Learning to Drive in New York and New Jersey

Kusha Navadar (0:04)

It's The Brian Lehrer Show. I'm Kusha Navadhar. There's some wonderful music. I'm filling in for Brian today here on WNYC. Now we'll end today's show with your stories about learning to drive. Of the many milestones we celebrate in our kids' lives, it's safe to guess that learning to drive is one that makes parents the most nervous. But if you're in our listening area, fret less. A new study by WalletHub found that New York is the best state for teen drivers, and that's for the third year in a row. Despite the traffic in our biggest cities, New York has the fourth fewest teen driver fatalities per capita in the country. And per capita, it's also the state with some of the fewest teen DUIs and teens who text while driving. New Jersey isn't far behind. It's ranking third place overall for teen drivers, but first in the safety category with the third lowest teen driver fatality rate in the country. So how do you get the safest teen drivers in the country? Part of it is practice. New York has the most driving schools per capita of any state in New Jersey. They've got the third most. But we know plenty of you did it the old fashioned way. If you were like me, it was in an empty parking lot on a Sunday morning, the 4th of July, with my mom in the passenger seat pretending to be calm. So, listeners, how did you learn to drive in New York or New Jersey? Or how did you teach your teen? Did you take driver's ed or go to a driving school? Who taught you? Where did you go for that first lesson? And what did you fight about? Parents, how do you emphasize the importance of safety to your teens? Do you have rules about phones in the car, driving at night or how many friends can ride along? Give us a call or send us a text. We're at 212-433-WNYC.

That's 212-433-9692.

You can call us or text us. Our phones are open right now. We'd love to get some callers. And how about that road test? Is anyone, has anyone who's taken one around here? Know if there's a whole folklore about where to go. Maybe your driving instructor swore by one particular site because the examiners are more forgiving, or you drove an hour out of the city because there's left traffic to fail on. Maybe you failed twice at the same spot and never went back. Listeners, where did you take your road test? And did you travel to take it somewhere easier? What did you fall on? Did you run a stop sign like one of our producers did? Or was it something more forgivable, like parallel parking or the three point turn? New Jersey callers, tell us how your process was different from the permit to the probationary license. And if you've got a road test tip, this is the time to share it. Give us a call or send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692.

That's 212-433-WNYC.

That's something that me and our producers have in common. I failed my first driver's test because I stopped at the stop sign, but then I was told you need to actually stop at the intersection. And I didn't stop all the way, so they had to end the test right then and there. We've got our first caller, if we could bring them into the conversation. Oh no, we're going to go to the break first. So listeners, give us a call or send us a text at 212-433-WNYC. That's 212-433-9692. We'll take your calls right after the break. Stay with us.

It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. I'm Kusha Navadar, filling in for Brian today here on WNYC. And we are spending the next 10ish minutes talking about your experience with teaching someone to drive, who might be a teenager or a young adult, or if there are any teenagers out there who are learning right now, we'd love to get you on the phone as well. Give us a call. Send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692.

That's 212-433-WNYC.

We got the phones open. We've got callers now. Let's bring in Kathy from Bergen County. Hi, Kathy. Welcome to the show. Yes. Hi.

Kathy (4:31)

Good morning. Can you hear me?

Kusha Navadar (4:32)

Yes. Hi. Tell us about your experience.

Kathy (4:34)

Oh, good. All right. I pulled over my car. I'm at Oakland Motor Vehicle Agency. We have a driving school we started in the late 1970s, when they took the driver's ed, behind the wheel programs out of the schools. But all New Jersey public schools run a 30-hour driving school course.