Beads of sweat form on your forehead. Your mind races, trying to remember everything you have learned. The pressure is weighing on your shoulders. Failure is not an option.
Is this the SAT or the OGT? No, it’s your driving test.
The driving test is made up of a vehicle inspection, a driving skills component and a maneuverability assessment, according to the Ohio Department of Motor Vehicles. It also proves to be the ultimate test for many 16-year-olds.
History teacher Dean Chappelle said that the requirements haven’t changed much since he was a 16-year-old. He added that driving education was a class in school.
Sophomore Amy Mautz said that taking the test was not the best experience for her because she failed it twice before passing it on the third try.
“It was very nerve-wracking; it felt like a life or death situation,” Mautz said.
Mautz said that after hitting a cone on her first attempt, the instructor said that she had never seen anyone hit a cone that hard before.
“[The difficulty in the test the first two times] inspired me to work harder, especially on maneuverability,” Mautz added.
Mautz isn’t alone with her difficulty in passing the driving test.
Chappelle said that he also failed his driving test the first time he took it because he ran a stop sign at a trick intersection.
The driving test is the pinnacle of a long process that includes 24 hours of classes, eight hours of in-car practice with an instructor and 50 hours of driving with an adult, according to the Ohio DMV.
Junior Deena Levey summed up the preparation process in one word: “stressful.”
But the stress doesn’t end after the test for both new drivers and their parents.
Chappelle described teaching his kids to drive as scary but also a way of bonding.
“One of the scariest moments was watching my son drive down the street by himself for the first time,” Chappelle said.
Levey explained that during one of her first times driving with her new license, she hit a car in the crowded Cassingham street in front of the high school.
“I was permanently traumatized after driving for the first time and hitting something, and the worst part was that I had to have dinner with [the driver] that night,” Levey said.
Despite getting off to a rocky start, Mautz is proud to say that she hasn’t gotten in a crash in the three months that she’s had her license.
Chappelle said that in his 40 years of driving, he’s had about six accidents.
“On my first day of teaching I had to call the principal to tell him I would be late because I got hit by a garbage truck,” Chappelle added.
Sophomore Kevin Bond said that a greater sense of independence is what often keeps teens inspired through the sometimes tedious process, while Mautz added that friends can also be an incentive.
“My friend was pressuring me [to get my license] a lot because she wanted me to drive her everywhere,” she said.
Mautz said that she likes not having to depend on her parents anymore, except for gas.
“[Having my license] means I can do whatever I want, whenever I want,” she said.
Published February 2008. Digitized 2025.
