Did you know that we have a 16 year old in our household? Being sixteen means jobs, driving, practicing life skills, and much more. The lad’s been working at McD’s this summer and been enjoying the job. Mostly he bikes but lately they’ve been giving him some later shifts when I don’t want him biking home. Also winter is coming along when biking is a tad more difficult. Getting his license is becoming more important! It’s been a bit of a learning curve learning about getting a driver’s license in Ontario as things have changed since I was a teen. 🙂
Getting a Driver’s License in Ontario
So I don’t know how things work where you live, but here in Ontario we have graduated licensing. One starts with a G1 and gradually works up to a full driving license.
If you are at least 16 years old, you can apply for driver’s licence in Ontario. As my son is 16 we’ve been looking into this whole process. He really has NO desire to get his license, so we are pushing him into it since it will be easier for him to do so living at home. Just having a driver’s license is one of the easiest forms of ID and means that it’s easier for him to drive home for a visit (renting a car) should he ever move farther away from home.
As a new driver he’ll need to practice driving at various times of day and in various situations, gaining valuable experience. It generally takes about 20-24 months to finish getting your license.
ThinkInsure helped me better understand the whole system as well.
Studying for the G1 Written Test
There are a number of options for studying for the road test.
There’s the way I did it. Reading the book over and over and over again until I more or less had it memorized.
And there are paid options such as
As well as some different free options
So we discovered this site that allows you to practice writing your G1 test. It’s rather cool providing students with a variety of tests so they can practice their knowledge! Wish I had had this before I wrote MY test! 🙂
Use a Licensed School
When I was talking with the owner of one of the local driving schools she mentioned the need to be cautious. As with everything in life there are always people ready to take advantage of people. Since there is a bit of a learning curve in this whole process it’s easy to get fooled by people pretending to have all the credentials. Therefore the Ontario government has made a list of approved businesses.
He’ll be doing his driver’s ed through South Huron Driving School doing most of it online and then having a couple of lessons in person. Just a matter of getting the funds together to make that doable.
Doing driving school has a couple of advantages. It means you can get your G2 sooner as well as often reducing your insurance premiums. It’s also good to have a professional involved as it’s easy to develop bad habits when driving and you don’t want younger learners picking up those bad habits. 🙂
My lad’s gramma is itching to get behind the wheel with the lad, wanting to teach him road safety and driving skills. It’s something we are still discussing as her eyes aren’t want they used to be. I’m glad we have the option of driving school!
How about you?
What are the new driver’s rules like where you live? Do you have graduated licensing? At what age can you begin driving? If you attend driver’s school does it help with your new drivers’ insurance? Do they differ from getting a Driver’s License in Ontario?
Good luck to him! How exciting. I understand his reluctance, as our oldest was also reluctant. It was a good thing for us to follow her lead as when she was ready, she was mentally prepared. Good luck as you navigate this new part of life.
it’ll go well I think, just a matter of working it through.