by Connor Martin ’13

Junior Lia Kurihara passed her drivers test on October 6 at Largo. photo by Connor Martin '13

The hype over getting a learner’s permit or a driver’s license is in no way overrated or underrated. However, the entire process seems like a teenage version of Mount Everest. Then once the time to climb comes around, all of the people who anticipated the test start shaking in their boots.

There is a good reason as to why people are so scared. I’m no exception. I passed the Learner’s Permit test with flying colors and racked up my 60 hours of driving quite quickly. I took the driver’s education course, endured the uncomfortable behind-the-wheel driving sessions with the instructors, and ended up passing the written test with a 98%. When it came to the actual driving test, however, the only test I really cared about, I failed twice. It wasn’t until my dad agreed to drive me two hours to Cumberland that I finally passed the test.

When people found out that I had passed the test, the only questions I was asked were:

“How was the test?”, “Was it hard?” and  “Where did you go to take it?”

There are over 25 different Motor Vehicle Associations (MVA) locations in Maryland. And I have heard from people that the easiest places to pass the driver’s test are Annapolis, Cumberland and Hagerstown (which is partially why I knew I had to go to one of these three locations for my third test). The hardest place to pass, according to the people around school who have told me, is Gaithersburg.

I don’t know if I really believe this entire hullabaloo. Call me crazy, but if you are confident in your driving skills, then does it really matter where you go? Shouldn’t you be able to pass anywhere?