All students in New York that want to get their license by the time they are seventeen are required to take Drivers Education. Drivers Education courses teach individuals about state driving laws and how to operate a motor vehicle. Bethpage High School offers drivers education for students in the Fall and Spring. Students at BHS have one 90-lecture and one 90-minute driving time with an instructor from Bell Auto School. The course lasts around five months.
However, since there is such a high demand of student interest in the course, only a select few students get in based on their birthday. This rule leads many students to not get in, and take a course privately, or in some cases, not finish the course until after they turn seventeen, having them get their license postponed. This past Spring session, the birthday cutoff was in July. The private courses typically meet more often, leading the course to end quicker.
BHS Junior Olivia Greenfield has an October birthday and did not make the cutoff and had to take Drivers Ed through a private company. We asked Olivia her thoughts on her out-of-school Drivers Ed experience.
“I do it for 3 hours twice a week, and it isn’t that bad. However, it can get boring after a while. The good thing is, I can get my license before I turn seventeen, since the course is only three months long.”
Many students, including myself, feel that it is ridiculously unfair that many BHS students have to wait months after our seventeenth birthday to get our licenses because of the long drivers ed course. With summer coming close, it is difficult for students with working parents to get rides places and would benefit from the ability to be able to drive to places by themselves. Along with social aspects, many students have summer jobs to commute to, and struggle to find rides. Rumors say students in Spring drivers ed can’t get license before July…not even counting the wait to schedule appointments for DMV Road Tests.
Gianna Gravelli takes Drivers Ed through BHS and has an April birthday. Gianna said, “I like how my Drivers Ed course is at my school, so I can easily stay after school. However, I have to wait over two months after I turn seventeen for the course to end to take my road test.”
A student, who wished to remain anonymous said, “I have a job and play a sport, and with my busy schedule, and my parents’ work schedule its very hard to find rides, and is extremely frustrating when you are 17 and waiting for your 5-month Drivers Ed course to end.”
Clearly, students feel frustrated and are eager to get their licenses, yet have to wait months after they turn seventeen.
