So... in order to get a drivers license in my state (in the USA), I have to actually do the yearly medical-checkup thing, and its scheduled to be in about 3 hours... haven't even slept... :(

[nabdad@lemmy.world]

I think one great reason for requiring a physical before getting your driver's license is to encourage people to get a physical.

It's a really good idea.

I've had stuff diagnosed in physicals that I didn't even realize were problems. The neat thing about that is you can get a problem that you didn't know you had treated and corrected, and your life becomes better than you thought it could be.

Of course, universal health care would be great, but you can't have everything when you're born into a fascist shithole country ruled by criminals.

So, what state are you in and what's the licensing process like in your state?

When my kids were getting their licenses in PA, there was a written test (easy), then they had to do 65 hours of supervised driving before they could take the driving test.

Since they only require the parent to sign a form saying they did the 65 hours, most parents just lie. My first two kids did the entire 65 hours and it was brutal. It's just a lot of time spent doing pointless driving. Lots of miles. Number three was learning during the pandemic, and I was so busy at work I just didn't have the time. She ended aging out of the requirement, and got her license as an adult when she was in college.

First kid took the driving test at the DMV, which was another hellish experience. The process for getting an appointment for the test involved waking up early and fighting with everyone else online to try to get one of the spots they opened up. For the other two we found driving schools and just paid them to do the test.

When I got my license in the 80's, you took the written test, did some supervised driving, and then went back when you were ready to take the driving test. When my dad took the test in the 50's, he did the written test and then went straight to the driving test right after.

[neidu3@sh.itjust.works]

I just realized that I have so many medical checkups/certificates for different purposes:

• Offshore work
• Bridge crew work
• Aircraft pilot
• Heavy vehicles
• Crane operator

...and they're pretty much all the same, done by different doctors with different approvals.

[deathbybigsad@sh.itjust.works]

PA. I'm in Philly. I skimmed the booklet a few years ago when my mom was trying to get the license (and got it) and like the booklet was just lying around. The road signs seems so easy and intuitive, could probably memorize it in an hour if I just google it.

So after getting the learners permit, I think dad is gonna have to find time to teach me.

My dad got his license back in NYC, I mean he already knew how to drive back in China (pls don't throw "Chinese people can't drive" stereotypes, I know reddit does that a lot, not cool), just needed to learn the rules of the road in the US and that sort of thing. I think he did some taxi driving or truck driving back in China... but jobs were kinda unstable there... a lot of people... a lot of competing for jobs...

Then in NYC, he worked in a warehouse and did truck driving... some delivery stuff from the warehouse to restaurants. I heard my dad told stories that that in some buildings you deliver to, they ask for ID, cuz after 9/11, everyone got paranoid. And some buildings even have dogs that sniff around the truck (to check for explosives?)

Mom, tho, she reacts so slow and sucks at driving... so only dad can really teach me.

Hey wanna bet how long this gonna take?

Idk... I have only sat in the driver's seat like once... in a parking lot... didn't go too far and just shifted back to park and switched over. Didn't even have a learner's permit. Dad just wanted me to feel it.

That was... more than 5 years ago...I never really insisted for it so that's why I never really learned. School was too annoying and didn't felt like doing "extra unnecessary stuff", cuz "eh, my parents could just drive me to places"... but yea now I need it to actually "become an adult"... cuz this is philly, public transit don't get you to some places.

[nabdad@lemmy.world]

Hey, Philly suburbs here.

I can make some suggestions:

1. You can buy magnetic signs to put on the car that say, "Beginning Driver, Please Be Patient". Most people will still be assholes, but every little bit helps.

2. For teaching parallel parking, I bought some extra tall road cones from Home Depot. I took them to the High School parking lot and set them up to make a parking space to pull into.

The first time I was using them, someone kept driving around the high school, even left and came back waiting for "their turn". They were pissed when we finished and I gathered up the cones and we left.

3. The most important thing to remember when driving is to do what's expected. Follow the rules and be patient while you are behind the wheel. People get into trouble when they rush.

4. Always leave an absolutely enormous space between you and the car in front of you. The rule I was taught was to leave 3 seconds in between. When the car in front of you passes something on the road, start counting the seconds. If you pass it before 3 seconds, you're too close. Personally, I prefer to keep 4 seconds.

People will pass you and move into the space in front of you. Don't worry about it. It's a good thing. You don't want them behind you. They'll rear-end someone else.

5. When it's time for you to learn highway driving, have your dad take you out to the suburbs. Don't try to learn on I95, I76, or I676. I don't want you to be scared, but those are definitely only for "advanced" drivers. 309 is a better highway to practice on.

6. If your dad isn't a calm teacher and your family has the funds, look into going to a driving school to learn. I was a surprisingly chill driving teacher to my kids. It's important that he can maintain the mental peace to be able to deal with emergencies without screaming in terror

My dad did not have that peace. As the last kid of three, I was lucky enough that my mom put her foot down and hired a driving teacher for me.

[sergio@piefed.social]

Great tips. Another tip is: don't be distracted (by phone, conversation, radio, etc.)

[medicpigbabysaver@lemmy.world]

This for a CDL?

No way it would be for everyone with a regular license.

[deathbybigsad@sh.itjust.works]

Normal driver's license.

This is Pennsylvania. When I said it to my mom about the requirement, my mom was like: "really?", then she remember she also had to do that when she got her license a few years ago.

[medicpigbabysaver@lemmy.world]

Unless you have a medical condition, eg: seizures. You do not need a yearly exam.

That's ridiculous.

[deathbybigsad@sh.itjust.works]

You read wrong. Not yearly. I was saying like: "why bother checking it if its only once"

Like if you get a chronic condition right after you pass a physical, then like... that was just a waste of time and doesn't do much...

[beardedblaze@lemmy.world]

That was my first reaction as well, but I'll be damned, that is a requirement...
https://www.pa.gov/services/dmv/get-a-driver-license

[medicpigbabysaver@lemmy.world]

Wording in title makes it seem like PA requires a yearly exam.

Not, just one physical exam for the initial license.