so I must have some kind of trust in his ability. I hope I remember this experience fondly when it is Peanut's turn to learn to drive (in 18 years), because it really has not been as bad as lots of parents make it out to be. James is 19, and I think that makes a difference. I did not get to drive until I was 18, and I could not imagine driving at 16, anyway. I do not think many kids (if any) have the required maturity to control thousands of pounds of metal on the road with thousands of pounds of other people's metal. It is bad enough to have middle aged people on their phones, eating, applying makeup, reading, etc because they think they know how to control a car; to have a sixteen year old doing the same things and learning to control a vehicle on the road... The thought scares me to death. Driving is such a huge responsibility, but I think James is up for the challenge of keeping himself and others safe on the road. I guess we'll see; wish him luck :)