Learning how to drive at 16 is important for everyone as it’s the next step to being more independent and it’s a skill that gets better the more you do it.

But you need to make sure the intentions for taking up such a big responsibility are justified. 

Friends say that they’re learning how to drive because they hear that a lot of people are doing it, or because they get to go to more parties or events, but these aren’t valid reasons at all. Learning how to drive isn’t some method to gain popularity, it’s a helpful skill you need to start living your own life. Saying the reason is because it affects how others may look at you, makes you not ready for the responsibility of driving and waters down the importance behind driving.

Wanting to drive shouldn’t be because of social influence from your peers and what they’re doing, but because it benefits your own personal needs and situations.

Learning how to drive is a sign of maturing and growing up, as a rite of passage of being one step closer to being on your own and becoming more of an adult. It teaches you how to be more responsible as you’re now in charge of keeping yourself and other drivers around you safe. It opens a new window for opportunities you can explore on your own time.

Understand that driving allows you to find a job, work on your own schedule, and while it does let you have more freedom to go to what events you want, don’t center it around that idea. 

Driving is the gateway to the next step of life so the reasoning behind should have a similar level of significance.